Maurice Merleau-Ponty gives a fantastic introduction to phenomenology in the preface to his Phenomenology of Perception. Honestly, we had a great time this week and really look forward to reading his whole work.

Whew! Buckle up because we're about to embark on a real adventure. This week we're beginning Sartre's masterpiece Being and Nothingness. We'll be interspersing our reading with other phenomenologists as we go (so we don't burn out). This week we're discussing the pre-reflective cogito, the in-itself, and the for-itself. Enjoy!

This week we're looking at Futa Helu's essay Towards a Theory of Awareness or Understanding. Our favorite sections relate to his idea of the rhythmic nature of the universe. Our least favorite spot regards (unfortunately) all of his thoughts on beauty. Enjoy!

This week we're looking at the American history of the black personal essay and how it relates to phenomenology. We also talk about the dubious concept of the "post-racial age". Enjoy!

This week we read Susan Sontag's Against Interpretation, a phenomenal (and controversial) polemic against dogmatic ways of "interpreting" art. We also offer a (hopefully) nuanced defense of psychoanalysis.

This week we did some "hardcore phenomenology" and read Sartre's essay on Giacometti. We also talked about Sartre's enthusiasm and how this enthusiasm risks losing the plot (so to speak). Enjoy!

This week we're finishing our reading of Hannah Arendt's Love and Saint Augustine. We're talking about the love of the world vs. the love of God, and what possible avenues exist towards an unconditional secular love.

This week we're reading the first half of Hannah Arendt's dissertation, Love and Saint Augustine. With Karl Jasper's as her thesis advisor, and with an indirect engagement with Heidegger's work, this is a great starting point for fans of Arendt. Enjoy!