UHU Fall Semester On-Campus courses 2011 (Sep 14 - Dec 19)
1. Every Monday, 4.00 - 5.00 pm (18.09 – 19.12.2011) - Technology and Evolution - By Daniel Goldsmith, Professor of Philosophy, Dawson College, Quebec
The twelve-week course will take a multidisciplinary approach (using history, philosophy, anthropology, and film (2001: A Space Odyssey)) as a way of starting a dialogue about humanity's present and future relation to technology. We will see that technology is an excellent way to highlight the connections between the western humanistic tradition and Sri Aurobindo, and ask how technology is related to Integral Yoga and the future evolution of mankind. Along the way, we will use Martin Heidegger's thoughts on the subject to see just how difficult it is to approach this topic. We will explore Heidegger’s approach of “phenomenologically reducing” this issue, and consider its parallels in the Indian philosophical tradition. Finally, we will also discuss several controversial viewpoints on technology as a way of raising questions of individual responsibility in an increasingly technologized world. Prior background in philosophy is helpful, though not required.
2. Every Monday, 5.15 - 6.15 pm (18.09 – 19.12.2011) - An Introduction to Metaphysics: Heidegger and Sri Aurobindo, by Rod Hemsell
In this course we will review the basic concepts of metaphysics in the light of Heidegger and Sri Aurobindo. Both philosophers approached the understanding of truth and being from in-depth studies of their respective classical traditions: Greek and Sanskrit. And both arrived at remarkably similar concepts of the soul and of the importance of gnosis, as opposed to logical thought. We will follow their paths as closely as possible, without necessarily having a background in the classical languages, in order to learn about the basic structures of knowledge, truth, consciousness, and the methods of philosophy.
The primary texts will be Heidegger’s The Essence of Truth (1931-32) and Sri Aurobindo’s The Life Divine (Pt. Two, 1939-40).
3. Every Wednesday, 5.00 – 6.00 pm (14.09 - 14.12.2011) - The Studies of the Bhagavad Gita: Karma Yoga by Vladimir Yatsenko:
This is a thorough study of the first six chapters of the Bhagavad Gita known as Karma Yoga. In these chapters the whole vision of the Karma Yoga is unfolded by Sri Krishna step by step. The ancient secret of the Sacrifice and the Psychology of Yoga of Works are revealed and explained in detail. The basic knowledge of Sanskrit and Sri Aurobindo’s interpretation are required for the better understanding and appreciation of the fundamentals of Yoga of Works.