Philosophy, Religion, Psychology, and Culture   

Terms like complexes, the shadow, introvert, extravert, archetypes, and the collective unconscious have seeped into common usage. While some may be aware that they originally emerged from the work of the Swiss psychiatrist C.G. Jung (1875-1961), many people do not understand fully the ways in which these concepts were developed within the comprehensive psychological theory that Jung constructed and which continues to have resonance today.

In this course, we will explore core Jungian ideas and their utility in our individual lives and our contemporary world.

We will also delve into dreams and their meaning from a Jungian perspective and explore how one can work with them, whether they are nightmares, or outlandish, or profound or silly. There are no required readings and no required preparation. During the course, the instructor will suggest further resources for those who are interested. We will have fun.

Harari’s 21 lessons + Neil deGrasse Tyson’s cosmic perspectives + Jon Seely Brown’s learning perspectives = an integrated experience with science and astrophysics, knowledge and learning, and Harari’s history and philosophy.

We will analyze why modern man is so justifiably disillusioned and then traverse the philosophical and psychological options of preparing for a world without work, where liberty and equality are balanced against our newest technologies. We will investigate the political challenges of a new civilization born from social media and the issues surrounding nationalism and immigration. Factors of despair like terrorism and war will be countered with possible strategies for hope. We will examine the ellusive issues associated with truth and attempt to uncover a strategy for resilience.

Our guidebook will be Harari's “21 Lessons for the 21st Century.” Past participants in my class on this book will find this update offers reasons for hope.

This is Part Three of a four-course ensemble extending over four academic periods starting Fall 2024 and concluding Winter 2026 focusing on issues of inequality and their relationship to capitalism. The primary text, Thomas Piketty's Capital and Ideology, is divided into four parts of roughly 200-250 pages each. The course will generally follow the chapter structure with additional readings to augment and critique Piketty's arguments.

The Fall 2025 course will focus on the transition from the 19th Century “Ownership Society” to 21st Century “Hyper-Capitalism with particular focus on the changing narratives of inequality and equality (chapters ten through thirteen). The text anchors the intellectual and economic history while providing the context for our examination of the underlying philosophical premises and arguments of the period. In particular, we will assess Piketty’s ongoing critique of capitalism, liberalism and illiberalism and the policies and institutional arrangements that might flow from these critiques.

When the word “God” is mentioned, most people in the West automatically assume a particular concept of God. The Asian religions challenge that concept. In this class we will look at the Hindu concept of Brahman, the Buddhist concept of Nirvana, the Taoist concept of Nature, and the Confucian idea of how our actions relate to the “Way of the Gods.” But the class will not just be about the concept of God. It is also inevitable, especially in the Asian religions, that many practices of the religions are connected to their philosophical ideas, e.g., their rituals and lifestyles. Moreover, the ethical perspective of each religion will be central as well as the concept of an afterlife in each one. I am not a specialist in any of the religions but have taught and reworked the course for over forty years in college and now in OLLI. This will primarily be a philosophy course about the ideas involved in the Asian religions. Personally, I have found the Asian religions a rich challenge to the beliefs with which I grew up and they have opened the door to other ways of seeing the world.

The Soul in Kabbalah: ‘Hearing’ Its Persistent Calling

The soul plays a central role in Kabbalah, Judaism’s mystical tradition. From the 13th century onward, Kabbalistic texts—especially the Zohar—describe the soul as a multi-layered entity involved in both personal transformation and cosmic repair (tikkun). Concepts like reincarnation (gilgul) and the five-part soul structure reflect Kabbalah’s deep vision of the human-divine connection.

This course offers an accessible exploration of these teachings through Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz’s The Soul, which introduces core ideas from theoretical Kabbalah. While we won’t cover the full history of the soul in Judaism, we will gain insight into the Kabbalistic understanding of the soul’s purpose and destiny.

No prior knowledge of Judaism or Kabbalah is required, though a background in either may enrich the experience. Together, we’ll explore how the soul “calls” us to meaning and connection across worlds.

Required reading:  Adin Steinsaltz, The Soul, Maggid Books, 2018.