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- The Queen Mother and the Persian Empire's Trinity.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?"THE QUEEN MOTHER AND THE PERSIAN EMPIRE'S TRINITY"
The Persian Empire (549-330 BC) had swallowed Babylon (539 BC) and Egypt (525 BC). The culture and religions of those ancient civilisations influenced the Empire.
Consequently, during the reign of Artaxerxes II (404-358 BC) major changes occurred in the Empire's Zoroastrian religion -
Temple-worship commenced, and a Trinity was formed:
The Holy Family - Mazda the Father, Anahita the Mother and Mithra the Son.Were those changes provoked by the Queen Mother, Parysatis, who worshipped the Babylonian Goddess, Ishtar?
And what about the Zurvanite 'heresy'? Zurvan (Time, Infinity, Eternity) has similarities with the Hindu concept of Brahma (Father of the gods; a god beyond the gods).
We will be looking at A History of Zoroastrianism Vol.2 by Mary Boyce,
Emeritus Professor of Iranian Studies, University of London.David Miller will present the topic and lead the discussion.
Background information for those interested:
Wikipedia's entry on Artaxerxes II(A question we will deal with at a future date: - Was it the Egyptian or the Persian Trinity which influenced Christianity? Or both? And if so, why did the Christians neuter the Holy Mother into becoming the male Holy Ghost/Spirit?)
The Zoom link will eventually appear for those who RSVP.
Meeting ID: 810 7493 7019 - - Passcode: 269351Existentialist Society's Website - - - YouTube - - - Facebook
- The Final Cut: The Truth About Circumcision.Link visible for attendees
SEA OF FAITH IN AUSTRALIA (SoFiA) - Melbourne.
Some of us are participating in SoFiA's online event.
Jonathan Meddings will present the topic and lead the discussion.
The Final Cut: The Truth About Circumcision:
Jonathan will explain the harm of male circumcision, and attempt to debunk all of the health, social, aesthetic, legal, religious and moral arguments used to support it.The ZOOM LINK will appear on this page for those who RSVP.
Meeting ID: 896 4398 0508 - - Passcode: 597479~ 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.
- Fernando Pessoa: Portuguese Litterateur.Link visible for attendees
EXISTENTIALIST SOCIETY - Melbourne, Australia.
An online presentation, followed by discussion. All viewpoints welcome.
Dr. Desmonda Lawrence will present the topic and lead the discussion.
Wikipedia on Fernando Pessoa
The Zoom link will appear for those who RSVP.
Meeting ID: 894 2860 3351 - - Passcode: 582804Existentialist Society's Website - - - Youtube - - - Facebook
- The Consciousness of Bees.Link visible for attendees
AGNOSTICS GROUP - Melbourne, Australia.
Some of us are participating in their online event.
Robert Bender will present the topic and lead the discussion.
Robert will be looking at "The Mind of a Bee" by Lars Chittka.
~ Lars Chittka’s The Mind of a Bee is about many decades of research into the calibre of bee brains and what their capabilities are.
He reports many fascinating experiments that show bees, with a lifespan of a mere 3 weeks, are great learners, some are smarter than others. So there is an IOQ range just like ours, there are more or less competent bees at various tasks, partly due to some being faster learners.
They have personality differences, and quite possibly emotional lives and consciousness. So the traditional attitude that humans are smart and all different, whereas insects are all clones and stupid and their behaviour all hard-wired by their genes, is shown to be nonsense.
It should change out attitude towards invertebrates to one of far greater respect for their mental capacities and far less snootiness about our mental superiority ~~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: 812 2230 3354 - - Passcode: 399611
