Margo's and Sofia's Salons

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Intellectual friends,

I am proud to announce "Margo's and Sofia's (Summer) Salons" or MASSes that will be held at my house every tuesday evening through mid August. My young friends Margo (Ethics student) and Sofia (Sociology student) will preside over small gatherings structured like this

  • Each evening will be devoted to a theme
  • Before the salon, we will send out (short) guidelines and/or reading material for people to prepare (anybody can contribute inputs)
  • The day of the salon Margo and Sofia will briefly introduce the theme and moderate the discussion
  • The discussion will start with the simple question "What is it?" Each person who wants to answer it will get five minutes. Then we can start interacting.

People can also attend remotely via Skype so feel free to invite friends who live in other cities.

piero scaruffi


Schedule of Summer MASSes


MASS-1
When: June 23 @ 7:30pm at piero's house
Theme: "Creativity"
  • Is creativity discovery or expression?
  • Is creativity a responsibility/ duty
  • When and why are people creative?
  • What's the purpose of creativity?
  • Is creativity unique to humans?
  • What differentiates imitation from creativity? Does one need the other?
  • Why are humans creative?
  • When is creativity welcomed by society and when is not?
  • Is there an ethics of creativity?
  • Is creativity a Western myth?
  • 1% of the world's population owns 40% of the world's wealth, but who owns 40% of the world's creativity?
  • Does creativity serve a specific purpuse"?
  • Is creativity fueled by scarcity?
  • Are there some cultural traits that promote creativity more than others?
Readings:

MASS-2
When: June 30 @ 7:15pm at piero's house
Theme: "Love"
  • What are we asking for when we ask for love?
  • What is common among all the different "types" of love: charity, pity, friendship, romantic, sexual love....?
  • What happens to love when we cease to ask for anything in return?
  • What are the responsibilities of love?
  • Is self-love love gone wrong?
  • Is love a social construction or something inherent to the human being?
  • How is the Western idea of love different from the Eastern idea of love?
  • Does love equal sacrifice?
Readings:
MASS-3
When: July 7 @ 7:15pm at piero's house
Theme: "Evil"
  • Are we fully responsible for our own evil? are we responsible for the evil of others?
  • Is evil just a common relative measurement of value?
  • Where does evil come from?
  • Can good intentions result in evil?
  • Is evil a necessary antagonist for goodness?
Readings:
  • Evil in various ancient civilizations
  • "If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?" (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn)

MASS-4
When: July 14
Theme: "Freedom"
  • What's the relationship between freedom and free-will?
  • Is freedom the opposite of determinism?
  • Is it possible to believe in neuroscience and in free-will at the same time?
  • Are we capable of being truly and fully free?
  • Why is freedom such an important value? (Many wars fought in its name)
  • Does freedom carry responsibilities?
Readings:
MASS-5
When: July 28
Theme: "Happiness"
  • Is happiness directly related to our environment, and if so can happiness exist in the absence of a positive one?
  • Can happiness come from suffering or sadness? If so, how does this happen?
  • To what extent media has shaped our ideas about happiness?
  • Is the seek for happiness a product of modern societies?
  • How do we measure happiness?
  • 1% of the world's population owns 40% of the world's wealth, but who owns 40% of the world's happiness?
  • Are suicide rates a good measure of unhappiness in various countries?
Readings:
MASS-6
When: August 4
Theme: "Justice"
Readings:

Notes for potentially future masses

MASS-?
When: ?
Theme: "Identity"
Readings: