The Philosophy Class: Looking for Spinoza

By Gemma Cleanslate

I went over to Wainscot to register for the new year of classes at Professor Bergson’s lecture hall. I have been attending classes here for nine years. Sigh. I just can’t seem to graduate. There have been 614 lectures since the institution of the classes each year in Second Life and there have been 14 projects since the class began in 2009, September. The past lectures can all be found on line if you would like to see all the themes we have completed and talked about. http://thephilosophyclass.blogspot.com/

 I have not attended all the classes but they are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays like clockwork, with the exception of holidays . All are invited to check out the classes and join in on the lectures. Professor presents and then we discuss, sometimes vigorously and sometimes wandering off the subject but are quickly drawn back.

This year the professor, as usual, has a new and intriguing theme for us to delve into.

“In 2003 the famous neuroscientist Antonio Damasio published a book with the title: 'Looking for Spinoza - Joy, Sorrow and the Feeling Brain' The Dutch translation of the book got a rather more ambitious title:

"'Het Gelijk van Spinoza - Vreugde, Verdriet en het voelend brein' which could be translated as 'Spinoza was right - Joy, Sorrow and the Feeling Brain.'

"In this project we'll investigate what Damasio meant and how a philosopher, born in 1632, can contribute to our modern neuroscientific insights.

"But first we'll learn how the philosophical ideas of someone who lived more than 380 years ago are still controversial and closely related to our present situation. “

We will hope to see you in the lecture hall on the opening day, the first of September, Thursday at 1:00 http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Wainscot/204/195/38

Gemma Cleanslate

Philosophy Class: "Why Science is Right"

By Gemma Cleanslate


Tuesday the 2nd of September the Philosophy Class of Professor Herman Bergson gathered for the first time this semester. However, this is Lecture 534. With all the past themes we have completed over the years, Prof  Herman always comes up with a new one to keep us all from graduating. 

This semester will be devoted to the theme "Why Science is Right." The introduction on Tuesday was enticing and evoked a lively discussion as usual. We looked at the facts of where the Sciences developed through the ages. “This project is meant to investigate, whether these are big words indeed or not. What is really science? How should we look at science? How relates science to reality? Is science describing THE reality? What position does science take in our society?” Herman postulated in his lecture. 

Will we all agree that Science was right or will we come to our own conclusions at the end? I know each session , held every Tuesday and Thursday at 1:00PM SL time will be most interesting. Already our discussion is open and thoughtful among the participants. As usual, most of us veterans believe at the end of the term we will have more questions then we began with, but the journey will be fun. Some of us have been here a long time, some come and go, some are new.

If you would like to see the past topics and discussions you can visit the blog page which goes back to class One.  http://thephilosophyclass.blogspot.com/. You are invited to visit the class and join the Philosophy Class Group by touching the Thinker statue in the front yard of the building. Visitors and new members are most welcome. This is Professor’s home and classroom. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Wainscot/217/199/38

Gemma Cleanslate

Herman Bergson's Philosphy Class Begins, Again

 

By Gemma Cleanslate

Tuesday, September 3, The Philosophy class convened for the first time this semester. Presently the Professor, Herman Bergson is lecturing about  Eastern and other philosophies. We have covered many aspects of Western philosophies and philosophers over the past years and all lectures can be reviewed at the blog, http://thephilosophyclass.blogspot.com/ . 

 

The first lecture focused on Confucius and his era and the long lasting extent of his books, to be continued at the next session on Thursday. Our last sessions in June were on an earlier philosophy and the ying and yan which lead up to Lao-tze's Tao-Te-Ching, his book on the Tao, that is the Path or Method. 

 

After the lecture and discussion the professor reminded us that in 16 more lectures he will reach lecture number 500 in Second Life. That is amazing in itself. Some of us have been in class for most of that time, some are new to it all. We just seem to graduate and keep returning year after year on Tuesdays and Thursdays for an hour of lecture and discussion, sometimes heated, sometimes calm. We try to stay on topic but seem to wander off on roads to nowhere and must be pulled back to the subject at hand. 

 

This would be a good time to join the Philosophy class. I asked Herman how many lectures he thought would be included in this project about non-Western philosophies. “We still have a lot of subjects to cover...: Lao-Tze, Taoism,  Buddhism, Indian philosophy, Arabic philosophy....” was his answer. To me it looks as if these lectures will go well into 2014. We will see. 

 

You are welcome to join us on Tuesday and Thursday at 1:00 pm SL Time at  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Wainscot/217/199/38  Hope to see you there . 

 

Gemma Cleanslate

Herman Bergson : Artist

Most of you know of Herman Bergson as the philosophy professor about whom I have written many times. He has taught a weekly two-session class in Second Life at his classroom in Wainscot for over four years. Philosophy is his first love and and life long hobby.

In real life, Herman was a graphics arts teacher for years, and has taken that art to new realms in SL. If you read the article about Mistyowl’s Petit Galerie and went there, you saw some of his art. After the love of Philosophy, Herman’s love is for the Women of Second Life, especially the beautiful ones. There is proof of this at his own museum in Nederlands.

Of his art he says, “Somewhere in this sim I ran into a sign with a question, the Thotica Question it said: What is it we can do or know with SL that we can not do or know without it? My pictures may be a way to show an answer to that question. They are the visualizations of the tension I feel between Real Life and Second Life. You will see me often in a doorway or window or just watching from a distance. This 'Me' is the representative of Real Life. The remainder of the picture tells the Second Life story.”

You will find a notecard that will tell you more about his work. In both museums you can experience how he has incorporated his thoughts and yearnings into each photograph that he has taken. You can study his thoughts and try to interpret what is going on in his mind as he incorporates himself into the story of the view. Sometimes he is watching himself watching, and sometimes he is perhaps dreaming of the past, present, or future of the story depicted. It is hard to tell but fun to contemplate. He has met and known many SL women, as you will see.

When you visit the Nederlands Museum, and after you have perused the many photographs, be sure to take a walk over to his build that is an exquisite replica of a real-life church. Spend sometime inside looking at the hundreds of textures which are all pictures that he took himself and then placed carefully into his build. This church is part of an extensive group of buildings that used to stand in SL. He is multi talented as you can see as a creative master builder and photographer and knows how to use his photography to create art that all can enjoy.

Don’t miss it. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Nederland/5/249/22

Gemma Cleanslate