Psy-Rel-Phil-Culture   

This is part one of a four course ensemble extending over four academic periods starting in Fall 2024 and concluding in Fall 2025. The courses will focus on issues of inequality and its relationship to capitalism.

The primary text, Thomas Piketty's Capital and Ideology, is divided into four parts of roughly 200-250 pages each. The courses will generally follow this structure with additional readings to augment and critique Piketty's arguments.

In the Fall 2024 term, we will focus on issues of historical inequality with particular emphasis on European societies especially France, Great Britain, and Sweden. We will also foreshadow the historical discourses of non-western experiences with capitalism and with inequality that will be addressed in the subsequent courses.

Piketty employs historical and political analysis augmented by economic data. In one sense his is an intellectual history of inequality and capitalism. In another it is a philosophical critique of contemporary neoliberalism. We will engage both aspects.

Explore the guiding Jewish values that help inform choices on common medical questions. This course will equip participants with the tools to chart a path through four areas of medical ethics: experimental treatments, extending life, pregnancy questions, and caring for a body. Gain an enriching perspective on how the Jewish ethical tradition helps us confidently navigate fateful decisions.

According to experts at the 2024 Conference on World Affairs, the top 3 threats to humanity over the next 10 years are (in no particular order) pandemics, global warming, and nuclear weapons. And the underlying causes of our current global conflicts are natural resources, the rise of multi-powers, and that old stand-by, the human quest for power. Sheesh! How’s a person to sleep at night?! Join Paula Staffeldt for a hopeful look at our current reality. No rose-colored glasses or “pollyanna” tropes. But no doom and gloom filters, either. In 4 interactive sessions, consider how our individual thoughts and feelings might either support or hinder a more peaceful, sustainable future. And how the inspiration that comes from a mind that is “at ease with what is” could guide us in making more insightful decisions and taking wiser actions toward creating a more enlightened world.

When the word “God” is mentioned, most people in the West automatically assume a particular concept of God. The Asian religions challenge that concept. In this class we will look at the Hindu concept of Brahman, the Buddhist concept of Nirvana, the Taoist concept of Nature, and the Confucian idea of how our actions relate to the “Way of the Gods.” But the class will not be just about the concept of God. We will cover other central ideas like the nature of knowledge and what it means to be human. It is also inevitable, especially in the East, that many practices of the religions are connected to their philosophical ideas, e.g., their rituals and lifestyles, Moreover, the ethical perspective of each religion will be central as well as the concept of an afterlife in each one. This will primarily be a philosophy course about the ideas involved in the Asian religions. Personally, I have found the Asian religions a rich challenge to the beliefs with which I grew up and they have opened the door to other ways of seeing the world.

Are you shy? This class offers the first steps to explore overcoming the fear of talking to new people. Learn to be comfortable at a reception, luncheon, church social, in waiting line, or in a lobby waiting to check in. How important is it to know that YOU can converse with any person willing to reply “Hi” or “Hello” back to you? We will discover how to ask simple questions. We will learn how to be interested in the other person. We will use a system based on A.E.I.O.U.: Assumptions, Expectations, Issues/Information, Observations, and Understand. These vowels are the keys to opening an informal chat connection with new people. “The Vowels of Science Workshop” will explore quotations and books that help us better appreciate the diverse reasons WHY people do what they do, not WHAT or HOW! We will enjoy the journey of being interested (vs. interesting) in our chats.

In this class we will investigate the skills necessary for responsible decision making. We will look at 10 different strategies we employ to avoid making the important decisions that affect our lives. We will investigate how our current understanding of justice and guilt handcuffs our abilities to make free and open decisions. Kaufmann will provide us with a guide to develop a new integrity / morality based on a set of virtues that he feels will replace our current fascination with justice and equality. We will then take the Kaufmann model and integrate it with some of the challenges presented by a few modern feminists and develop a working model for a 21st century worldview.

“With our thoughts we make the world.” The Buddha

Some 2500 years ago a man who claimed to be no other than human, pure and simple began to bestow upon humanity a new Way of Seeing and Being. This Path might give us a blueprint for dealing the many challenges that we face. If Buddhism cannot be lived to the Here and Now, it is best if it was left in the museum.

We will explore the following topics: ‘

• The Life and Times of the Buddha
• The core of The Teachings and Wisdom
• The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path
• The role of meditation
• “Engaged Buddhism” (the application of the teachings and wisdom to current issues such as the environment).

Class discussion is highly encouraged. In addition, there will be some lecture, film, and a guest speaker on meditation.

Required reading: Buddhism Without Beliefs by Stephan Batchelor – paperback edition. It is a readable and accessible text for those getting their feet wet with the waters of Buddhism. In addition, there will be a few short articles sent out via email.