ONLINE: “What did Emerson Say?”

This is the Saturday afternoon meeting for Socrates Cafe. It's online. We meet every 2 weeks on Saturday.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) was a philosopher and poet in the American Transcendentalist movement. He was one of the leading intellectuals in the United States in the 1800s and was once a Unitarian minister. His name is often mentioned in discussions of Unitarian history. Why then was Emerson’s 1838 Divinity School Address to a graduating class at Harvard so controversial? StoicDan will present the major points from Emerson's speech and how some the graduating students were influenced.

Emerson was influenced by the Stoics and other branches of philosophy, but this famous speech in 1838 included a healthy skepticism and criticism of the church at the time. We will compare these aspects to elements in society today. This StoicDan lecture was first presented 3
years ago.

MEETING FORMAT

The presentation will last about 10 minutes (recorded), and then an open discussion will follow (not recorded). You don't need to read any materials in advance.

READING MATERIAL

Emerson's Divinity School Address
https://emersoncentral.com/texts/nature-addresses-lectures/addresses/divinity-school-address/

TIMEZONES

Meeting time (USA):
3:00PM Eastern
2:00PM Central
1:00PM Mountain
Noon Pacific

For our international friends:
5:00PM São Paulo, Brazil
8:00PM London and Ireland
9:00PM Berlin
9:00PM Madrid
12:00AM Dubai
1:30AM Mumbai
1:45AM Kathmandu, Nepal
5:00AM Seoul, South Korea
7:00AM Sydney, Australia

ZOOM LINK

CLICK TO START MEETING - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83266410503

If you don't have a computer with camera, you can also dial using a phone. Pick one of these numbers and add ID 832 6641 0503#
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
+1 253 215 8782 US
+1 301 715 8592 US

Our group enjoys open-minded, respectful conversations on Philosophy and how it relates to science, culture, other belief systems, and even pop culture (books and movies). Sometimes "we agree to disagree", but the long-term goal is to improve our minds via group discussions.

This meeting is free and open to the public.