Atlanta Philosophical Societ on Death

Technotranscendence (neptune@mars.superlink.net)
Thu, 2 Dec 1999 18:06:29 -0800

Note how the Atlanta Philosophical Society does not consider alternatives to dying and death. Maybe some on this list might attend or write to Johnson regarding this??? It's one way to bring our ideas into the debate.

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