 Dear Curious Souls,
I'm excited to announce the return of our Search for Meaning workshop in April. The workshop revolves around Viktor Frankl's famous work, Man's Search for Meaning, widely considered one of the most important books of our time. In his book, Frankl — a psychiatrist, philosopher, and Holocaust survivor — teaches how we can find meaning and freedom in even the worst and most despairing of times, like times of violence and war. He identifies the feeling of meaninglessness — or what existentialists call nihilism — as the root of many forms of depression, addiction, aggression, and suicide. In the book, he develops his philosophical approach to mental health, in which he helps others to identify and amplify a sense of purpose that is unique to their own personality and life-situation. In the workshop, we'll dig into Frankl's philosophy of human life and mental health, as well as his roots in existential philosophy. We'll also find ways to apply his insights so we can amplify meaning in our own lives, and help friends, family, students, and clients to do the same. The workshop is particularly relevant for those struggling with meaning in their lives or counseling others who are struggling. This workshop is set at a time that allows our friends in India to participate, which means it's late on the West Coast. If I have some East Coasters out there who are interested, please let me know and I will try to open up a second section better timed for you! I hope to see you there! Monica Come with us to:
US West Coast: April, 14, 21, 28 2022, 8:00-10:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time India: April 15, 22, 29, 8:30-10:30 a.m. Indian Standard Time Learn more and register on our webpage!
0 Comments
 Dear Curious Souls,
When our loyal workshop participants were asked what topic they'd most like to dive into next, the philosophy of race was at the top of their list. We are all craving better tools to understand the legacy of racism in the United States, to respond to the current crisis, and to create remedies for a future of equality and justice. After some months of looking for a text that would be accessible and introduce us to some of the big questions and debates in the philosophy of race, we've settled on the book Color Conscious: The Political Morality of Race by Kwame Anthony Appiah and Amy Gutmann. The book balances inquiries into the meaning of race with debates on how we can respond to racial injustice in the fairest ways. Together we'll examine what sorts of claims are made when people talk about race, whether dividing the world into racial identities has any positive value, and what it means to respond to racial injustice in "color blind" versus "color conscious" ways. This workshop is a chance to dig into a controversial and emotionally charged issue in a slow, careful, and respectful way. I hope you will join us! Saturdays, February 5, 12, 19, 26 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Pacific Online via Zoom Learn more and register here! Dear Curious Souls,
Perhaps you've noticed that in the last few years anger has become the prime emotion that fills our daily news cycle, our social media feeds, and the streets; anger on all sides of debates surrounding race, immigration, the environment, the pandemic, truth and lies, corruption and conspiracy. Perhaps you feel it too, bubbling up daily. Surprisingly (or perhaps unsurprisingly, depending on your point of view), this anger seems to be embraced more than avoided in our culture, and it's popularly seen as a sign of strength, integrity and care, rather than a problem or vice. It is seen as the necessary motor and motivation behind change, reform and the fight for justice. But is anger as productive as it is popularly thought to be? In our next workshop in January we'll read selections from Anger and Forgiveness: Resentment, Generosity, Justice by contemporary philosopher Martha Nussbaum and consider the uses and abuses of anger in political life. We'll examine the ways in which anger blocks productive political movement and discuss ways in which it might transition into collaborative problem solving. We'll also have a chance to reflect on the the kinds of anger we experience personally and consider how we might transform them into productive action. Come with us to:
Saturdays, January 9, 16, 23, 2020, 1-3:00 p.m. Pacific Time Online via Zoom Learn more and register here. Dear Curious Souls,
We've just finished up a fantastic first workshop on classic approaches in ethics. We discussed what it means to develop healthy habits and a good character. We grappled with notions of duty and what it means to treat humans as intrinsically valuable. And we attempted to get our heads around what it means to bring about the greatest happiness for the greatest numbers. With each approach we studied, we found ourselves both critical and inspired, realizing the difficulties of ethical thinking and ethical action, but also finding takeaways that will inform our future choices. Now we head into our second workshop on contemporary approaches in ethics, where we will call into question some of the over-arching assumptions of classic approaches. Are the classic approaches' obsession with the power of reason and the mastery of the emotions missing something important about ethics? Is it right that our moral duties are only to other humans, and not non-human creatures? Is it really true that rational beings are superior to all other living beings? We'll be digging into these and other critical questions about classic approaches as we study contemporary feminist and environmental approaches to ethics. You do not have to have taken the first workshop to join us in this second workshop. We'll fill you in. Come with us to:
Learn more and register here. Dear Curious Souls,
Do you ever feel like what’s missing from the world today is some sense of ethics? Does it seem like people act based on the whim of whatever they feel like doing in the moment, without much thought for personal or political integrity or the consequences of their actions? Does it seem like the long view of human health and flourishing has been forgotten? In our upcoming Crash Course in Ethics series of workshops, we'll be introducing and examining classic and contemporary approaches to ethical thinking. This will offer us a variety of tools that will deepen and sharpen our ability to grapple with big questions about how we should live and what we should do when faced with dilemmas that deeply affect the character of our own and others' lives. Our January 3-week workshop will focus on classic approaches, introducing virtue ethics, duty-based ethics, and consequence-based ethics. Our March 3-week workshop will focus on contemporary approaches, introducing feminist and environmental ethics that critique classic approaches and expand ethics in new directions. Workshops can be taken independently or as a series. Come with us to:
Workshop 1: Classic approaches in Ethics January 11, 18, 25 2020 1:00 - 3:30 p.m. At World Cup Coffee 1740 NW Glisan, Portland Workshop 2: Contemporary approaches in Ethics March 14, 21, 28 1:00 - 3:30 p.m. At World Cup Coffee 1740 NW Glisan, Portland Learn more and register here.  Dear Curious Souls,
If you're like me, summer is a time of creative energy, stacks of new books to read, and new perspectives about life. At Curious Soul, that means new ideas for upcoming workshops! I'm super excited to share with you our new workshop coming up in October on the search for meaning. The workshop revolves around Victor Frankl's famous work, Man's Search for Meaning, widely considered one of the most important books of our time. In his book, Frankl -- a psychiatrist, philosopher, and Holocaust survivor -- outlines his insight about the importance (and even necessity) for each individual to find meaning in their lives for survival and flourishing. Meaning, for Frankl, is far more important than pleasure or power for our overall well-being. He identifies meaninglessness -- or what existentialists call nihilism -- as the root of many forms of depression, addiction, aggression, and suicide. In the book, he develops his rather philosophical approach to mental health, in which he helps others to identify and amplify a sense of purpose that is unique to their own personality and life-situation. In the workshop, we'll be digging into Frankl's philosophy of human life and mental health, as well as his roots in existential philosophy. We'll also be finding ways to apply his insights so we can amplify a sense of meaning in our own lives, and help friends, family, students, clients, and mentees to do the same. The threat of meaninglessness looms rather heavily over our times. Frankl sees philosophical discussion about meaning and purpose to be an important therapeutic process. This is, among other things, preventative care! Come with us to:
Saturdays, October 5, 12, 19, 2019 1:00 - 3:30 World Cup Coffee, 1740 NW Glisan, Portland, OR. Learn more and register on our Search for Meaning webpage!  Dear Curious Souls,
A workshop on Democracy has been on the Curious Soul wish-list for some time, and it is finally here! As we struggle with the perennial crises of democracy, we are thrown back again and again onto some of the most difficult questions of political philosophy: What do we really mean by freedom and equality? How can we better recognize and remedy confused and degraded versions of these concepts? What are the benefits and dangers of "rule by the people"? How can we protect against the dangers? How exactly does "consent" work in our experiment of communal self-rule? Who counts as a citizen and how should they participate in communal self-rule? What does it mean to operate under a "general will"? What is the limit of political authority, and how much individual liberty should be preserved? What role does dialogue play in the democratic process, and what does it mean to engage in functioning discussion and deliberation together? We'll pursue these questions and others with help from some of the most influential philosophers in the history of democratic thinking: Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Rousseau, and Mill. Our discussions about these questions will act as a springboard for considering whether the groups in which we each participate (big and small) are in need of becoming more democratic, in what ways they could become so, and how we might do something to help. Come with us to:
Three Saturdays: March 30, April 6, 13, 2019 1:00-3:30 Learn more on our Roots of Democracy workshop page. Dear Curious Souls,
Do you ever feel like you're working against the grain? Trying to force things to fit into your mold? Fighting the world all the time and making yourself exhausted? What would it be like to "do without doing," and to learn to go with the flow of nature? Join us for our introductory Taoism workshop, led by Danielle LaSusa, and learn to find tranquility and simplicity in everyday life. Danielle LaSusa is a philosophical coach and co-creator of the philosophical podcast Think Hard. Danielle led two transformative Buddhism workshops at Curious Soul this year, and we are so grateful to have her as a guide to Eastern philosophical traditions of balance and harmony. We welcome newcomers to our Taoism workshop, as well as returning students. You do not need prior experience with Taoism to join us, just a curious soul! Sign up with a friend for a significant discount. Come with us to: Discover spontaneity, simplicity, and tranquility in everyday life Find your connection to the rest of nature and tap into its flow Unlock the wisdom of the Tao Te Ching Three Saturdays: January 12, 19, 26, 2019 1-3:30 p.m. Learn more on our Taoism workshop webpage. See you soon for this contemplative start to the new year! Monica Vilhauer, Founder of Curious Soul Dear Curious Souls,
I'm thrilled to announce our upcoming Buddhism workshop, and to welcome our guest workshop leader, Danielle LaSusa. Danielle is a philosophy professor, a philosophical coach, and co-creator of the philosophical podcast Think Hard. Danielle will be offering an exciting opportunity for us to introduce Eastern wisdom into our practice of philosophy as a way of life at Curious Soul. Our journey into Buddhism will help us to consider the complex nature of human suffering, the interconnectendess of all beings, and paths for achieving inner peace. Come with us to:
We'll meet three Saturday afternoons: May 5, 12, 19, 2018, at World Cup Coffee. Learn more and register here. Dear Curious Souls,
I’m excitedly preparing for our third existentialism workshop on Martin Heidegger, which begins January 13th, 2018. Heidegger is one of the most original and important thinkers of the 20th Century. He is also one of the most difficult philosophers to read, as he creates his own vocabulary to articulate his new view of the human condition. Heidegger does something quite radical in the history of philosophy. He critiques the tradition of Western metaphysics, and overcomes the dualistic (mind-body, subject-object) view of reality which is so central to the way we, in the West, understand ourselves as minds and the world as an aggregate of intrinsically meaningless objects, existing independent of us. Heidegger encourages us to see this dominant view as rather one-sided, concealing the way in which we are originally connected to the things and people of the world in our everyday, practical activities. He uses a description of these practical activities, as they are situated in social-cultural contexts, as a point of departure for revealing how it is that meaning arises in the world, how our own freedom is at work in the projects we select, and how it is that we shape who we are through our own actions. He, furthermore, illuminates how we can take ownership of the lives we are creating for ourselves, and exist with authenticity. Come with us to:
Saturdays, January 13, 20, 27, 2018, 1:00-3:00 p.m. World Cup Coffee, 1740 NW Glisan, Portland, OR Learn more and register for our third existentialism workshop on Heidegger. |
AuthorMonica Vilhauer, Ph.D. is the founder of Curious Soul Philosophy. She designs and leads workshops and retreats that approach philosophy as a way of life. She also offers one-on-one philosophical counseling for adults. Archives
May 2022
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
Philosophical Counseling with Monica Vilhauer in the news:
Oprah Magazine
VICE
|
|