Meaning of Life Part 2 - Lucretius on Accepting Reality (Live reading)

"When the sea’s mighty waters are being lashed by the wind, how sweet it is to stand on the shore and watch someone else struggling. Not that one takes pleasure at the afflictions of another - but it is pleasant to realize what troubles you are free from yourself."

In our second meeting we will look at De Rerum Natura by the Epicurean poet and philosopher Lucretius, in particular the extract from Cottingham's Anthology. You can find the anthology here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-vWWFMb6io1aLfep7Vf0Ph0ymIeZ2wEk/view?usp=sharing

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We all seek meaning in our lives and dread futility. Philosophy doesn't provide facile answers, but the philosophical quest to make sense of our fleeting lives is one that we all share.

This group will explore possible answers by looking at a mixture of big names of philosophy next to often underrated philosophers: Kierkergaard, Schopenhauer, and Sartre but also Lucretius, Gabriel Marcel and Berdyaev.

The organizer is not an expert in any of these philosophers but has a long experience in organizing similar meetings. He also has an Oxford PhD in European History as well as a Cambridge MPhil on the same discipline. He currently teaches foreign languages.

Meetings will be on Fridays at 15:00 ET (except the first meeting - this will be on Wed July 20 at 15:00 ET)