(Faux) Philosophical Short Stories

***Many apologies. I should have tripled checked my calendar. Note the change to April 13th.***

Hello fellow Faux/Philosophers,

Thanks to all for last week’s meetup. As always, I was pleasantly surprised by the different connections that emerged between the essays, along with interesting contrasts.

I am happy to announce our next meetup and the plan to try something a little different. Rather than reading noteworthy essays that have endured over time, I have selected some ‘classic’ short stories that are recognized for their exploration of profound questions. These are relatively shorter pieces in comparison to the essays we have been reading, perhaps somewhat easier to read in one sitting.

The first story is by Dan Dennett, who we will recognize from ‘Darwin’s Dangerous Idea’ and the most recent meetup. ‘Where Am I?’ (https://www.lehigh.edu/~mhb0/Dennett-WhereAmI.pdf) is Dennett’s first person story of a mission to retrieve a radioactive device lodged deep underground in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dennett conducts a thought experiment that examines some profound questions, and I hope will be thought-provoking.

The second item is "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin (https://shsdavisapes.pbworks.com/f/Omelas.pdf). While quite short, it has received favorable comparisons to other notable literary works, and touches on different philosophical themes.

Our meetup will be on April 13th, 10 am, at The Common.