Philosophers, we know, wrestle with “the big questions” about the meaning of life and being. In times of high unrest, those questions can take a sharply political turn: What does “resistance” mean and — in any moment — what does it require? How do some people find strength and strategies to counter an ideology, a regime or political-social tumult? Is it better to try to neutralize, rather than escalate, violent conflict? These dilemmas confronted thoughtful people headlong in 1930s Europe, and a network of philosophers sought ways to resist in their own terribly present and particular historical moment. Walter Benjamin, Hannah Arendt, Simone Weil, and Jean Améry explored this topic by necessity, not by chance, when their era forced them to decide if justice demanded active resistance. How does the existential context shape a resister’s actions? Join us for a down-to-earth discussion about their philosophical disagreements...and perhaps our own. Are there any questions today more pertinent than these?
Benjamin Berger is visiting assistant professor and the director of the Philosophy Program in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Hartford. He writes about and teaches the history of philosophy and its contemporary relevance. Some of his publications include Schelling, Hegel, and the Philosophy of Nature: From Matter to Spirit (Routledge, 2024), The Schelling Reader (Bloomsbury, 2021), and The Schelling–Eschenmayer Controversy, 1801: Nature and Identity (Edinburgh University Press, 2020).
Mondays, March 30, April 6, 13 | 2 p.m.–3:30 p.m. | KF Room/Harrison Libraries | $60
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