Beyond the Western Canon - Philosophy Reading and Discussion

The Story

**Episteme** is a philosophy bookclub which thematically pairs a text from the western canon with a major work from a non-western canon (such as Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Islamic or African). The word episteme originally referred to the highest form of knowledge in ancient Greece - it is the root of the word epistemology which is the study of knowledge itself. Foucalt used word episteme to refer to the building blocks of what is conceivable a level up from worldview, paradigm, sacred canopy or meta-narratives. What we are trying to do here is 2 mains things: 1\. Read the western canon so we understand the genealogy of our own knowledge in order to metaphorically "step outside of the cave" \(Plato's allegory of the cave\)\. 2\. Pair western canonical texts with a non\-western canonical text in order to promote appreciation of other non\-western worldviews \(this tension will also be the basis of our intellectual discussions\)\. The reading list is 52 western books and 52 non-western books as listed below and it repeats each year. Two books per week is maybe 300-500 pages or more - this is a very high tempo of reading and discussions that we will work our way through. Because it's a very challenging tempo we consider reading the whole book(s) is laudable but not required to be a member or attend the discussion. Instead of reading the two books in their entireity you may also consider: * Reading just one of the books * Skimming the books * Talking to AI about the books and the topic in general * Reading the wikipedia pages * Bringing your own ideas about the weekly theme Also, please join the telegram group here and let's grow wiser together... [https://www.launchpass.com/brites/episteme](https://www.launchpass.com/brites/episteme). \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* **Week 1 — Humanity's first reckonings with mortality and the nature of being** * The Pre-Socratics * The Epic of Gilgamesh **Week 2 — Mystical metaphysics of the One / ultimate reality** * The Enneads — Plotinu

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