A Pluralistic Universe

Friday, October 29, 2010

Getting started...

Welcome, good friends! So, since Rachel is already a huge fan of Kierkegaard, and Mike and I were both too combative with him our first time around, we're going to read Works of Love, by Søren Kierkegaard. (Man, somebody is going to have to show me how to type that "ø" so I don't have to keep copying and pasting off of the Kierkegaard wikipedia page.)

Since I want this to be a very relaxed, casual book club that doesn't add extra, undue stress to our already busy lives, and also because Kierkegaard's philosophy is really densely packed, I want to give our reading a very long-form approach. I want the pace to go nice and slow so we can really pick everything apart, so we all have time to contribute, and so we don't have to go at the ungodly rate through the material that university philosophy courses do.

So, I suggest we start with the preface and the first chapter ("Love's Hidden Life and Its Recognizability by Its Fruits"), and we'll mull over that until we are all good and ready to move on. On your marks, get set, read!

P.S. Feel free to start posting here as soon as you have something to say about what you're reading. You don't even have to be done with the chapter if you have something to say. :)

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Welcome friends...

I have tried to keep reading and writing philosophy since graduating college, but it has been a Sisyphusian effort without sounding boards. It would seem that, for me, philosophy requires people with which to discuss and argue the subject matter. Philosophy is social for me; doing it by myself seems kind of boring and intellectually masturbatory. So, I am enlisting the help of some of my favorite people whose acquaintance I was pleased to make during my philosophical escapades in college, to form a philosophy book club of awesomeness, the likes of which have... probably been seen before. But it's still awesome! Anyway, welcome to the discussion.

Terminology/Names Used

Søren Kierkegaard was a Danish Theologian and Philosopher who wrote several works between 1843 and 1855 on topics including (but not limited to) theology, epistemology, aesthetics, and faith. Regarded as the father of Existentialism. Most of his works (including his most well-known books "Either/Or" and "Fear and Trembling") were published pseudonymously, except for what some consider his magnum opus, "Works of Love."
Metaphysics: Much different from the colloquial definition of the word, metaphysics, in philosophy, is the philosophical discipline concerned with the fundamental nature of reality. It is one of the fundamental elements of philosophy, as almost anything said in other branches of philosophy ultimately makes assumptions about metaphysics. For the record: It has NOTHING to do with the astrology or mysticism you see in the "metaphysics" section of the bookstore or library..
Pluralism: School of metaphysical thought which holds that the whole of reality is made up of multiple entities (many realities).
LDS: Stands for "Latter-day Saint." Synonymous with "Mormon" or, in some cases, "Mormonism." It is the term that Mormons usually use to designate themselves.
Book of Mormon: A book of LDS scripture. Translated by Joseph Smith, records the history and doctrine of semitic groups who migrated to the Americas anciently.