Friday, May 6, 2022

LECTURE 1000....

 Today is a memorable day. On Thursday, October 24, 2013, I wanted to give my 500th lecture to The Philosophy Class. 

That couldn't take place because I had a heart attack and was only allowed to leave the hospital ten days later, 5 bypasses richer. 

  

Today I am in good health 500 lectures further, which means that I have used my extra time in life usefully, if I may say so.


You may not realize but to reach this milestone took me more than twelve years and in those years I have guided you through a diverse philosophical landscape.

   

On May 9, 2009, I began posting all my lectures on a blog (hhtp://thephilosophyclass.blogspot.com) also the first series,  more than 100+ since 2007.

  

Up to now, I have challenged you with 23 projects.

   

 It all began with project 1 - 100 Philosophers, which I started because I have been an educator all my professional life and love the work and the subject.

   

The second project was almost mandatory. On hundred philosophers and among them only two women?


That couldn't be true, so project number two was "25+ Women Philosophers", which proved the first female philosopher already was born in 350 BC. Her name was Hipparchia of Maroneia.

   

Project three "25 Adventures in Thinking" was my least favorite project and I didn't complete it. It wasn't bad, a collection of general philosophical questions, but in all, it lacked coherence.

   

I thought it would be more interesting to investigate how man has dealt with the problem of good and evil through time: "Modern Theories of Ethics".

    

From then on I only chose themes for projects, that were important to understand the time we live in, how we live, where we come from.

   

It began with the fifth project "The Ideal State", which dived into all political theories that history had seen.

    

On September 3, 2010, I started the biggest project so far, "The Mystery of the Brain". It dealt with all aspects of the philosophy of mind, my favorite subject, the subject of my thesis in 1977.

    

Then it was time to deal with the disastrous consequences of neo-liberalism in a number of projects:


"The Utopia of the Free Market", " The Aftermath of Neo-liberalism ", "The Art Not to Be an Egoist".

     

And to show that philosophy wasn't some Euro-centered matter a whole project was dedicated to "Non-Western Philosophy"

    

And the list goes on:

"Why Science is Right " (Sept 2014) 

"A Philosopher looks at Atheism" (1 Jan  2015 )

  

"EVIL, a philosophical investigation" (17 Apr 2015)        

"Existentialism and Free Will " (2 Sept 2015 )

"Spinoza " (2 Sept 2016)

"The Meaning of Life" (13 Febr 2017"

     

"In Search of  my Self" (6 Sept 2017 "

"The 20th Century Revisited" (3 Apr  2018

"The Pessimist" (11 Jan 2020)

"The Optimist" (9 Febr 2020"


"Awakening from a Neoliberal Dream" (8 Oct 2020) 

"A World Full of Patterns"  (1 Apr 2021)

"The Concept of Freedom " (8 Jan 2022)

   

Some expressed the fear that reaching the number 1000 might imply, that I could say "It's been enough, time to retire",

   

but that isn't an option anymore because I already retired in 2008 and almost in 2013. No worries the subject of my next project is already in the oven.

   

If I am not mistaken, to celebrate the completion of the 100 Philosophers project I had built a Skydive contraption.

   

Would be fun to repeat the Skydive to celebrate the 1000th. So, follow me outside, take a parachute and sit on the red/white ring.

   

Thank you all again.....

    



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