Philosophy is a solitary business, and it seems only natural that the need arises in times of transition - when men no longer rely on the stability of the world and their role in it. - Hannah Arendt, Responsibility and Judgment

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When everything is going well we usually do not think about existential questions or problems of knowledge. But when something unexpected and profound happens, such as the death of a loved one, many of us ask questions such as: Who am I? What does it mean to be a person? How can we know right from wrong? What is the nature of this world we live in? Are there divine (or supernatural) forces at work in the world? What happens when we die? What kind of life do I want? When not only our personal circumstances are in turmoil, but the larger world is turbulent, philosophical questions move into the practical realm and become more immediate. What were once thought experiments conducted in leisure might now become concrete choices with serious consequences. 

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Great people from the east and west, over a large span of time and across great stretches of geography, have struggled and accomplished wonderful things in challenging eras. The Thinking Clearly in Turbulent Times series will survey and reproduce samples of the work of these individuals, offering a coherent structure and venue for how we might learn from their wisdom and understand how we can sharpen our thinking and actions in the midst of chaos and uncertainty.

 

Series Components:

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Workbook - A thoughtfully crafted guide will contain excerpts and short readings based on ten focus areas, described in more detail below. The initial workbook will be the source for the participant readings and the facilitator's framework. Each focus area will be the center of discussion for each ten-week course.

 

Initial Seminar Series - Three ten-week seminar series will be initially conducted sequentially, each series consisting of ten two-hour seminars taking place one day per week. The first series will be onsite in Ojai, California over ten consecutive weekday evenings. The second series will take place over ten weekday evenings in online seminars. The third series will take place onsite in Los Angeles, California over ten weekend afternoons. 16 participants for each of the three series will be selected from our regular subscriber base, our participating schools, our non-profit parters, and will be open for application from the public. Each group makeup will strive to represent a variety of ages, backgrounds, experiences, and social views. 

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Website - www.thinking-clearly.org is in development and will describe the project, its goals, the progress, and the experiences of the series participants. The readings will be available online, along with audio recordings of each event (with full participants' permissions). Selected video testimonials from participants will also be posted. Registration logistics will be handled through this website as well. 

 

Book - After the three seminars series are concluded, Thinking Clearly in Turbulent Times will be written in book form. The book will have all of the material the workbook includes, but will also narrate the personal experiences of the participants, including some of their biography and current concerns with society. This additional dimension will enliven the seminar content, tying these great authors, advocates, and heroes from the past to our present experience and our present benefit. The book will have stand-alone value for those who prefer to engage in this mode over the seminar or digital experience.

 

Round Two Series - The learning and experience from the three initial series and material creation will then be used for an enhanced second round of three series offerings, two online and one onsite (reaching farther in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties), with a revised workbook centered on adjusted curriculum and incorporating the Epilogue on Technology (which will also be offered as a stand-alone series). Video interviews will again take place during each of the three revised series and will contribute to future materials and offerings. 

Focus areas:

 

1) Truth v. Convenience - Every person desires to know what is true. While discerning the truth can be difficult, the striving remains a central human priority.
We will be better, braver, and less idle, if we believe that one must search for the things one does not know, rather than if we believe that it is not possible to find out what we do not know. — Plato
Readings: Plato, selections from Meno; Arendt, selections from The Origins of Totalitarianism, Aristotle, On the Soul.

 

2) Certainty v. Uncertainty - What was truly certain remains that way, and what only appeared to be certain was never truly that way.
The now that passes produces time, the now that remains produces eternity. — Boethius
Readings: Euclid, Definitions and Common Notions, Epictetus, selections from The Handbook; Boethius, selections from The Consolation of Philosophy. 

 

3) Facts v. Noise - Even in peaceful times, discerning facts from hyperbole, gossip, hearsay, and propaganda can be challenging. Chaos and turbulence magnify the confusion, but they also amplify the consequences of our choices. A proper understanding of what is presented establishes meaningful and dramatic differences.
It is not enough to have a good mind. The main thing is to use it well. — Descartes
Readings: Descartes, selections from Rules for the Direction of the Mind; selections from Kahneman and Feynman.

 

4) Humility v. Hubris - Knowing that we do not know is the first step toward knowing ourselves, and appreciating both our value and our limits helps us to know our place in the world. 
My name is Ozymandias, king of kings / Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair! / Nothing beside remains. — Shelly
Readings: Plato, selections from Apology; Sophocles, selections from Oedipus Rex, selected poems.

 

5) Tolerance v. Orthodoxy - A firm, narrow grounding for ethics can be rooted in nature (the entire natural order, not only humanity), and as with biology, a thorough understanding of right and wrong, and of fulfillment, requires suppleness. 
All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride. — Sophocles
Readings: Sophocles, selections from Antigone; selections from Gandhi, Jefferson, Madison, Joseph Campbell, selections from Silent Spring by Rachel Carson.

 

6) Courage v. Doubt - Our confusion and fear is often misplaced or mistaken. Courage turns out to be the only choice we can consistently live with.
There was one of two things I had a right to: liberty or death. If I could not have one, I would have the other - Harriet Tubman
Readings: Arendt, selections from Responsibility and Judgment; Plato, selections from Crito; Herodotus, selections from The Histories; Yeats, An Irish Airman Foresees His Death, Marcus Aurelius, selections from Meditations, Shakespeare, selections from Henry V.

 

7) Hope v. Skepticism - What does experience recommend? What does our instinct intimate? Does history serve as any guide to this question of whether or not we should dare to hope? Is history moving toward a goal?
World history is the progress of the consciousness of freedom—a progress which we have to recognize in its necessity. — Hegel
Readings: Shakespeare, selections from The Tempest, Hegel, selections from Philosophy of History, the Book of Ecclesiastes; W.E.B. Du Bois, selections from The Souls of Black Folks; selections from Stoic writers.

 

8) Abundance v. Scarcity - In troubling times how shall we best balance the needs of ourselves and our community? Are we clear about what price for our own individual comfort or survival is too expensive to pay?
The wise man does not lay up his own treasures. The more he gives to others, the more he has for his own. — Lao Tzu
Readings: Gabriel Garcia Marquez, The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World; Ann McGovern, Stone Soup; The Book of Jonah; Gospel of Luke 9: 10-17, selections from the Tao Te Ching.

 

9) Art as a Sanctuary - In ambiguity and strife, meaning and strength can be found in creativity.
We have art in order not to die of life. - Albert Camus
Readings: selected poems from Keats, Rilke, Hughes, Stevens; William Faulkner, Nobel Acceptance Speech; selections from Existentialist writers, selections from On the Spiritual in Art by Wassily Kandinsky.

 

10) Right Action is Nimble and Contingent - Beneficial responses to societal challenges have many forms. Sincere attention and adherence to value are crucial, especially in turmoil.
You have an obligation to perform your duties, but do not be attached to the fruits of your actions. — Bhagavad Gita
Readings: Aristotle, selections from Ethics; Simone Weil, selection from Waiting for God; Arendt, Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship; selections from the Tao Te Ching; selections from the Bhagavad Gita.

 

Epilogue) Our Relationship to Technology - The scale and scope of our technology has launched humanity into an unprecedented era. The implications of this reach are forcing us to grapple with new questions and new consequences. Do we need new tools to think and proceed wisely?
Act so that the effects of your action are compatible with the permanence of genuine human life. — Hans Jonas
Readings: Hans Jonas, selections from The Imperative of Responsibility; Francis Bacon, selection from The New Organon; Rachel Carson, selections from Silent Spring; Bertrand Russell, selections from The Impact of Science on Society; selected essays on Artificial Intelligence. 

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Series Timeline:

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September 2026 - The workbook and website resource work has already begun and will be completed.
September 2026 - Selection of series participants will take place.
October 2026 - The first onsite series in Ojai will begin.
January 2027 -The second online series will begin.
March 2027 - The third onsite series in Los Angeles will begin.
Summer 2027 - Participant interviews will take place concurrently during all series, with a goal of producing a
    stand-alone book, narrative portion of the website, and revised workbook that will be used in the Round Two
    Series, beginning in August 2027. 

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