What we’re about
In 2025, the History of Philosophy Book Club will continue to study both canonical Western texts as well as philosophy from other cultures. Since 2022 we have explored Hindu, Buddhist, Daoist, Arabic, and classical Chinese philosophy alongside the traditional Western canon. This is an opportunity for those who have read mostly within the Western tradition to learn and assess new and different ideas, and to see how they have influenced varied philosophical schools. The 2025 schedule can be found here.
NOTICE: If you would like to join the History of Philosophy Book Club, we're happy to have you! Please do take a few moments to give thoughtful answers to our registration questions -- expertise in philosophy is not required, but we'd sincerely like to know about you and your interests in philosophy! As our registration form notes, one-word or excessively brief answers to the questions, as well as snarky or scornful replies, will result in an automatic rejection. Additionally, because the group meets in person, membership is currently limited to the Washington, DC metro area. Thank you for your interest and consideration.
WHO WE ARE
Did you take a philosophy class in high school or college and wish you had taken more? Do you read philosophy texts independently but have no one to discuss them with? Then this group is for you.
Somewhat of a hybrid, it is a combination study group and book club. The backgrounds of our members vary: some have never taken a philosophy course and are essentially self-taught; others have doctorates in the field. Although the majority of writers have been European and American, we have read and are open to texts from other cultures, and starting in 2022 will be making an extra effort to study them. Representative philosophers have included Plato, Averroes, Confucius, Descartes, Spinoza, Kant, Sartre, Arendt, Rawls, Foucault, and Butler. We often read a single book by a single author, but if their output has been substantial we will consider an anthology or collection of shorter texts. At times we engage with debates between prominent philosophers, such as the Searle-Derrida debate about meaning and interpretation. We also sometimes discuss topics such as theories of metaphor or the philosophy of mathematics, or schools of philosophy such as pragmatism.
We started the group in 2010 with the classical period and finished in 2013 with twentieth century writers, then began the cycle in more depth in 2014 and wrapped up in December 2021, beginning the historical cycle again in January 2022.
Meetings are currently held at the West End Library in DC, located 2301 L St NW, Washington, DC 20037, near the Foggy Bottom-GWU metro station.
Tips in Preparing for Meetings
After you have finished the reading, ask yourself: (1) What are the philosopher’s principal ideas? (2) What arguments are used to support them, and are they strong or weak? (3) Who were the author’s major influences, and whom in turn did he/she influence? (4) What was the historical context in which the author wrote, and did this affect what was said? (5) Are the author’s works still relevant today and, if so, how?
To help in answering these questions, attendees are encouraged to consult the secondary resources posted in each announcement. Wikipedia, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy are especially useful.
Rules of Conduct at Meetings
Avoid monopolizing the conversation. If you've been speaking for several minutes, and sense others want to get in, relinquish the floor.
Stay on topic, and keep your remarks concise and to the point.
Challenging arguments and disputing facts are fine; personal attacks are not. Derogatory, prejudiced, or discriminatory remarks of any kind are grounds for ejection from the session and termination of membership.
If you have not read at least 50% of the recommended selections, consider skipping the meeting to allow other interested people to attend.
Those who violate the rules of conduct repeatedly will be dropped from the group at the discretion of the organizers.
Note:
To remain viable, groups depend on regular attendance. Toward this end, we ask that you only RSVP "Yes" if you know that you are likely to attend. If it turns out that you cannot make it to the meeting, we ask that you cancel your RSVP as soon as possible to make room for others.
Although everyone is welcome to use our resources, our targeted audience consists of people who live in the Maryland, DC, and Virginia area.
Upcoming events (2)
See all- The Mayan Popol Vuh: Sacred Book of the K'iche' PeopleWest End Neighborhood Library, Washington, DC
The Mayan civilization centered around the lowlands of modern-day southern Mexico and the countries of Guatemala, Belize and southern Honduras, a region generally known as the Mayan lowlands. Mayan civilization began to coalesce in this region by around 2500 BCE when the inhabitants of this region began a village way of life centered around maize agriculture. The first documented farming communities date from about 1200 BCE. Monumental sculpture and refined artworks were being constructed by 1100 BCE with large stone platforms being built by 800 BCE. The most massive architectural projects appear in the late preclassic period (400 BCE - 250 CE) with the lowland Maya. During the classic period (250 - 900 CE), the Maya realized its greatest achievement and maximum demographic expansion. There were hundreds of towns, cities and city-states built of finely cut stone and led by lords and lesser nobility. The larger cities amassed political and economic power through extortion and tribute. Although the city-states worshipped different patron gods, they all shared common assumptions on the creation of the world, the resurrection of the Maize God, and the underworld origin of humanity.
Mayan society was very literate, at least among the elite, with a sophisticated glyphic script and many thousands of books. Disaster came with the arrival of the Spanish missionaries who, with help of soldiers, zealously and thoroughly collected and burned the "pagan" books in their largely successful effort to Christianize the Mayans. The Popol Vuh, the Mayan book of the creation of the world, survived through the effort of a Spanish priest who created a side-by-side translation that currently resides in the Newbury Library at the University of Chicago. The Mayan culture exists to this day mostly in small mountain communities in Guatemala.
Reading
For our discussion, read the Popol Vuh translated by Dennis Tedlock. It is available as a free online download from Project Gutenberg. A paperbound copy may be purchased from online booksellers. The book is very well illustrated with the Mayan glyphs, photos and maps.Below are a few helpful links.
- Indigenous North American Philosophy and the Iroquois ConstitutionWest End Neighborhood Library, Washington, DC
For this month’s session, we will examine the spiritual beliefs and ritual observances of several Indigenous North American tribes located in the cultural and geographic area of the Eastern Woodlands. We will also look at the founding document—originally an oral constitution—of the Iroquois Confederacy.
Background
Before and during the colonial era, two of the most prominent language groups in the Eastern Woodlands were the Iroquoian and Algonquian. Iroquoian-speaking tribes included the Five Nations that comprised the Confederacy in the northeast, while another Iroquoian-speaking tribe, the Cherokee, was located in the southeast. Among Algonquian tribes were the Fox, Penobscot, Delaware, and Menominee, generally found along the Atlantic coast or the Great Lakes. A Siouan tribe, the Winnebago, also dwelled along the Great Lakes.
Formed by around 1450 CE or possibly earlier, the Iroquois Confederacy became a major political power in the northeast, wielding significant influence over both their Indigenous and colonial neighbors up until the era following the American Revolution. They called themselves the Haudenosaunee, or “People of the Long House.”
A notable aspect of the Haudenosaunee political system was the importance of roles accorded to women. In this matrilineal society, women headed families, chose representative chiefs who were men to the Council of nations, and owned the land and property of their maternal clan.
Involving features of (quasi) representative democracy alongside aristocratic or oligarchic elements, the Haudenosaunee system was a mixed government. The founding goal of the Confederacy was to cast peace over the land, though the Haudenosaunee were nevertheless redoubtable in war.
Beliefs
Eastern Woodlands tribes described in their stories a world enspirited by beings, human and non-human, that were capable of feats of magic and transformation. These animistic beliefs shaped a philosophy of thanksgiving that harkened back to the origin of the world, as well as gave rise to belief in control over the future, particularly in regard to how an individual might respond to dreams. To these beliefs the notion of “medicine” was central.
Another important concept we encounter is that of manitou, from an Algonquian word meaning “supernatural being, god, spirit,” and comparable to the Iroquoian orenda or animating spiritual power. Sometimes styled Great Manitou, this agency—or agencies—in the universe warranted ritual reverence on the parts of individuals and communities.
Readings
- The Great Law of Peace or Haudenosaunee Constitution, plus the founding legend that precedes it, at Internet Archive, book pages 14-60 (pp. 20-72 on the IA reader).
2. Selections from Native North American Spirituality of the Eastern Woodlands, ed. Tooker:
Intro, pp. 1-30; Ch. 1, pp. 31-68; Ch. 2, pp. 69-85, 89-100; Ch. 3, pp. 104-109, 119 (“Speech before the Fires”), 121-124 (“Final Speech” and “Purpose of the Big House Ceremony”); Ch. 5, pp. 144-157; Ch. 6, pp. 164-216; Ch. 8, pp. 268-281. 180 pages total.Physical copies of the Tooker book can be found at Amazon and other online sellers (Abe, Thrift, eBay).
An ebook can be purchased here.
The book can also be “borrowed” online by creating a free account at Internet Archive.
Optional:
- Cherokee myth of the Origin of Disease and Medicine
- Benjamin Franklin’s Remarks concerning the Savages of North America
Secondary resources
People of the Long House
The Great Law of Peace
Basic Premises of Seneca Myth and Seneca Gods, Spirits, Beings
Manitou
Orenda
Indigenous peoples of the Eastern Woodlands; see also Northeastern Woodlands
