Philosopher's Cafe with David Goa - October-November-December
Come join me and your thoughtful neighbors this fall at either South East Edmonton Seniors Association or The Central Lions Senior Centre to talk about the place of Christmas in our religious, civil, and secular lives, what we can learn from our feline house friends and why we treasure the art of thinking, the "Doctrine of Discovery" and what we are to make of the Pope's most recent commitment to healing and reconciliation with the country's Indigenous people, and the thousand year tradition the liturgy of coronation of King Charles the III and it's significance in light of the global move toward republicanism.
See places, dates and time below. I look forward to thinking with you.
Join me at the South East Edmonton Seniors Association (SEESA), 9350 – 82nd Street, Edmonton for the following conversations:
26 October, Thursday, 1 – 2:30pm
“The Doctrine of Discovery”: Colonialism & Indigeneity, State & Church
*Please call 780.496.7369 to register to attend.
During Pope Francis’ “penitential pilgrimage”, July 24-29, part of a commitment to healing and reconciliation with the country's Indigenous people he did not mention “The Doctrine of Discovery”. Various commentators brought this “Doctrine” into the foreground. After each gathering, at Maskwacis, the Sacred Heart Parish and the Liturgy at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, the Lac Ste. Anne Pilgrimage, the Citadelle de Quebec and National Shrine of Saint Anne de Beaupre, his Vespers with Bishops, Priests, Deacons, seminarians and pastoral workers in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, his meeting with various delegations of Indigenous Peoples and his meeting with young people and elders in the primary school square in Iqaluit, commentators asked why he had not repudiated “The Doctrine of Discovery?” On his flight back to Rome he spoke with reporters about it. On March 30th, 2023, a joint statement of the Dicaseries for Culture and Education addressed the Church’s historic role in “discovery” and its official position. Join in a conversation about the “Doctrine”, its history and purpose and what we are to make of this official statement.
16 November, Thursday, 1 – 2:30pm
Feline Philosophy: What I Have Learned about Human Nature from Tom the Cat
*Please call 780.496.7369 to register to attend.
The eminent British philosopher John Gray published a charming little book, Feline Philosophy, Cats and the Meaning of Life, in 2020. Following his charming consideration set against the backdrop of how we moderns think about human life including a critique of postmodern ideology, he offers ten lessons on how to live and, perhaps, live well learned through his attentiveness to cats. The two cats that have been part of my life taught these lessons as well. In this philosopher café we will consider those four-footed creatures who have no need of philosophy and what they teach us about why we treasure the art of thinking and its gifts as well as how thinking, abstraction, and ideology, so easily become a way of avoiding the simple gift of life.
14 December, Thursday, 1 – 2:30pm
Christmas: Religious, Civil and/or Secular?
*Please call 780.496.7369 to register to attend.
The Christmas season is upon us. A time perhaps of renewed attentiveness to others; a family gathering; for others, a time of loneliness and struggle. What do we make of it? Is Christmas a family feast, a gift giving potlatch? Is it a time when the dominant carol is, “angles we have heard on high, saying to go out a buy?” Is there a resonance between the religious, civil, and secular dimensions of how this season is shared in our shared life in Canada and within Christian and various other religious communities? There are many remarkable features to this festive season and, in our thinking and conversation together, along with song and poetry, we will consider the echoes of ancient texts and rituals and the hope for a renewal of our life together as we move into darkest time of the year.
Join me at the Central Lions Seniors Centre, 11113 – 113 Street, Edmonton for the following conversations:
19 October, Thursday, 1:30 – 3:00pm
“The Doctrine of Discovery”: Colonialism & Indigeneity, State & Church
*Please call 780.496.7369 to register to attend.
During Pope Francis’ “penitential pilgrimage”, July 24-29, part of a commitment to healing and reconciliation with the country's Indigenous people he did not mention “The Doctrine of Discovery”. Various commentators brought this “Doctrine” into the foreground. After each gathering, at Maskwacis, the Sacred Heart Parish and the Liturgy at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, the Lac Ste. Anne Pilgrimage, the Citadelle de Quebec and National Shrine of Saint Anne de Beaupre, his Vespers with Bishops, Priests, Deacons, seminarians and pastoral workers in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, his meeting with various delegations of Indigenous Peoples and his meeting with young people and elders in the primary school square in Iqaluit, commentators asked why he had not repudiated “The Doctrine of Discovery?” On his flight back to Rome he spoke with reporters about it. On March 30th, 2023, a joint statement of the Dicaseries for Culture and Education addressed the Church’s historic role in “discovery” and its official position. Join in a conversation about the “Doctrine”, its history and purpose and what we are to make of this official statement.
23 November, Thursday, 1:30 – 3:30pm
Feline Philosophy: What I Have Learned about Human Nature from Tom the Cat
*Please call 780.496.7369 to register to attend.
The eminent British philosopher John Gray published a charming little book, Feline Philosophy, Cats and the Meaning of Life, in 2020. Following his charming consideration set against the backdrop of how we moderns think about human life including a critique of postmodern ideology, he offers ten lessons on how to live and, perhaps, live well learned through his attentiveness to cats. The two cats that have been part of my life taught these lessons as well. In this philosopher café we will consider those four-footed creatures who have no need of philosophy and what they teach us about why we treasure the art of thinking and its gifts as well as how thinking, abstraction, and ideology, so easily become a way of avoiding the simple gift of life.
David Goa focuses on deepening the capacity of the faithful to think through the gifts of their traditions: the spiritual life, the theological traditions and our responsibility to the public world. Supporters help him continue to do this important work.
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