Review: PLU Philosophy Club
We have been busy: PLU Presents, the PLU Writing Workshop, weekly PLU Open Mic Nights, collaborations, blog posts… It’s been great to take part in the creative energy and to provide spaces for people to engage during these potentially isolating times. Another of these events is the PLU Philosophy Club. Led by Blake Denham, every Monday at 8 p.m. (Paris time) the group meets on Zoom to discuss a segment from a philosophical text - so far the club has investigated Soren Kierkegaard, Simone de Beauvoir, and Gabriel Marcel. The purpose of the club is to provide new perspectives to participants through reading and relevant discussion. In this post, the longtime Paris Lit Up member, open mic host, writer, and contributor Ursula Wynne - a PLU Philosophy Club regular - recounts her experiences.
Why join a philosophy club when life is the real school and, in your quest for meaning, you can share life experiences with others and read books to widen your horizons and deepen your understanding? These considerations aside, my first experience of philosophy with The Concepts of Marx was a disappointing one. All the more so, when the Greek professor, lecturing in French, announced to the 30-odd students in my class at the open university in Vincennes that as it was only a 6-month course and there was so much ground to cover, he would be unable to answer any of our questions. That was the nail in the coffin of my eagerness. Nevertheless, I followed his lectures to the bitter end of the 6 months, only to drop out of university a year later. Any other brief altercations with philosophy and academics compounded my first impression that it was a male-dominated, cerebral, sterile field. Such were my initial biases.
Blake performing in the PLU Open Mic Night at Culture Rapide.
So what tempted me to join? I guess it goes back to seeing Blake Denham’s enthusiasm when he came to Paris Lit Up’s open mics at Culture Rapide, in Belleville. Blake’s genuine love of philosophy and the way it filtered through his writings, captivated my attention. On occasion, he would pose a philosophical question to the audience, conjuring up a moment of group reflection. Soon he became an active member of Paris Lit Up and joined its monthly meetings online even after returning to the United States to continue his studies. When Blake came back to Paris as an assistant teacher in October 2020, just before the Covid lockdown, and proposed to host a weekly Philosophy Club, to which people I held in esteem signed up, I decided life was throwing down a gauntlet and I would pick it up. How am I doing so far? Well, I have not missed a Monday evening since it began in December 2020.
Unfinished sketch of Søren Kierkegaard, by his cousin Niels Christian Kierkegaard, c. 1840 (Wikimedia Commons)
Blake suggested we commence with Existentialism, a timely topic in the middle of a pandemic, and he launched the first sessions with readings from Kierkegaard, the father of existentialism. This was no easy task; to quote Siegbert W. Becker, “Like Karl Barth, his thought is always on the wing and it takes a sharp eye and a good aim to bring it down. And when it is neatly laid out before us cold and dead, Kierkegaard would himself disown it.”
I read 20 pages of Kierkegaard and was cross-eyed, so I took to researching his life and watching conferences on YouTube given by professors, who had digested his findings and were devoted to imparting them to others. Participating in the guided discussions on The Philosophy Club zoom from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., I learnt to further decipher some of Kierkegaard’s perspectives. Each week our assignment was to read another 20 pages, while Blake sent us questions to guide our lively discussions.
Simone de Beauvoir.
Once we had unanimously decided that we were ready to leave our illustrious, philosopher friend Kierkegaard behind, we democratically chose to explore a female, existential philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. Little did I suspect what a monumental masterpiece, “La Deuxieme Sex” (The Second Sex) was – all 800 pages. No, we didn’t read the entire book, just a few extracts – enough to measure the depth of her research and the extent of women’s oppression engineered for thousands of years by a patriarchal society.
A photo of Gabriel Marcel taken from the cover of his book Homo Viator.
Today we are exploring the great, French philosopher, Gabriel Marcel and currently reading a chapter on the Metaphysics of Hope, which is like a metaphysical manual with practical guidelines on how to dig oneself out of despair. So far, Gabriel is my favourite and I am really looking forward to discovering more about him and his work. Had it not been for Blake’s inspirational endeavours and the delightful people who contribute each week to our philosophical musings, I might still be stuck in the old trenches muttering, “Philosophy – ‘Bof!’(French for who cares) Intellectual humbug.” Much gratitude to Blake.
The fabulous Ursula Wynne.
If you are interested in participating in the PLU Philosophy Club, email blake@parislitup.com to be added to the mailing list and to receive the readings as well as an outline of the weekly content.