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Lectures start
promptly at 7:30PM and are held on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each
month September 2022 through December 13, 2022. Our meetings are held at the Olive
Garden, 9079 Vantage Point Drive, Dallas, TX 75243 (972)
234-3292, Zoom access will also be available.
Sister Elinor Gardner, O.P. University of Dallas
How
ought we to think of the phenomenon of suffering? If suffering is the
pain of a rational being, and a lack or deprivation of some kind, is
that not always something bad, to be avoided where possible, and
tolerated when necessary? Or is there any sense in which suffering can
or ought to be considered good? If so, is it good only because of its
positive effects, as the Stoics seem to say? Could there be any deeper
goodness present in suffering? How does the Stoic view compare with a
Christian philosophy of suffering? Is revelation really necessary to
make sense of suffering?
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1-24-2023 Intellectual Virtues
Susan Carrillo, Dallas College
The institution of education and the discipline
of philosophy often emphasize the importance of
“technical" critical thinking skills (e.g., analysis, application,
evaluation). What is less talked about are the character traits conducive to
developing said thinking skills. Four character traits are: intellectual
humility, intellectual courage, intellectual empathy, and intellectual
perseverance. While students develop the technical thinking skills philosophers
use (e.g., argument analysis and construction, conceptual analysis and testing
of definitions), a philosophy curriculum should highlight the simultaneously emphasizing and
bringing to light how one's emotions, attitudes, desires, mindsets,
dispositions, and habits impact one's development as a thinker, learner,
knower, and social being. I will present a version of the lessons I give
to students on the aforementioned virtues and then present an example of a
graded, in-class philosophy assignment that calls upon students to be mindful
of and practice said traits. In doing so, I will ask for volunteers to read
from a script for each virtue, encouraging the audience to play an active role
in how I present my lecture. Implications for education and civil society will
be noted along the way.
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2-14-2023 Friedrich Schelling: Most Underrated Philosopher of the Nineteenth Century?
David Drumm
In
many histories of philosophy Fredrick Schelling’s thought is considered
merely a stepping stone between Fichte and Hegel. This is a gross
injustice. Schelling’s productive career outlasted Hegel’s by 20 years
or so. The writings of the mature Schelling interject a note of
creativity and process into idealism and are an important precursor to
existentialism and other developments.
Click on the link below to join the meeting :Meeting was cancelled by Olive Garden
2-28-2023 Critical Revolution in Literary Theory and the Evolution of Cultural Materialism
Jack Youngkin
The Twentieth Century
witnessed a revolution in Literary Theory with the sidelining of Anglo-Saxon
and philology for a new approach that was more modern, critical, and literary
(rather than linguistic) in orientation. Having a point of view more
alive to the general culture, a younger generation of literary critics chose to
see English literary studies as an exploration of the human condition or a
commentary on civilization. One of these Cambridge critics, Raymond
Williams, thought drama as exemplary of what he calls cultural materialism,
meaning the study of culture as a set of material practices (which occur within
social conditions). Cultural materialism is the study of the conditions
of production of art by real human agents in changing historical circumstances.
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3-14-2023 Hume vs Kant: A Semi-Civilized Debate
David Drumm and Rob Olson
David Hume and Immanuel Kant are considered two of the greatest
philosophers of the Enlightenment. Hume was a skeptical empiricist who
questioned virtually any type of “knowledge” while Kant sought to find a way to
integrate Hume’s essential insights with more traditional beliefs such as God,
immortality, and freedom. David Drumm and Rob Olson, both board members of the
Dallas Philosophers Forum, will try to unpack their respective positions in
this semi-civilized debate.
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3-28-2023
Follow the Science? Stories of when the consensus
scientific belief was wrong, and one person was right: implications for
public policy. science and education.
Rob McKellar, Ph.D.
Today
we are told to “follow the science,” suggesting that there is unanimity
among scientific authorities whose exalted wisdom we are obligated to
follow. But we live in a democracy where ordinary people can and should
determine public policy. In this regard, we see many issues where
dissenting views clash with the views of those who claim to have
science on their side. Such issues include the causes of global
warming, vaccines, and nuclear power, among others. Accordingly, it is
instructive and intriguing to relate several colorful stories in modern
history where the consensus of the relevant scientific community held a
theory that was wrong, while one person (or a very few) held the
correct theory. These theories include continental drift,
hospital-spread disease, ohms law, gastric ulcer etiology, atoms and
molecules as discrete particles and others.
This
talk will also consider when an “appeal to authority” is logically
appropriate and the elements which make a theory plausible. When
high school students ask why they need to study chemistry, physics, and
biology when they have no intention of becoming scientists, engineers,
or doctors, we need to remind them that they will be citizens and
voters and thus making critical science-related decisions and will need
the tools to be independent thinkers.
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4-11-2023 Assisted Suicide: Ethical and Legal Conundrms
Bryan Rigg, Ph.D.
Dr.
Rigg will use his personal experience in aiding a teacher, friend, and
adopted father in his quest to end his life humanely. He will examine
the various conflicting requirements and difficulties in obtaining
assisted suicide in various states and in Europe. He will detail the
final steps for his success in Switzerland.
This
was a great meeting and a great discussion, but due to some new things
we were trying and confusion dealing with set ups, we failed to record
the meeting. Sorry for the inconvenience. Pleaase
join us in person for our next meeting on Tuesday, April 25.
Then you won't miss anything.
4-25/2023 The Ethics of Lying
David Pruessner, J.D., LLM
Most of the great
philosophers extoll the virtues of honesty.
Yet, in daily life, we condone concealing the truth-and even deliberate
lying. We promote lying in warfare, sports, litigation, parenting, and law
enforcement. Lying is part of every
citizen’s freedom of speech. We believe
that we lie in order to serve some “greater good.” Come hear attorney David Pruessner lie about
this intriguing topic.
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5-9-2023 Language and Philosophy
Dr. Sally Parker-Ryan, Ph.D., University of Arlington
Linguistic philosophy is both a metaphilosophical
perspective, and a method of doing philosophy. Very roughly, it views most traditional
philosophical problems as problems about language, rather than problems about phenomena or our knowledge of
them. Since it views philosophical problems – or at least, many of them – as linguistic
problems, it follows that any attempt to resolve them ought to be approached via the investigation of language.
In this talk, I will trace the history of this view to the early twentieth century; mainly to philosophy
done in Britain, but also in Vienna. I will examine the central arguments and connect them with some
philosophical work being done today.
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