We are excited to offer this year a Philosophy Salon with Dr. Ingo Farin at TopSpace Studio. Ingo has been teaching philosophy for the last 30 years at universities in the US and Australia (UTAS).

The theme for the first Salon is Art and Philosophy, with a special focus on the philosophy of art by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Benjamin. The idea is to read and discuss these authors’ views on art and put them into a historical and contemporary perspective. No previous knowledge of these philosophers (or any other) is a prerequisite. The TopSpace Studio provides a wonderful ambience that is quite conducive to a serious but relaxed philosophical discussion.

We will be meeting once a week on Tuesdays from 6-8 for a total of 5 meetings, starting on October 17th and wrapping up on November 14th. The texts will be available electronically.

Schedule:

October 17th: Introduction: Western Philosophical Thought on Art (from Plato to Clement Greenberg). Texts: Plato, Book X of the Republic and Greenberg “Avant-Garde and Kitsch.”

October 24th: Schopenhauer. Text: “The Object of Art” (from the Third Book of World as Will and Representation)

October 31st: Nietzsche. Text: “The Birth of Tragedy.”

November 7th: Heidegger. Text. “The Origin of the Work of Art.”

November 14th: Benjamin. Text. “The Work of Art in the Age of Reproducibility”