Discussion. 5 June

[jawill...@gmail.com]

There were three of us, Martha, Mary Jo and I. We began with Chapter One and its beginning in 1932 in Paris with two of the main characters, Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre being started on the trajectory that ended with existentialism with Sartre's school mate, Raymond Aron in from study in Germany who spoke of the new "philosophy" of phenomenology. We began talking about "freedom" and shared experiences we had had about discovering ways of thinking that were freeing to us. That led us to Page 6 and the passage:

Freedom for him [Sartre], lay at the heart of all human experience, and this set humans apart from all other kinds of objects. Other things merely sit in place, waiting to be pushed or pulled around. Even non-human animals mostly follow the instincts and behaviours that characterize their species, Sartre believed. But as a human being, I have no predefined nature at all. I create that nature through what I choose to do. Of course I may be influenced by my biology, or by aspects of my culture and personal background, but none of this adds up to a complete blueprint for producing me. I am always one step ahead of my self, making myself up as I go along.

This prompted citing parallels to the thrusts George Fox made to become free of the orthodox state religion and actions in AVP workshops. 

We read another passage. The paragraph on Page 11 beginning with "Sartre's big question..." and how that resonates today.

I mean we talked. At the end, Mary Jo asked what we are to do with this, what's our next step. What's our process for preceding with this line of thinking if not to offer ourselves to phenomenological analysis of our discussion experiences. Sort of like a wine taster describing the first sip of a wine, or Sarah Bakewell's phenomenological description of a sip from a cup of coffee on Page 41. We, ourselves, should get the "heart of the experience" (Page 43).

Oh, oh. You mean this is not just about reading about of group of school teachers, playwrights, publishers, reporters, editors cavorting around in cafes and dance hall establishing a philosophy and a cultural stance, but we should practice the existential discipline ourselves?