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Upcoming events (4+)
See all- The Biocentric Worldview - Ludwig Klages | Reading & DiscussionAce Hotel New York, New York, NY
Hi all -
Since February, I've been joining with a wonderful few of you (aristocrats of the soul, might we say) every other Sunday to dig and crawl through a spectrum of spiritually-grounded anti-modern woo-woo and wackadoo texts that have ranged from the radically protestant to the supra-fascist, spoken by folks bearing the mark of everything from the theosophist to the traditionalist, advocating the abolition of all things from the political party to the school system. I appreciate you all and am most impressed that no one ever knocked over my dainty glass of morning wine at our cramped table.
This reading of Ludwig Klages' The Biocentric Worldview will mark the end of the first phase of this reactionary reading series, allowing me (and you) to temporarily move on to Nietzsche at Night and the new 5-part Sunday series that I intend to start in late July, which will be focused on art theory and aesthetics. More on this to come.
Like many of our thinkers in this series, German philosopher and neo-vitalist Ludwig Klages is concerned with and highly critical of modernity, technology, and the ding-dong legacy of the Enlightenment, specifically the cold rationalism (conceived by him as Geist - something that divides and differentiates, reducing all experience to base representation - brrr) contra what he perceives as the necessary, experiential, life-affirming, generative, cosmic force - Eros - and its peak in the "noblest form of ecstasy," Eros of the distance. Bear in mind, I haven't read this shit yet but Paralibrum has a great write up on Klages and On Cosmogonic Eros for the similarly ignorant.
This text is stellar because it meanders through many of Klages' essays, giving us a broad overview of his system of thought and his fierce critique of the lack of quality in our modern world.
I will be reading this edition, published by Arktos and translated by Joseph D. Pryce.
It is also available for free via this EPUB here (link triggers a download).We will be reading the book in its entirety because that's what we do here.
My copy is 130ish pages. That said, if you omit the introduction and the poetry at the end (both of which are fine), it'll be around 100ish pages. As always, if you're unable to complete the book prior to our meeting, no worries - we're just happy to have you and welcome whatever insights, critiques, questions, etc., you may have based on what you were able to read.
We will be meeting in the Ace Hotel lobby on W 29th. It's cozy, there are couches, there is lunch, there is wine (thank god) and there is a Stumptown Coffee in the front. It's great. Message me the day of if you can't find us. I usually sit toward the back next to the bar.
It bears repeating, this group is open to newcomers to Klages (who isn't?), novices of philosophy, ragamuffins, ne'er-do-wells, urchins of all sorts, etc. I'll be providing additional resources as we approach the date of the meeting.
Alright, looking forward to it and reach out to me with any questions in the meantime.
- Plutarch Parallel Lives: DemetriusLink visible for attendees
Demetrius was a Macedonia Greek nobleman and military leader who became king of Asia between 306 and 301 BC, and king of Macedon between 294 and 288 BC.
In 307 BC, Demetrius successfully ousted Cassander's governor of Athens and after defeating Ptolemy I at the Battle of Salamis (306 BC) he gave his father the title of Basileus ("king") over a land spanning from the Aegean see to the Middle East (from Wiki)We will be referencing this reading
https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Demetrius*.htmlHowever any other version works as well.
This is a reading group in which we read from Plutarch's Parallel Lives about the virtues and faults of great leaders from ancient Greece and Rome. At the end of each life, we rate them for their leadership quality, virtues, entertaining reading, and legacy.
For our leader scoreboard, check out this Google doc:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1K66HPHPO_elctuHjCLAWnv5w_3HCY8YbxEK4SgCa_Gg/edit#gid=0For questions please send me a message or post to meetup.
Zita - Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind- Shunryu Suzuki (Book Discussion) -week 2Pier 57, New York, NY
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few." So begins this most beloved of all American Zen books. In the fifty years since its original publication, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind has become one of the great modern spiritual classics, much beloved, much reread, and much recommended as the best first book to read on Zen. Suzuki Roshi presents the basics--from the details of posture and breathing in zazen to the perception of nonduality--in a way that is not only remarkably clear, but that also resonates with the joy of insight from the first to the last page.
Join us to discuss this classic book over the course of 3-weeks!
Week 2 Sat 6/21 3-5pm
Reading for Week 2
Part 2 (roughly 30 pages)Physical copy available here
Free PDF available hereWe follow a mindful conversation approach, details on this along with a general FAQ on how we run the meetup can be found here.
Reading is required to participate in the discussion, but not required to attend.Can't wait discuss these ideas with all of you!
-Zach - Nietzsche at Night - A Twilight Reading of Twilight of the IdolsTalea Brewery, Kings County, NY
Hi folks!
In an effort to mix things up and start a separate series from the spiritual, traditionalist, reactionary one we've been navigating on Sundays, I figured it would be a fun exercise to drink a few coldies and dig through the oeuvre of der Antichrist himself, Friedrich Nietzsche. I don't reckon he needs an introduction, so moving along.
We'll be starting with his 1888 text Twilight of the Idols and reading the thing in its entirety. So, depending on your copy and translation, it should be around 100ish pages. It's nearly a month away - we got this.
I'll be reading the Penguin Classics edition, translated by R. J. Hollingdale, available here.
It's also available here as a free PDF.
Depending on how this initial group goes, Nietzsche's The Anti-Christ will be the second reading in this series, so we'll be able to use the same copy for both meet-ups.As always, if you're unable to complete the book prior to our meeting, no worries - we're just happy to have you and welcome whatever insights, critiques, questions, etc., you may have based on what you were able to read.
We will be meeting at TALEA Beer Co.'s Taproom in Williamsburg (87 Richardson Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211 - next to McCarren Park). This will be my first event here but there are plenty of picnic-style tables that should work well for our purposes. I'll let everyone know where to find us on the day of the discussion.
As always, this group is open to newcomers to Nietzsche, novices of philosophy, ragamuffins, ne'er-do-wells, urchins of all sorts, etc. However, given that this is at a brewery, it must be said - be cool and respectful. Please and thanks.
Alright, looking forward to it and reach out to me with any questions in the meantime.
See y'all then!
