Socrates

[close] Study and discussion of the important questions of ethical and political philosophy from Confucius and Socrates to the present. Rules (see also the Rules and Housekeeping topic): Subject to copyright law and these rules, posters may cite, link, or quote any publication, including their own. Posts linking to outside sources must contain a brief explanation of the nature of the linked material and, unless obvious, how it is relevant to the topic being discussed. All posts and linked material must be in English. Posts and any linked material should be polite and not degenerate into ad hominem attacks. The purpose here is to seek light, not heat—rational discourse, not shouting matches. Leave your cable news persona at home and put on your philosopher's mantle when entering this group. Rational argumentation and Socratic questioning are welcome. Hectoring, intimidation, insult, and presumptuous condescension toward other group members are cause for immediate removal from the group. Internet "trolls," advocates of violence, and posters failing to comply with these rules will be removed from membership, as will posters who persist in raising issues that are outside the scope of the subject matter of this group. New members may introduce themselves in the New Member Introductions topic. See posts 4-5 here regarding the creation of new topics. Photo credit: Socrates sculpture at Louvre (CherryX per Wikimedia Commons [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)

[close] Have you ever cried while laughing or laughed while crying? In dealing with the horrors and tragedies of life, each of us may cope in one of three ways: (1) pretend the nightmare does not exist, (2) rely on hallucination and stupor, (3) or take the terrors in jest. Some literary examples include are on the book shelf. This group meets in Seattle. However, we will try to let international members nominate books that local member can vote on, read, and discuss locally. Feel free to expand to this brainstorming list: (i) Futility, failure, defeat ( A Fairly Honourable Defeat) (ii) The capriciousness and wonder of luck (iii) Ambiguous relationships and Irony (a) The Misanthrope (b) The Sea, The Sea (c) Specifically situational or cosmic irony (iv) Psychology (a) Civilization and its Discontents (b) Nietzsche influenced books (v) Mortality The club drink of choice: A shot in the dark. Footnote: The literary intensity of the books will depend on the members. Greek influenced novels, classics, and contemporary literature have shelves with examples for brainstorming nominations.

[close] ...November 12, 2013 to December 12, 2013... I will take questions related to the Ideal tradition, Homer to Emerson.

[close] Reading through the Great Books vol. 2, Mortimer Adler canon, following the recommended 10 year reading sequence found in the back of The Great Conversation.