THIS SEMINAR IS SOLD OUT.  

Aristotle’s De Anima along with his Ethics and Politics explore what it means for each of us to be human and how we can individually pursue happiness by moderating our desires with reason.  The problem is that, as we pursue our agenda and plans of action, others people are also following theirs, maybe with or maybe without reason and moderation.  The result: disagreements and conflicts. Aristotle sees our lives as unfolding dramas in which we try to persuade each other to do what we think is the right thing to do.

How do we learn how to do that?  Aristotle shows us how to persuade in his Rhetoric. In the Poetics, he explains how dramatic stories use situations, character, schemes of action, thought, and language to serve as archetypal role models or “imitations” of what can go right or wrong. These works show us how to draw on the arts of persuasion and storytelling to make a difference in our own lives.  

Come join our moderator, Malachy Walsh, retired advertising man and author of Socratic Scribbling, for a month of lively discussion of Aristotle that Malachy claims can not only help you better understand the drama of your  life, but also become a more impactful  thinker, writer, and speaker.  

Participants are welcome to use any translation of the Rhetoric and the Poetics, as long as the texts are complete and incude the standard Bekker numbers for easy reference.