What we’re about
This group is for anyone interested in exploring literature, philosophy, and cinema through occasional film viewings and reading discussions that will be centered around classic and contemporary works of (primarily) Western Philosophy, Fiction, and Cinema. We will not only look at the traditional cast of existential characters (Sartre, de Beauvoir, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, Camus, Kafka), but will also be very open to other work within the European philosophical tradition that is derivative of, influential to, or critical towards "existential" philosophy. Special consideration will also be given to works within the "phenomenological" tradition. Join us in this exciting intellectual endeavor! Get ready for fun, riveting, and thoughtful discussions about society, values, faith, spirituality, truth, experience, subjectivity, and existence (of course).
Join us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ExistentialismPhenomenologyLiterature/
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- The Century of the Self, Episode ThreeUniversity of Houston-Downtown (UHD), Houston, TX
Join us at UHD for a film screening and discussion! Event will be located in Room A630 of the Academic Building (you can access the Academic Building from the 3rd and 6th floors of the One Main Building).
This will be the third installment of our "Mass Media & Philosophy" series. We will watch the third episode of Adam Curtis' 2002 documentary series The Century of the Self. The film screening will be followed by a Q&A/discussion led by Adjunct Philosophy Professor, Travis Ross.
Below is a brief description of the documentary (we will be watching and discussing Episode Three: "There Is A Policeman Inside All Our Heads; He Must Be Destroyed"):
"To many in politics and business, the triumph of the self is the ultimate expression of democracy, where power has finally moved to the people. Certainly, the people may feel they are in charge, but are they really? The Century of the Self tells the untold and sometimes controversial story of the growth of the mass-consumer society. How was the all-consuming self created, by whom, and in whose interests?"
"Along these lines, The Century of the Self asks deeper questions about the roots and methods of consumerism and commodification and their implications. It also questions the modern way people see themselves, the attitudes to fashion, and superficiality.
The business and political worlds use psychological techniques to read, create and fulfill the desires of the public, and to make their products and speeches as pleasing as possible to consumers and voters. Curtis questions the intentions and origins of this relatively new approach to engaging the public."
For those of you who missed previous meetings, and are interested in watching earlier episodes in the series, here are links to the series on YouTube:
- The Century of the Self, Episode FourUniversity of Houston-Downtown (UHD), Houston, TX
Join us at UHD for a film screening and discussion! Event will be located in Room A630 of the Academic Building (you can access the Academic Building from the 3rd and 6th floors of the One Main Building).
This will be the fourth installment of our "Mass Media & Philosophy" series. We will watch the fourth episode of Adam Curtis' 2002 documentary series The Century of the Self. The film screening will be followed by a Q&A/discussion led by Adjunct Philosophy Professor, Travis Ross.
Below is a brief description of the documentary (we will be watching and discussing Episode Four: "Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering"):
"To many in politics and business, the triumph of the self is the ultimate expression of democracy, where power has finally moved to the people. Certainly, the people may feel they are in charge, but are they really? The Century of the Self tells the untold and sometimes controversial story of the growth of the mass-consumer society. How was the all-consuming self created, by whom, and in whose interests?"
"Along these lines, The Century of the Self asks deeper questions about the roots and methods of consumerism and commodification and their implications. It also questions the modern way people see themselves, the attitudes to fashion, and superficiality.
The business and political worlds use psychological techniques to read, create and fulfill the desires of the public, and to make their products and speeches as pleasing as possible to consumers and voters. Curtis questions the intentions and origins of this relatively new approach to engaging the public."
For those of you who missed previous meetings, and are interested in watching earlier episodes in the series, here are links to the series on YouTube:
Episode One: Happiness Machines
Episode Two: The Engineering of Consent
Episode Three: There is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads; He Must Be Destroyed
- Jean-Paul Sartre, "Existentialism is a Humanism"Axelrad Beer Garden, Houston, TX
For this month's reading discussion, we will cover Sartre's most widely-read philosophical work: "Existentialism is a Humanism" (a transcript of his 1945 lecture).
We will be seated outside on the upstairs deck.
Below is a link to the reading followed by a brief description of the work:
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD READING
"It was to correct common misconceptions about his thought that Jean-Paul Sartre, the most dominant European intellectual of the post-World War II decades, accepted an invitation to speak on October 29, 1945, at the Club Maintenant in Paris. The unstated objective of his lecture (“Existentialism Is a Humanism”) was to expound his philosophy as a form of “existentialism,” a term much bandied about at the time. Sartre asserted that existentialism was essentially a doctrine for philosophers, though, ironically, he was about to make it accessible to a general audience. The published text of his lecture quickly became one of the bibles of existentialism and made Sartre an international celebrity.
The idea of freedom occupies the center of Sartre’s doctrine. Man, born into an empty, godless universe, is nothing to begin with. He creates his essence—his self, his being—through the choices he freely makes (“existence precedes essence”). Were it not for the contingency of his death, he would never end. Choosing to be this or that is to affirm the value of what we choose. In choosing, therefore, we commit not only ourselves but all of mankind."
