What we’re about
The Existentialist Society is for those who question whether life has a meaning and a purpose. And for those who despairingly ponder whether one can live without self-deception or without hedonistic escapism. Yet who, despite the anguish of life's futility and meaninglessness, still seek purpose and an authentic existence.
The Existentialist Society is for those who are fascinated by the ideas of Simone de Beauvoir, Nicholas Berdyaev, Martin Buber, Rudolph Bultmann, Albert Camus, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Viktor Frankl, Martin Heidegger, Karl Jaspers, Franz Kafka, Nikos Kazantzakis, Soren Kierkegaard, R.D. Laing, Gabriel Marcel, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, Max Stirner, Paul Tillich, Colin Wilson, etc.
'Existentialism' is an umbrella term covering diverse and often conflicting schools of thought. Consequently we are not agreed on who or what is an Existentialist; we simply agree to disagree.
Inspired by the Student Revolt of the late Sixties, the Existentialist Society commenced in 1971.
LECTURES take place at 2pm on the first Saturday of the month.
All are welcome. Participation is free.
NOTE: Due to the pandemic, our physical in-person Meetups and lectures were cancelled. All the lectures are now online via Zoom. This enables participation by those interstate and overseas.
Following our monthly lecture, during the extended question and discussion period, additional comments are encouraged from those of our participants who might have more knowledge than the speaker on particular aspects of the topic, as well as from those who have an alternative viewpoint.
Sometimes our lecture topics have no direct bearing upon Existentialism. The speakers on such topics may or may not be conversant with Existentialism.
The Existentialist Society has no formal membership, so there is no membership fee.
See the Existentialist Society website for future lectures, past transcripts and videos etc: www.existentialistmelbourne.org
Facebook: Please feel free to comment on the lectures: - www.facebook.com/Existentialist-Society-866984573402226/
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- When and why was the Bible written?Link visible for attendees
EXISTENTIALIST MEETUP - Melbourne, Australia.
Our monthly online Meetup presentation on the History of Religion.
The presentations are followed by questions, comments and discussion.
All viewpoints welcome.Early Religion: An Alternative History
What do the historians and archaeologists think of the veracity of religious legends? Legends are an amalgamation of history and mythology. But how much of each?"WHEN AND WHY WAS THE BIBLE WRITTEN?"
Could the rude shock of the unexpected withdrawal by the Assyrian Empire from the Levant in the 7th century BC, and their handing over of control to the Egyptians, have catapulted the Judeans into commencing to cobble together their sacred legends, oral and written, in order to get on the right side of their God, Yahweh?
The events leading up to the eventual conquest of the Assyrian Empire by the Medes and Babylonians in 609 BC, were the backdrop to the collecting, writing and re-writing of the early legends of the Old Testament by the Judeans.
We will be looking at the influence of these momentous events on the construction of the Bible as presented in the book: "The Bible Unearthed" by Israel Finkelstein, Professor of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University and his historian colleague, Neil Asher Silberman. YouTube Audiopedia summary of their book.
A relevant Biblical enigma is why the Judean King, Manasseh (698 BC to 642 BC) gets condemned so harshly in 2 Kings, yet in 2 Chronicles (written two to three hundred years later) he is surprisingly rehabilitated into becoming one of the Bible's few righteous Kings.
David Miller will present the topic and lead the discussion.
Relevant Emperors, Pharaohs and Kings (to google, if you wish):
Ashurbanipal, Neo-Assyrian Emperor.
Psamtik I and Necho II, Pharaohs of the 26th Dynasty of Egypt.
Manasseh and Josiah, Kings of Judah.The Zoom link will appear for those who RSVP.
Meeting ID: 892 3776 1846 - - Passcode: 107832Existentialist Society's Website - - - YouTube - - - Facebook
- The Universal and Enduring Value of Religion.Link visible for attendees
SEA OF FAITH IN AUSTRALIA (SoFiA) - Melbourne.
Some of us are participating in SoFiA's online event.
Dr. Paul Tonson will present the topic and lead the discussion.
"Some of us coming from a religious background are very open to serious discourse with the secular mind. This discourse is taking place in the circle of Sea of Faith in Australia. Moreover there is a long historical consideration as to whether the word 'faith' should be dropped. Prior to this discourse I was already thinking a lot about the language of the word 'faith'.
A unique perspective offered by David Miller as an Atheist is that it takes Faith to be an Atheist. This tells me that the shared bottom line we have is something about acknowledging the unknown, perhaps meaning we live life making decisions and deciding values without having a totally rational or empirical evidential basis.
If this negative way of defining Faith, meaning to deny that empiricism or rationalism are sufficient, is adequate, then it is not necessary to say that faith means a belief in mysterious or in the numinous, let alone impose God talk on the discussion. In this case the word Faith may still have universal currency.
On a separate path, my way of thinking about faith has been to think of it as a stance towards life. This is certainly not contradictory to nor distinct from the above but goes a step further. For it places the idea of faith as an existential rather than intellectual matter. With this viewpoint Faith is a quality of the decisions we make to develop life in a certain way despite what we don't know. I believe this would be very consistent with what Kierkegaard offered in his amazing writings."
The ZOOM LINK will appear on this page for those who RSVP.
Meeting ID: 838 0210 9384 - - Passcode: 259034~ SoFiA promotes the open exploration of religion, spirituality and the search for meaning. They welcome ALL viewpoints, including Atheism.~
Facebook: 'Sofiatalk' - Please join their ongoing discussions.
- The Mystical and Apophatic Philosophy of Karl Jaspers.Link visible for attendees
EXISTENTIALIST SOCIETY - Melbourne, Australia.
An online presentation, followed by discussion. All viewpoints welcome.
Darius Samadian will present the topic and lead the discussion.
Darius will look at the approach of Karl Jaspers, one of the most overlooked philosophers of the so-called ‘existentialist’ tradition. He will examine Jaspers’ approach to the issue of Transcendence, which is at the same time for Jaspers the issue of the self. Indeed, for Jaspers, to truly know the self it is crucial that we must be related to Transcendence. This is expressed through his notion of the transcendent potentiality of humankind which he terms Existenz, which in some sense Jaspers says ‘knows no death’. It is this relationship, and therefore the transcendent potentiality of humankind, which Jaspers believes has been lost in modernity.
Darius will look at Jaspers’ ‘Philosophy of Existence’ in a unique way and examine it in relation to the mystical theories of Christian thinkers Meister Eckhart and Nicolaus Cusanus. He will address what Jaspers sees as the flawed way in which Transcendence, or God, has been viewed in Western philosophy and theology, and he will highlight the importance of freedom and reason in Jaspers’ work, and how he relates these concepts to finding a spiritual meaning in life.
The question is – does Jaspers provide us with a mystical philosophy for the modern era? Does he open up the possibility for an authentic relationship to Transcendence in the face of God’s death? The fundamental question Jaspers asks is, and which we all must ask ourselves is – Who am I?
The Zoom Link will eventually appear for those who RSVP.
Meeting ID: 836 8222 3922 - - Passcode: 115279Existentialist Society's Website - - - Youtube - - - Facebook
- Populist Religion: Football, Pub and TV.Link visible for attendees
AGNOSTICS GROUP - Melbourne, Australia.
Some of us are participating in their online event.
Dr. Thor May will introduce the topics and lead the discussions.
Thor May is the moderator of the Adelaide-based Facebook Group:
Active Thinkers: For and Against.~The Agnostics Group discusses the pros and cons of Agnosticism.
They welcome ALL viewpoints, including criticism of Agnosticism~Agnostics Group Facebook
The ZOOM Link will appear for those who RSVP.
Meeting ID: 835 7053 2193 - - Passcode: 117756
