"To philosophize, we may now say, is an extraordinary questioning into the extraordinary."

-- Martin Heidegger, 1935

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"The critique of scientism within phenomenology does not seek to refute or negate the results of scientific research in the name of some mystical apprehension of the unity of man and nature, or whatever. Rather, it simply insists that science does not provide the primary or most significant access to a sense of ourselves and the world. Anti-scientism does not at all entail an anti-scientific attitude [...] [W]hat is required here is what the young Heidegger called, in a much-overlooked but highly suggestive remark from _Being and Time_, "an existential conception of science". This would show how the practices of the natural sciences arise out of life-world practices, and that the life-world practices are not simply reducible to natural-scientific explanation."

-- Simon Critchley ("Continental Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction", p. 116, [Oxford, 2001])

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NYC Philosophical Reading is run in parallel with the NYC Film & Philosophy Meetup [http://www.meetup.com/cinephile ]. Where the latter is for more general discussion, this one is for focused readings & dialog around particular texts.

This group should be helpful to students, writers, artists, scientists, etc. looking to make a leap in their thinking. In fact, I'm organizing the group for stimulation to my own writing projects. You don't need to possess advanced knowledge of the subject-matter to participate, just bring an open mind and a commitment to wrestle with some challenging but rewarding material.

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