What we’re about
We're a community that practices and discusses philosophy, being free and open to all levels and backgrounds. We offer seminars, a variety of discussion formats, and the occasional lecture / guest speaker.
Many meetings will have fewer RSVPs than people who actually attend. This is because overtime people stop making use of Meetup.com and instead communicate with their groups via Discord, Slack, Zoom, E-mail, or similar You can think of the list of events hosted on this Meetup as advertisements for groups seeking new participants.
Our philosophy offerings are organized and facilitated by volunteers. If you have a philosophy offering - or an offering that compliments the study of philosophy, such as in literature, the sciences, and so on - that you'd like to advertise through this Meetup, please contact the organizer. We're grateful to those who want to enrich Seattle with study and discussion!
Participants must speak, write, and act in a considerate, professional, and respectful manner, and be prepared for the meetings that they attend, having reviewed the materials to the degree necessary to participate. If you haven't reviewed the materials but still wish to attend an event, please consult the event facilitator regarding the best manner for you to be present.
We look forward to studying philosophy together!
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- The Destiny of Western Faustian Culture: Oswald SpenglerLink visible for attendees
SEA OF FAITH IN AUSTRALIA (SoFiA) - Melbourne.
Some of us are participating in SoFiA's online event.
Mettalia Tanjaya will present the topic and lead the discussion.
"Oswald Spengler and the Destiny of Western Faustian Culture".Wikipedia's entry on Oswald Spengler
The ZOOM link will appear on this page for those who RSVP.
Meeting ID: 818 6903 0609 - - Passcode: 902271PLEASE NOTE: Due to Daylight Saving, this event now commences at 9pm Friday in Seattle. (Which is 2pm Saturday in Melbourne, Australia).
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.
- Existentialism and psychoanalysis: Deleuze & Guattari on desiring machinesLink visible for attendees
We continue with selections from Deleuze and Guattari's Anti-Oedipus on desiring machines and schizoanalysis (see below for schedule).
Please take the time to read and reflect on the text, as this is required to participate in the discussion. Find the PDF titled "Anti-Oedipus Capitalism and Schizophrenia" in the Google Drive folder linked at the bottom of this description 👇 (scroll all the way down for the link).
Upcoming readings:
Apr 13: Deleuze & Parnet's critique of psychoanalysis (pp. 77-103)
Apr 20: Deleuze & Parnet on regimes of signs (pp. 103-23)
Apr 27: Deleuze & Guattari on desiring machines (Preface & pp. 1-22)
May 4: Deleuze & Guattari on desiring machines (pp. 22-50)
May 11: Deleuze & Guattari on schizoanalysisSee this link for the full reading list: https://bit.ly/eksistence
Join the Facebook group for more resources and discussion:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/755460079505498
If you have attended previous meetings, please fill out a brief survey at this link: https://forms.gle/tEMJ4tw2yVgnTsQD6ABOUT THE TEXT
Next we take a deep dive into D&G’s notion of desiring machines. Beginning with the axiom of affirmative desire, “everything is production” (p. 4), the text traces the chain of desiring production through three complex syntheses: production, recording and consumption. The synthesis of production gives us simple desiring connections, such as the mouth-breast dyad, that are the basic building blocks of libidinal assemblages. The second synthesis enacts a recording of production upon the smooth surface of the body without organs. This synthesis introduces disjunctions between separate desiring machines, delineating the opposition between a broader machine of attraction (miraculating) and a repulsion-machine (paranoiac). The third synthesis of conjunction produces a celibate machine in which the previous two reach a kind of reconciliation. Whereas disjunction introduces a divine dimension (Numen) to the plane of immanence, conjunction produces the jouissance of Voluptas and with it a decentred subject of enjoyment.D&G’s text pursues a thoroughly anti-idealist mode of being and expression, which accounts in part for its difficulty. The result is an immanent, materialist logic of desire in which traditional distinctions of nature/culture, body/mind, animal/human are foreclosed in order to arrive “as close as possible to matter, to a burning, living center of matter” (p. 19). A fundamental thesis of the book is the non-dualism of desire and production, such that political economy (Marx) emerges as immediately libidinal in character (Freud). D&G conceive of desire as inherently affirmative, productive and creative, leading to their often-repeated attack on lack and castration. To anyone familiar with Hegel’s dialectic (thesis-antithesis-synthesis), D&G’s triad of syntheses will seem oddly familiar. Yet the Hegelian Aufhebung, with its double negation and resulting Absolute Idealism, remains the arch-enemy. Anti-Oedipus can be read as a thoroughly materialist writing of the movement of becoming, jettisoning negativity, lack and the Hegelian Absolute Idea in favour of particles, fluxes and intensities of desire assembling upon a plane of immanence -- a movement best exemplified by the figure of the roaming schizophrenic.
Some questions to consider:
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How does D&G’s attempt to combine Marx with psychoanalysis compare with other similar attempts, those of the Frankfurt School and Marcuse for example?
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What exactly is the production of recording in the 2nd synthesis? What is the body without organs on which it is performed? How to understand the Numen and the opposition between the miraculating and the paranoid machines?
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From the 3rd synthesis it is clear that D&G are developing a genealogy of the subject (as decentred, split, etc). How does their account of subjectivity differ from that of Kristeva? What about that of Lacan?
GROUP RULES & PROCESS
Everyone is welcome, but speaking priority will be given to people who have done the reading.- I suggest spending 1-2 hours per week reading and preparing for the discussion.
- Virtual meeting courtesy applies: let's not interrupt each other and keep mics muted when not speaking.
- Keep comments concise and on topic.
- We'll focus the discussion with key passages and discussion questions.
- Bring your questions, comments, favorite passages, criticisms, etc to the meeting.
All readings can be found in this Google folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1VPRdvZYmUKBY3cSxD8xC8sTYtSEKBXDs
Art: Dispersed Objects with Brass Gong (1948) by Alexander Calder
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