Camden Philosophical Society Reading Group to Continue Discussion on the Idea of History

At the March meeting of the Camden Philosophical Society’s monthly reading group two essays will be discussed. Copies of both essays will be available for the asking at the Library front desk about a week before the meeting. The March meeting is on Thursday, March 25. All meetings are from 4 to 6 pm.

These essays were chosen to further our discussions on the idea of history stimulated by essays of R.G. Collingwood which were read in January and February.
 
The first essay, “Giambattista Vico and Cultural History” is by Isaiah Berlin.  It can be found in his book The Crooked Timber of Humanity:  Chapters in the History of Ideas, 1990.  On Wikepedia it is said that Sir Isaiah Berlin was a philosopher and historian of ideas, regarded as one of the leading thinkers of the 20th century, and as the dominant liberal scholar of his generation.  “He excelled as an essayist, conversationalist and raconteur, and as a brilliant lecturer who could improvise rapidly and spontaneously.”
 
The second essay is an appreciation of Berlin by The New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof titled, “Explorer.”  It can be easily found in the February 25, 2010 edition of The New York Review of Books.
 
The Camden Philosophical Society also encourages “rapid and spontaneous improvisation,” monthly, on the chosen readings. The group meets regularly at the Camden Public Library on the fourth Thursday of each month. 
 
For more information please contact Greg Chilenski at 236-8552 or gchilenskiphd@localnet.com.