Philosophy

This is the first of several meetings on *Nature's God: The Heretical Origins of the American Republic*, by Matthew Stewart. For this meeting, please try to read the first three chapters (pages 1-129 in the paperback). **Where did the ideas come from that became the cornerstone of American democracy?** America’s founders intended to liberate us not just from one king but from the ghostly tyranny of supernatural religion. Drawing deeply on the study of European philosophy, Matthew Stewart brilliantly tracks the ancient, pagan, and continental ideas from which America’s revolutionaries drew their inspiration. In the writings of Spinoza, Lucretius, and other great philosophers, Stewart recovers the true meanings of “Nature’s God,” “the pursuit of happiness,” and the radical political theory with which the American experiment in self-government began. [LINK](https://a.co/d/bkTWJNb) I hope to see you there! Fred

Socrates Café are gatherings around the world where people from different backgrounds get together and exchange philosophical perspectives based on their experiences, using the Socratic Method of inquiry (asking and answering questions). Today, there are hundreds of such gatherings, coordinated by volunteers, worldwide. Though this may be considered a "philosophy" group, there are no rules as to what is discussed. Usually, the topics revolve around social concerns, morality, and the first principles of things. Please post any questions you would like the group to consider on the meetup event's page; in the comments section. Several days before the meetup I will post a link to a voting form in the comments section, and everyone can vote on their preferred questions. The questions with the highest and second highest number of votes will be discussed. Hope to see you there! -Brian

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“The Life of Frankenstein,”** on the birth, evolution and impact of a tale of man-made monstrosity, with Bernard Welt, an emeritus professor of arts and humanities at George Washington University who frequently lectures on Frankenstein in literature, cinema, and culture. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/nv-life-of-frankenstein](https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/nv-life-of-frankenstein) .] Guillermo del Toro’s lush and lovingly produced film adaptation of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel *Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus* is just the latest of many iterations of the story to capture the public’s imagination. People have watched Victor Frankenstein give life to his monster in numerous films, on television, and on stage, and even perform “Putting on the Ritz” with him thanks to the comic genius of Mel Brooks. Mary Shelley did not just tell a tale. She spawned the modern genre of speculative fiction and gave rise to a myth that would crop up in debates over nature versus nurture and other matters. Even today it stokes anxieties over the potential impacts of robotics, artificial intelligence, and genetic engineering, by evoking the image of a monster turning on its progenitor. Come gain a new appreciation of Mary Shelley’s creation with the help of Dr. Bernard Welt, who has studied the relationship between nightmares and the horror genre and is the author of *Mythomania: Fantasies, Fables, and Sheer Lies in Contemporary American Popular Art.* Dr. Welt will start by telling a literary origin story almost as famous as Frankenstein itself, of how an 18-year-old Shelley started writing *Frankenstein* in 1816 while staying in a villa on Lake Geneva with two of her era’s leading poets, Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, her lover. Housebound by foul weather, the three read Gothic tales of ghosts and monsters and challenged each other to produce something even more terrifying. Mary dreamed up a story of a man who defied death by creating a living being out of scraps of deceased men harvested from graveyards and anatomy labs. The resulting novel, *Frankenstein*, published anonymously in 1818, would by that century’s end become a touchstone in philosophical discourse on the nature of humanity and in political discussions of imperialism and populism. By the 21st century, Mary Shelley (as she became) had earned a more significant place in the literary canon than Byron and her husband Shelley. We will examine how this grisly tale became a landmark of modern thought and look at the part played by numerous film adaptations from the first years of cinema to the present day. (Door: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: From a Theodor von Holst engraving in an 1831 edition of *Frankenstein* published by Colburn and Bentley of London.

**\*\*Please note we are starting 15 minutes early because of a conflict with the room at 2:45 pm.\*\*** Embarking on an exploration of African philosophy before the modern era immediately raises surprising questions of scope, method, and interpretation. We might think we know what we mean by the term “Africa,” but if we are referring to the continent, then we have to ask questions such as: should we start our investigation with Saint Augustine? He was, after all, ethnically an African Berber. Yet it seems obvious that he fits more comfortably into the European philosophical tradition. What about the thought of ancient Egypt, wherefrom we can trace an influence on the Greeks, especially regarding mathematics? Moreover, both Christianity and Islam extended their reach into Africa. When we encounter their influence, should we treat them as alien interventions, or as ways of thinking that integrated into African cultures? Methodological problems emerge because much of the wisdom traditions of Africa were never recorded in writing but were passed down orally across generations. Can any of the ideas of those traditions be recovered? If so, is there any way of understanding them on their own terms, or do they inevitably become polluted by the modern, and often colonial, interpretations through which they are viewed? Indeed, examining African philosophy raises definitional questions: should we consider philosophy to be something done by the elite scholars and sages of a society, or should it refer to the wider worldview of the culture itself, as its people grapple with questions of being, knowledge, and the best ways to live together? Furthermore, if we don’t think of Africa as a mere landmass, but in terms of culture, then we must ask: is there a singular African culture? While scholars sometimes sought for a monolithically “African” philosophy in the past, it seems clear that there are a diversity of cultural and philosophical traditions that must be accounted for. For our purposes, we will leave aside Augustine (whom we previously addressed in detail as part of the Greco-Roman canon) and examine three areas of African philosophy for which contemporary scholars have found enough material to extensively analyze. First, due to the existence of a written record, the thought of ancient Egypt and its sages are available to us to some degree. We will read some secondary scholarship that can give us at least a fragmentary look into a world far removed from ours that seems very different, yet at the same time familiar. Next, the Ethiopian thinker Zera Yacob and his protege Walda Heywat wrote their “Hatatas,” or inquiries, in the 1500s, and demonstrated that serious philosophical thinking was occurring in Africa under an education system that was quite different from the European one. At the same time their thought was influenced by Christianity and its disputes with indigenous traditions, Islam, and Judaism. Yacob recorded the interesting story of his life and in the process asked deep questions about his relationship to his deity and the world, as well as the best way to live. His student Heywat then followed in his footsteps, providing his own philosophical take on perennial questions. Finally, we will read additional secondary literature on a variety of African philosophical topics, including sage philosophy, oral philosophy, what it means to be a person, and the concept of Ubuntu. This month we will read *[The Hatata Inquiries](https://www.amazon.com/Hatata-Inquiries-Seventeenth-Century-Philosophy-Responsibilities/dp/3112214110)*, by Zera Yacob and Walda Heywat, which is available in paperback on Amazon. Please read pages 1-8 and 71-160. The front matter (maps and figures, chronology, histories of the manuscripts) is also of interest. Additionally, please read the following chapters in *[Africana Philosophy from Ancient Egypt to the Nineteenth Centur](https://www.amazon.com/Africana-Philosophy-Ancient-Nineteenth-Century-ebook/dp/B0F1LLX3WB)y*: 2, 4, 5, 6, 12, 15, 16, 17, and 20. Each chapter is short, and they total about 90 pages of reading. Chapters 8, 9, 10, and 18 are also informative, but optional. This text is available in print and for Kindle on Amazon. Since we are dealing with pre-modern African philosophy in this session, we will delay exploring philosophy among the African diaspora or modern African thinkers until later meetings. **Secondary Resources** *Wikipedia:* [Zera Yacob](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zera_Yacob_%28philosopher%29) [Walda Heywat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walda_Heywat) [African Philosophy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_philosophy) *Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:* [Africana Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)](https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/africana/) [African Sage Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)](https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/african-sage/) [Akan Philosophy of the Person (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)](https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/akan-person/)

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Satanic Panics,”** a look at waves of fear of demonic activity as an American tradition, with Luxx Mishou, cultural historian and former instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy and area community colleges. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/nv-satanic-panics](https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/nv-satanic-panics) .] The 1980s found the United States gripped by fear of Satanic cults targeting children. They were believed to be corrupting young ones in daycare centers and tempting teens through subliminal messages on heavy metal albums or through the quiet inclusion of demonic rituals in role-playing games. Satanic serial killers supposedly stalked the suburbs. Doctors helped patients uncover what were claimed to be repressed memories of ritualistic satanic abuse. Parents, police, and politicians were urged to protect impressionable youths from both moral and physical danger. With Satanic cults deemed to be a real and material threat, it was a frightening time for everyone, including those who suddenly came under suspicion for doing evil deeds. Then, suddenly, it all faded from public consciousness, just as surely as did eighties fads such mullet haircuts, leg warmers, and Cabbage Patch Kids. Why did it all start? Why did it stop? And has this happened before or since? Hear such questions tackled by Luxx Mishou, a cultural historian and media specialist who has long researched the devious and villainous in cultural artifacts. She’ll discuss moral panics as a longstanding cultural tradition, with each new one stemming from fear of cultural shifts and shaped by the time and place where it occurred. Among the panics we’ll look into are the Red Scare of the 1950s and the public response to the gruesome 1969 murders committed by the Manson Family. Delving into the 1980s panic, Mishou will describe how it began with the 1980 publication of psychiatrist Lawrence Pazder’s memoir *Michelle Remembers*, detailing the suppressed memories of ritualistic abuse reportedly suffered by a patient. As that book quickly became a best seller, its ideas saturated American culture. A California daycare center became the focus of a three-year investigation, followed by three years of trials, based on allegations that its owner had engaged in secret ritualistic abuse of the children in its care. Mishou will lead you through the media that convinced the public that devil worshipers were among them, and she’ll talk about how reactions to imagined threats can have very real social costs. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image by Canva.

Addiction isn’t limited to substances. It can show up in the everyday things we crave: technology, exercise, social media, work, and even the constant pursuit of achievement. This session explores the roots of addiction and why quick hits from doom scrolling, overworking, technology, or seeking attention never truly satisfy. Together, we’ll discuss what it means to live as our authentic selves in a culture wired for dopamine hits, instant gratification, and the fear of missing out – and how spiritual practices and community can help us reclaim balance and wholeness.

Every Sunday afternoon before church, one of the Covenant Life Church prophetess' hosts a prophetic training class that activates participants in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. During this class, participants will be provided opportunity to be taught how to use the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and will have opportunity to ask questions and talk with someone who has been used in the Gifts during ministry. Teaching is provided on the gifts with emphasis on the Gift of the Prophecy. A combination of lecture and experiential learning is employed to teach, guide and instruct the participants. Everyone is welcome, all classes are free. Childcare is not provided.