Philosophy Open-Question Sessions
What is a philosophy open-question session?
1. Think of a philosophy question you would like answered?
2. Come along to one of the times and places above.
3. Join in the discussion as we tackle the question
The question you ask can be as general or as specific as you like. It might be ‘What is the meaning of life?’ It might be ‘What is the relation of philosophy to poetry?’ It might be ‘Does the universe have definite dimensions in Time and Space?’
Some of the questions asked last week were:
What is Existentialism?
This is a toughie for a community group to tackle but not impossible. In general we can this. Existentialism was a 20th century philosophical movement centred primarily in Europe, and especially Germany and France. It had its origins in the 19th century writings of the Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard and the German philologist Frederick Nietzsche, and was also strongly influenced by Edmund Husserl’s philosophy of phenomenology. Key figures in the 20th century include Martin Heidegger, Jean Paul Sartre, and Simone de Beauvoir. Many of these philosophers tended to resist the label of ‘Existentialism’ but if we were to give a general characterisation to this view it would be that ‘existence precedes essence’. What does this mean? It means that the actual life of individual people is what constitutes their true essence, rather than having that essence imposed arbitrarily by other people by the use of labels, social roles, or rules by how they should act.
One of the members of our Tuesday morning group, Chay, gave a great definition of what he thought it might be. He said it is ‘our feeling unhappy because we are separated from Being’. This definition captures two important aspects of existentialism. The first is the feeling of unhappiness (disenchantment, dissatisfaction, or anxiety) as the dominant res
ponse to our ‘existential’ situation. (Some existentialists also call this response fear, dread, or nausea.) The second is that our existential situation is that of being cut off or alienated from ‘Being’. For many Existentialists, there was a feeling of repulsion and rebellion that their individual freedom could be thought to be subsumed under the philosophical category of Being, as Hegel had suggested. They insisted that their ‘essence’ was something beyond the explanations of the natural world.
Chay also added another important contribution to the discussion of this topic. He said that the Ego creates a barrier between ourselves and the world by imposing labels and words on the things we experience. This is also an important part of Existentialist thinking.
Art and alienation
Another mem
ber of our Tuesday morning group, Chris, asked the great question of ‘How do we overcome our alienation?’ For many of the Existentialists, this was answered by asserting their freely chosen authentic experience, although how this was done varied greatly. It might be done, for example, by political activity, or it might be done by the practice of artistic creation. The question of Art as a means for existential transformation is a particularly interesting one because it not only involves the question of the struggle within the individual artist in dealing with their material, but also the wider social question of the transgression of social and political conventions by the work of art itself.
Do natural rights exist?
At our Tuesday night group, one question we tackled was what ‘rights’ are and whether rights also imply responsibilities as well. The question of ‘rights’ is an interesting one. We are accustomed to speaking of certain rights of absolute or inalienable, but are they actually so? A different view is that a ‘right’ is simply one expression of political power but has no absolute status.
Does religion have a place in a secular education system?
Also on Tuesday night we discussed the nature of education in Australia. During the second half of the 19th century, all of the states legislated for free, compulsory and secular education. It was argued that these three features define the Australian educational experience. However during the 20th century provision was made for fee-paying, religious schools, although assessment was always made in terms of a secular curriculum. So the question is, ‘Is there a place for religion within a secular education system?’
Philosophy, poetry, and love
Another topic was the relation between philosophy and poetry. A few weeks ago I went to the Byron Bay philo café where they discussed the poetry of W. H. Auden. Many of Auden’s poems deal with love and one question that was asked was what is the difference between philosophy and poetry in their discussion of love. Obviously one difference is that philosophy discusses it in terms of propositions while poetry discusses it in terms of verse. But is the experience of love different for the philosopher and the poet?
What are our options as we age?
Finally on Wednesday morning I had quite an involved and interesting discussion with Lynne on the subject of ‘Options for Aging’. As many of us age, we ponder what are the options that are open to us. Is it ‘business as usual’? Or do we view our aging process as an opportunity to do new things? What are we prepared to give away and what do we want to retain in our lives as we grow older?
Pingback: Free Piano