Past list view

We have been invited to join the Apotheosis Book Club for a discussion Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus. So, read the essay and come out and enjoy some thoughtful discussion with friendly people. Please RSVP if you plan to attend, but since there are limited spots don't RSVP yes if you are not going to show up.
Thanks, Todd

What is life?
What is it to be human?
What is the "I" that lies behind our eyes?
What is the relationship between humanity and technology?

While these timeless questions may seem difficult to approach, we are going to examine them through the eyes of a recent philosophical movement called Transhumanism. While transhumanism's broad scope exceeds the bounds of a short presentation, we may at least consider some of the philosophical assumptions held by its proponents, such as Ray Kurzweil. Kurzweil, an inventor and author known for the accuracy of some remarkable predictions about technology, and others believe that technology and humanity will become increasingly intertwined, resulting in a fundamental shift in our conceptions and definitions regarding humanity.

We will also consider what concepts such as "Complexity" and "Emergence" have to say about human consciousness. We will consider the approach of cognitive/computer scientist Douglas Hofstadter and philosopher Daniel Dennett and examine the advantages and disadvantages to a variety of approaches to defining "humanity."

Finally, we will examine the concept of intelligence and discuss the future of A.I. (artificial intelligence). The presentation will be brief and as non-technical as possible in order to provide time for discussion.

Will Langley (one of our members) will be bringing us this topic. Bring a friend if you like and come discuss with us over dinner!

A donation of $1 per person is requested to cover Meetup fees.

PARKING DIRECTIONS:
You can park on the Eastbound side of Hillsborough street, or you can also park in the parking lot indicated on the Porter's Website, http://porterstavern.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=66&Itemid=3

Lets congregate and learn from each other! We will discuss how death anxiety affects the way we live.
We will be showing the documentary, Flight From Death: The Quest for Immortality starting promptly at 6:45, so if we could try to have our food ordered by then, that would cut down on the distractions, but come whenever you can.
PLEASE BE WARNED that this video contains some graphic images of death, so some will prefer not to eat dinner while watching it. If this is you, you are still welcome to eat beforehand, or watch the movie beforehand and eat in the main dining area, or just come for the discussion and a drink when the film ends at 8:10.
Flight From Death has won 7 best documentary awards. Narrated by Gabriel Byrne, it follows the work of the late Ernest Becker and his Pulitzer Prize-winning book "Denial of Death."

We ask for a suggested donation of $1 per person to cover Meetup fees
Thanks, Todd

PARKING DIRECTIONS:
You can park on the Eastbound side of Hillsborough street, or you can also park in the parking lot indicated on the Porter's Website

With the Holiday Season quickly approaching, many will be thinking about giving...from taking on the role of Santa to spending a day at a shelter serving food, or just setting aside time to visit those who need it most. Almost no one would argue that it is bad to do these things, but why do we really do them? Is it to ease our conscience? Do we have pure motives? And does it even matter what motives we have, or is it only our actions that matter?

Amber Smith, President of ME3 will be presenting her work promoting volunteering in our community, and we will be discussing the philosophy of altruism. We will address questions such as, Does pure altruism really exist? If not, does this detract from the value of good works? Is volunteering ever amoral? And, is community service a proper form of punishment?
Come on out and enjoy with us...it might ease your conscience!

PARKING DIRECTIONS:
You can park on the Eastbound side of Hillsborough street, or you can also park in the parking lot indicated on this page:
http://www.porterstav....

John Castelloe will lead a discussion of Buddhist philosophy as it applies to contemporary cultural and personal issues such as morality, pursuit of happiness, victimhood, forgiveness, anger, guilt, punishment, and altruism.

For example, Buddhism asserts that morality IS the pursuit of happiness, whereas we traditionally think of the two as opposing forces. Forgiveness in Buddhism has nothing to do with condoning actions and is primarily for the "victim," not the "perpetrator" (if indeed there is any distinction between the two). Individual experience trumps authority, tradition, and scripture. Anger and guilt are never productive in the long run, and even when we think they are (when we often call them something like "catalyst for change") it's only because they're woven tightly with a positive emotion like compassion. Rather than express or supress anger, we can digest it. Capital punishment almost certainly makes us all less safe. We tend to believe that happiness is when our desire gets what it wants, but in the long term happiness occurs when we let go of desire.

Many of these differences result from the contrast between the predominantly long-term view of Buddhist philosophy and the Western obsession with instant gratification. Since views on reincarnation are a big part of this contrast, we'll discuss why Western culture treats reincarnation with such pessism and even ridicule, and why other cultures have more confidence in it.

That said, I (John C) want to announce up-front that I have no intention of delivering a pompous "why East kicks West's ass" sort of message. Any favoritism expressed here is merely my enthusiasm for Buddhist philsophy shining through, nothing more.

If you feel so inclined, spend some time before the meetup contemplating your own answers to questions like these:

- Is there a relationship between morality and the pursuit of happiness?

- Define the terms "victim" and "perpetrator." Are there certain rights that should be awarded to victims or denied for perpetrators? Are we justified in thinking of victims as "more deserving" than perpetrators?

- What exactly is forgiveness? Does it involve condoning of actions? Whom is it meant to benefit?

- Which of these should trump the others: individual experience, cultural norms/mores, authority, tradition.

- Can anger or guilt be productive in the long run?

- What is the best thing to do with anger?

- What is the effect of capital punishment on our safety?

- What is the definition of happiness?

- Is it better to think of yourself as more important than others, less important, or equally important?

- Is it better to take care of yourself first or take care of others first (in terms of basic needs)?

This event is co-hosted by Triangle Buddhism Meetup Group. To see who else will be attending, you can check their event page at http://buddhism.meetup.com/525/calendar/8747684/ .