This series presents several widely-accepted answers to the question “What is the meaning – or nature - of life?." The answers we will present and discuss are taken from a wide range of classical and modern traditions. Taken together, these traditions have a global reach dating from about 500 BCE to the present day.
The series will present and discuss the following “classical” wisdom texts and traditions: Bhagavad-Gita, Aristotle, The Book of Job, Stoicism, Epicureanism, Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism. The classical texts come from the “axial age,” – around 500 BCE – the period of time during which humanity laid the spiritual foundations upon which it still relies today.
The series will also present and discuss several “modern” insights into the “meaning of life,” from David Hume, Emanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, Tolstoy, Nietzsche, Gandhi, Lame Deer and the Dalai Lama. As with the review of the classical text, the review of the modern period is not comprehensive, but gives an excellent overview. – In this context, “modern”: refers to texts written during or after the Scientific Revolution and Age of Enlightenment in Europe, which prioritized knowledge derived from observation and reason.
The series will be based on a video lecture course presented by Prof. Jay Garfield, currently Professor at Harvard Divinity School and at Smith College in the USA. Prof. Garfield also holds professorial appointments at University of Melbourne (Australia) and the Central University of Tibetan Studies (Varanasi, India).
In his lectures, Prof. Garfield’s wants to foster our appreciation for the diversity of approaches to the meaning of life – not to endorse any one approach. Prof. Garfield prepared these lectures for “beginners:” i.e., people who may not be well-versed in any of the world’s wisdom traditions – or are acquainted with only one (e.g., Christianity) – and who are interested in learning about the wealth of insights embodied in the world’s wisdom traditions.
At the same time, Prof. Garfield’s lectures contain enough carefully selected “key” texts – along with Prof. Garfield’s interpretations of them – that the series is rewarding for people who have already dedicated years to this topic. Finally, Prof. Garfield’s lectures are framed to invite all participants to focus on the significance of these traditions and insights for their own lives - as opposed to merely academic observations.
In all, thirty-six 30-minute video lectures will be presented and discussed during the series – twenty-two on classical traditions and fourteen on modern insights and attitudes. One or two of Prof. Garfield’s lectures will be presented during each of our two-hour sessions, so there will be ample time for discussion.
Each of Prof. Garfield’s lectures is largely self-contained, so that participants in this series can benefit from attending sessions even if they have not attended the first or every session of this series.
Detailed Description of Contents
Set forth below is the list of the texts that will be covered in this series.
Classical Wisdom Traditions
- Bhadavad-Gita.
- Greek Philosophy.
- A Jewish Account.
- Confucianism and Daoism.
- Mahayana Buddhism.
Modern Reflections on Human Life
- Hume, Kant and Mill.
- Tolstoi and Nietzsche.
- Ghandi.
- Lame Deer and The 14th Dalai Lama.
Conclusion.
