Philosophy - Course Outline

The 10 week introductory course offers an entirely practical approach to the study and practice of the philosophical principles governing human society. It draws from the great teachings of East and West, and provides guidance for a deeper understanding of ourselves, the world in which we live and the purpose of human life, and a fresh way of dealing with the challenges that we face in everyday life.

Topics include:

Week 1: Philosophy means 'love of wisdom'. Can this have a practical application in our lives? How often are we fully conscious? How much time do we spend lost in dream?

Week 2: What are the characteristics of the true philosopher? The two aspects of philosophy: the active and the contemplative. The need to train the mind to develop reason and test concepts and propositions in experience.

Week 3: The philosopher's fundamental question: 'Who am I?' The three centres: mind, heart and body, maintained in harmony by reason. The observer within.

Week 4: Finding rest and release from stress between activities. Connecting with the senses. What causes stress? The nature of attention. Plato's view of the changeable and the eternal worlds. The importance of maintaining conscious connection with the present.

Week 5: The concept of beauty. Physical beauty and beauty of ideas, principles and conduct. The appreciation of inner beauty. A Renaissance view of beauty as an expression of the one truth whose light illumines our mind and the forms it perceives.

Week 6: The Vedic view of the three primary constituents of the creation. Observing their operation in ordinary life. Their effect on our level of awareness.

Week 7: Acknowledging our essential, unchangeable being . Freeing ourselves from identification with changing states of minds. 'You cannot be that which you observe.'

Week 8: The virtue of non-identification. The message of the Upanishad: 'Claim nothing. Enjoy.' The components of the mind; intellect and active mind: the conditions in which they operate properly.

Week 9: Bringing the active mind under the guidance of the intellect. The limitations we impose on ourselves. Being free to live a fuller life. Schopenhauer's notion of heroism, leading to knowledge of our true being.

Week 10: The transformation from separation to unity. Consciousness, the vitality of life. Recognising the unity in all things.