Cheers!
Daniel Ust
http://mars.superlink.net/neptune/
> From: Greg Johnson gregoryrjohnson@mindspring.com
> Sent: Monday, November 29, 1999 2:46 PM
> Subject: DECEMBER PHILOSOPHY EVENTS
>
> Dear Lover of Wisdom,
>
> Here are the philosophical events planned by the Atlanta Philosophical
> Society and the Invisible College from now until the new year.
> I. Saturday, December 11th, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.: "FACING DEATH:
> Philosophical Preparations" (A One-Day Philosophical "Workshop")
>
> We all die. Our only choice in the matter is to die well or badly.
> But why not put off thinking about death until later? First of all, we may
> die at any time. Second, even if we knew that death were far off in the
> future, the quality of our lives in the present can be improved by
> philosophically reflecting on the nature of death. Such reflections bring
> into sharp relief the nature of value, the nature of happiness, the nature
> of freedom and responsibility, and the nature of our own individual
> characters. This is why Socrates describes philosophy as "preparation for
> death" in Plato's PHAEDO, which portrays the death of Socrates and his
final
> conversations with his friends.
>
> THE FORMAT: There will be four 90 minute sessions, separated by two
> 15 minute breaks and by a lunch break of one-and-a-half hours. Each
session
> will begin with a brief lecture setting forth the background of the
reading.
> Then the rest of the session will be devoted to working-through and
> discussing the readings.
>
> THE TOPICS: In session #1, we will look at passages about the death
> of Socrates from Plato's APOLOGY and PHAEDO. In session #2, "Carpe Diem,"
we
> will discuss the ancient Epicurean meditations on death and the
contingency
> of life, the aim of which was to lead us to live with greater pleasure,
> intensity, and authenticity in the present. We will look at passages from
> the poetry of Lucretius and Horace. In session #3, we will reflect on the
> connections between death, freedom, and servility as revealed in Hegel's
> so-called "master-slave dialectic." Our reading will be passages from THE
> AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS. Finally, in session #4, we will
explore
> the connections between death, freedom, responsibility, and happiness
> through the Stoic meditations on suicide. Our reading will be Walker
Percy's
> brief essay, "Suicide: The Only Cure for Depression."
> JOIN US FOR A LIVELY AND STIMULATING DISCUSSION.
> WHEN: Saturday, December 4th, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
> WHERE: 3060 Pharr Court North, Suite 22. (Contact instructor for
> directions.) THE COST: $80, including readings, "Continental Breakfast"
and
> refeshments, including plenty of good coffee.
> ENROLLMENT IS LIMITED TO TEN. FIVE SEATS REMAIN.
> THE INSTRUCTOR: Gregory R. Johnson is a philosopher in "private
> practice" in Atlanta. He is the co-founder and President of the Atlanta
> Philosophical Society.
> TO ENROLL: Call Greg Johnson at 404.378.5132 or e-mail
> gregoryrjohnson@mindspring.com