Breathing Curiosity
Albert Camus, born November 7, 1913, in Mondovi, Algeria, is the novelist, essayist, and playwright, best known for such novels as L’Étranger (1942; The Stranger), La Peste (1947; The Plague), and La Chute (1956; The Fall) and for his work in leftist causes. He received the 1957 Nobel Prize for Literature.Less than a year after… Continue reading Albert Camus *XI 7 1913 — The Life You Give
Theodor Adorno, born Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund, on Sept. 11, 1903, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, is the philosopher who also wrote on sociology, psychology, and musicology.Adorno obtained a degree in philosophy from Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt in 1924. His early writings, which emphasize aesthetic development as important to historical evolution, reflect the influence of… Continue reading The Life You Give: Theodor Adorno *IX 11 1903
Walter Benjamin, born July 15, 1892, in Berlin, Germany, is the man of letters and aesthetician, now considered to have been the most important German literary critic in the first half of the 20th century.Born into a prosperous Jewish family, Benjamin studied philosophy in Berlin, Freiburg im Breisgau, Munich, and Bern. He settled in Berlin… Continue reading The Life You Give: Walter Benjamin * VII 15 1892
Jean-Paul Sartre, born June 21, 1905, in Paris, France, is the philosopher, novelist, and playwright, best known as the leading exponent of existentialism in the 20th century. In 1964 he declined the Nobel Prize for Literature, which had been awarded to him “for his work which, rich in ideas and filled with the spirit of… Continue reading The Life You Give: Jean-Paul Sartre *VI 21 1905
José Ortega y Gasset, (born May 9, 1883, Madrid, Spain, is the philosopher and humanist who greatly influenced the cultural and literary renaissance of Spain in the 20th century. Ortega y Gasset studied at Madrid University (1898–1904) and in Germany (1904–08) and was influenced by the neo-Kantian philosophical school at Marburg. As professor of metaphysics… Continue reading The Life You Give: José Ortega y Gasset *1883
Søren Kierkegaard, born Søren Aabye Kierkegaard, on May 5, 1813, in Copenhagen, Denmark, is the philosopher, theologian, and cultural critic who was a major influence on existentialism and Protestant theology in the 20th century. He attacked the literary, philosophical, and ecclesiastical establishments of his day for misrepresenting the highest task of human existence—namely, becoming oneself… Continue reading The Life You Give: Søren Kierkegaard *1813
Ludwig Wittgenstein, born Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein, on April 26, 1889, Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now in Austria], is the philosopher, regarded by many as the greatest philosopher of the 20th century. Wittgenstein’s two major works, Logisch-philosophische Abhandlung (1921; Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, 1922) and Philosophische Untersuchungen (published posthumously in 1953; Philosophical Investigations), have inspired a vast secondary literature… Continue reading The Life You Give: Ludwig Wittgenstein *1889
Edmund Burke, born January 1, [Old Style], 1729, in Dublin, Ireland, was statesman, parliamentary orator, and political thinker prominent in public life from 1765 to about 1795 and important in the history of political theory. He championed conservatism in opposition to Jacobinism in Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790).Early lifeBurke, the son of a… Continue reading Celebration Day I: January 1 2022 — Happy Birthday, Edmund Burke *1.1.1729
Ladies and Gentlemen: when I was invited to give a series of lectures in the United States of America, I felt some doubt and hesitation. I am really not old enough to give lectures, and I am more at ease with the process of thinking than I am making categorical statements... since I don’t feel… Continue reading “The Human Crisis” — lecture by Albert Camus, in New York, on March 28 1946
My father, lovingly, forced me to think but I am not a philosopher. During my upbringing I was taught to trust, believe. I do but filled with questions because I believe in the intellect which dwells on beauty and the ugly alike — perhaps the fruit of thinking. I surrender increasingly to the vibrancy of… Continue reading “It is not your paintings I like, it is your painting.”*
You are herewith welcome to join a conversation about the pianist, conductor Edwin Fisher. In celebration of his birth — October 6 1886 — we will speak about the essence of music, and the importance of interpretation. Come to the Pianos, Hammers and Keys Club, and join the conversation, on Clubhouse — October 6 at… Continue reading The Legacy of Edwin Fisher — a conversation with musicologist and philosopher Vlad Vexler
Kǒng Qiū, known as Confucius, is believed to have been born on September 28 551 BC
Theodor W. Adorno, philosopher, sociologist, musicologist, critical theorist, born on September 11 1903.
“Life is suffering, and we spend our lives looking for happiness.” This was her expressed view during our conversation. Is it not fair to say that life is pleasure, happiness, joy, and we erroneously spend energy and passion in search of suffering? — Notes on a Clubhouse conversation
I remember the love of my father, not his suffering.
Why, in the midst of a conversation, does a scientist and Christian believer confess that, if it did turn out, there is no god, he would be disappointed?
That is the moment when peasants break bread with refined thinkers. They are all smiles, all hunger, all growing. An open table, buffet style — feasting that they are. All animals All noble
Music pushes us to listen. Philosophy pushes us to think.
Some say: I do philosophy Some say: I make music Some say: I am music Some say: I am a musician And I am wondering, what does that say of each. Notes taken during the room “The thin line between philosophy and music”, in the club “Opera, Blood, and Tears”, on Clubhouse. May 11 2021
A clubhouse event / Today, at 1:00 pm EST https://www.joinclubhouse.com/join/opera-blood-and-te/DRuOL73J/MEAbXbW0
Sila Blume 