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The Power of Ideas: Barbie’s Philosophical World
Sunday October 13 at 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm EDT
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Want to better appreciate Greta Gerwig’s highbrow screenwriting, or been wanting to read some philosophy but need a bubblegum pink excuse? Join philosopher Ryan Miller for eleven weeks as we read and discuss classic philosophical texts in conjunction with brief scenes from Barbie.
How are you here? You’re like an idea. A great idea.
Sasha assumes, like most of us, that ideas are impoverished abstractions of material reality. Plato, however, held the opposite view—called idealism—in which ideas are more real than their mere material instantiations. In his dialogue Phaedo, set as a last discussion with Socrates before his execution, Plato uses this view as an argument for the immortality of the soul and the temporary material body as a mere prison. We will discuss how Plato’s view of death differs from that of Nietzsche (found in week 2) and his metaphysics contrasts with that of Aristotle (from week 4).
- Why does Plato think ideas are more real than material things?
- Why does Plato think the soul is immortal?
- How is Plato’s view of death different from Nietzsche’s?
- How is Plato’s metaphysics different from Aristotle’s?
Before the session, please check out the following:
- Pages 38-39 and 59-66 of the Barbie screenplay and/or this clip of philosophical-discussion-cum-manic-car-chase
- Plato's Phaedo (nerd version)
