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A new, 11-month Interintellect book club journeying into the lives and opinions of Western philosophers through Will Durant’s The Story of Philosophy. Buy your copy of the book here.
Last Sunday of each month, 6-9 PM UK time (1-4 PM EST)
Perks of being a member:
- Access to series tickets like this one
- Discount on all other Interintellect events
- Access to our community forum on Discord, where the follow up channel of The Story of Philosophy awaits attendees for discussions between episodes
- Access to all members-only events too
More details about memberships here.
| # | Date | Chapter | Pages (2006 Edition) |
| 0 | 28-Feb-21 | Introductory Salon | |
| 1 | 28-Mar-21 | Plato, Socrates | 1-52 |
| 2 | 25-Apr-21 | Aristotle and Greek Science | 63-96 |
| 3 | 6-June-21 | Francis Bacon | 123-183 |
| 4 | 27-Jun-21 | Spinoza | 187-253 |
| 5 | 25-Jul-21 | Voltaire and The French Enlightenment | 257-324 |
| 6 | 22-Aug-21 | Kant and German Idealism, Hegel | 329-379 |
| 7 | 26-Sep-21 | Schopenhauer | 389-448 |
| 8 | 31-Oct-21 | Herbert Spencer | 457-518 |
| 9 | 28-Nov-21 | Nietzsche | 522-581 |
| 10 | 9-Jan-22 | Bergson,Croce,Bertrand Russell | 584-631 |
| 11 | 6-Feb-22 | George Santayana,William James, Dewey | 635-697 |
Become Acquainted with the Story of Philosophy
London ii Hosts Flick Hardingham and Irene JK will explore the evolution and story of Western philosophers and their ideas through The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant. The book is considered to be a foundational read for anyone who wants to acquaint and learn about philosophy. While we will be reading the opinion and perspectives through the author’s point of view, we will explore and question its relevance in context to our modern lives. Are these views still effectual or archaic? How can we infuse some of the wisdom into our own lives? We will explore the story of the human behind the thoughts and turn the lens towards ourselves, our lives and worlds.
We will explore each philosopher by reading the relevant chapter of Durant’s book and discussing in a salon. Our goal is to foster and facilitate meaningful conversations to try and decode the layers behind these great philosophers and their lives. The salons are free flowing participative discussions and are not recorded.
Come join us in this journey as we travel through this book and explore the story of philosophy.
Active Participation
Please read each chapter in advance of the corresponding meeting, as well as additional suggested reading as time and interest allows. The book is a dense read, so you may find it helpful to jot down ideas that occur to you or notes about concepts that seem important either directly in the book, post-it notes or a notebook. This guide from Harvard on how to actively engage and interact with texts is a really useful starting point.
The reading group will be most valuable for everyone if we all set out to contribute what we can, in the spirit of vigorous and open discussion. Please approach your reading and discussion with an open but active mind, and sincere intent.
During each salon, participants will be invited to share and discuss.
- Which part of this philosopher’s life and teaching resonated with you the most?
- Which of their core beliefs do you believe are still relevant today? Which are not? Why?
We will also leave space to discuss the content of each chapter more generally, specific questions raised by participants and allow the conversation to evolve in the most insightful way for all.
We look forward to seeing you there.
The Ethos for this Book Club
| Committed Enquiry |
| Each of us is dedicated to actively co-creating an inspiring and respectful learning community. |
| Learn. Grow. Repeat. |
| We’re Pac-Man for knowledge and seek to integrate all that we learn into how we think and do. |
| More Heads Are Better Than One |
| Exponential individual and societal growth is made possible through diverse perspectives. |