Lehrhaus

Lehrhaus

The New Philosophy Lehrhaus is a school of adult philosophical education. Its first semester runs from October 1st - December 13th, 2024.

The semester currently contains 5 offerings:

For more information on each, such as dates, times, and how to get involved, read on.

Course Details

  1. The Global and the Local (Bharath Vallabha)

Our lives function on multiple levels, from the most global to the most local. One moment I see news about wars around the world. Another moment I worry about a doctor's bill and how my country can have better healthcare. In the next moment, I pick up my daughter from school and focus on her. Later I get lost in my own memories and experiences. Life can feel like a torture designed from the middle ages, where a person is tied to horses going in different directions. How can we function at so many competing levels at once?

This course explores the idea that wisdom and happiness consist in facing up to the tensions between the global and local dimensions in oneself. The tensions will never be completely reconciled; to live is to be pulled in many directions. What then are good ways to cultivate intellectual, communal and personal well being? We will focus on listening better to these tensions in ourselves and others, and to find ways to embrace them productively.

The course will be focused on discussions, with short readings to facilitate dialogue. Readings will be from diverse sources, including philosophy, spirituality, history and literature.

About Bharath Vallabha

I studied philosophy at Cornell and Harvard, and was a professor for a few years before leaving academia to pursue philosophy in everyday life. I live in Maryland and currently work as an administrative manager. I am interested in the possibilities of philosophy and spirituality in our increasingly technological age. I love to listen to people and what moves them, and how we can cultivate shared spaces of reflection.

Schedule

5th October - 7th December. Weekly. Saturdays 8 - 9.30 a.m. Eastern Time - New York (please note the different time zone).

Getting involved

It is open to everyone, and people can come for the weeks it is possible for them.

If you have questions or would like more information, please email Bharath directly at "bvallabha at gmail dot com".

You can sign up here.

-

  1. Salon 1

When I first started doing the salon, I said that its basic idea is to start doing philosophy from where we are. We begin with something in our lives, in our daily experience, that, for whatever reason, matters to us.

We then do something very simple and very basic, something that I suspect is as old as human beings themselves: we come together, in fellowship and goodwill, and together we search for wisdom that will help us.

The methods have evolved a little, but that is still a pretty good description of the fundamentals.

Schedule

2nd October - 11th December. Fortnightly. Wednesdays 14-15.30 CET.

Getting involved

This one has already sold out, I'm afraid. But never fear, because ...

-

  1. Salon 2

There's been a lot of interest, so I'm putting on a second salon.

Schedule

1st October - 10th December. Fortnightly. Tuesdays 14-15.30 CET.

Getting involved

If you decide to participate, you have to commit to regular attendance. If you're interested, email me at 'pranay at thenewphilosophy dot com'.

-

  1. Reading Group on Sources of the Self

In this book, Charles Taylor attempts 'to articulate and write a history of the modern identity ... I want to designate the ensemble of (largely unarticulated) understandings of what it is to be a human agent: the senses of inwardness, freedom, individuality, and being embedded in nature which are at home in the modern West.'

It's a fantastic book. We'll read it together this autumn. We'll aim to read about 25 pages every 2 weeks, which will mean we do about 25-30% by the end of the semester. If we enjoy it, we can continue in the next semester.

Schedule

8th October - 3rd December. Fortnightly. Tuesdays 14-15.30 CET.

Getting involved

It is open to everyone, and people can come for the weeks it is possible for them. The only condition is that you have to do the reading for the session.

You can sign up here.

-

  1. Magic Sessions: Experiences of Love

Each of us loves certain things - a book, a piece of music, a painting, a game, a sport, a person. Each of us has things that move us intensely, things that somehow lift us up, connect us to something "higher", to something that we experience as something somehow finer than the stuff of our ordinary lives.

Wouldn't it be awesome to have a place where we could meet and learn about each other's magical things?

That's what the magic sessions are. We meet online, someone shares something that they find magical, and then we just see what happens.

This time around, the theme of the magic sessions is "experiences of love".

Schedule

9th October - 4th December. Fortnightly. Wednesdays 14-15.30 CET.

Getting involved

It is open to everyone, and people can come for the weeks it is possible for them. The only condition is that you have to do the reading for the session.

You can sign up here.

-

Community space for the Lehrhaus

The Lehrhaus has a community space which contains a general forum and dedicated spaces for participants of each course.

This space will also be where courses are managed - it's where we'll post literature, calendar items, any other logistical or administrative stuff, notices, etc.

The community space will also host special events that are only open to members.

This may just be me talking into a great electronic void, so be warned that this might be a rather eccentric interpretation of "special". And "event".

You'll get a link to join once you've been admitted to a course / been to an event / participated in a thing.