What We Can Learn from the Greeks: TRAGEDY AS AN ETHICAL WORLDVIEW

Discussion led by Clare Pearson

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Clare Pearson Clare Pearson did her graduate study with the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago, where she worked in the intersections of ethical philosophy and literature. She has taught at the University of Chicago, Christ College (the honors college of Valparaiso University), in the philosophy department at St Xavier University, and in philosophy and humanities at Oakton College. She currently teaches in the Basic Program of Liberal Education for Adults at the University of Chicago Graham School, where she chaired the program from 2004 to 2009 and won the 2013 Graham School Award for Excellence in Teaching. While chair, she was also instrumental in developing the Asian Classics program. She has published on Martin Heidegger and has given a variety of lectures and talks in Chicago over the last 25 years, including several at Kibbitznest before the pandemic.

Summary: Most people think of tragedy as something to avoid and overcome, or perhaps merely as a genre of playwriting, but for the Greeks, tragedy permeated their culture-- it was the core spiritual and ethical understanding of the human condition. An experience of tragedy, with the perspective shift that catastrophic suffering brings, was seen as central to a true understanding of yourself, to wisdom, and to the common good. It has been argued that neither Christianity, with its focus on redemption and afterlife, nor the post-Enlightenment progress of science and technology, are compatible with the tragic worldview. And it’s hard to deny that we live in interesting times, where hubris is often treated as a virtue. In this interactive talk/discussion, we consider what tragedy meant to the Greeks and why and how it was seen as the center point of an ethical life, taking up how the idea gets developed in various plays and histories, in Homer, and even in the structure of Plato’s dialogues. We’ll also think about how tragedy as a perspective intersects or clashes with the modern world, and what value it might have for us in the crises we face in the 21st century.

The Kibbitznest Liberal Arts Discussion Series is a collaboration primarily with the University of Chicago Graham School where we invite faculty and instructors to present and discuss their original research. In keeping with the mission to promote face to face communication, we encourage the audience to ask questions as prompted by the instructor. The discussion will end at approximately 7:15-7:30 at which point you are free to leave. You can also go ahead and gather at a table if you would like to discuss the topic further.

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