My Course at Parallax Academy
The Convivial Life: Conversations with Ivan Illich & Friends
Dear Friends of the POP-UP School
You may be interested in taking my new course hosted at Parallax Academy this September. Here is the description from the course website:
The course aims to explore the philosophical teachings of Ivan Illich, a deeply religious and brilliant thinker who lived in a time when it was common for friends to share meaningful conversations about personal life and the state of the world. Illich’s ideas were often controversial and provocative, and he considered it his mission to build committed human ties by working through difficult issues by challenging the “conventional wisdom.” The course will use Illich’s provocations to catalyze a deeper understanding around the meaning of this world and how we live our lives in these times.
Illich’s provocative views challenged people to drop into a more intimate friendship, what Illich referred to as “occasions for the kindling and growth of philia.” Speaking to his interlocutor, David Caley, he reflected on his mission: “I wanted to see if it would be possible to create truly, deeply committed human ties on the occasion and by the means of a common investigation.” Illich who was both behind his times and ahead of his times: with one foot in the 12 th century, and one foot in the 21 st century, he was an exile of his own time, and for the most part, remains misunderstood even by his fans. Illich is best known for describing the inflection point in human history when original good deeds turn into the most serious inversions of them: “The medicine makes you sick, the money makes you poor and the schools make you stupid.” He saw this inflection point in all sectors of human society, including both church and state.
We might re-interpret “our time in between worlds” as a direct result of the inversion of the old world wherein the original goods and values that the western world was founded on, have turned into their opposites. So where do we go from here?
This course continues the spirit of Illich and his mission. Each of the four modules has a pre-recorded presentation, and four weekly live on-line sessions. Parallax has also designed the course to include “campfire sessions” following the live-on-line sessions which will function as “occasions for kindling philia.”
Here is a short introduction to Parallax’ new series and my course that launches it.
For more information, and to register, jump on over to Parallax’ Website
(Note: All the course resources & recordings will be made available to anyone who has a yearly paid subscripton as of October 1, 2023)
So wonderful! I adore Illich and was deeply influenced by him after finding his work in my mid-twenties! I’m so happy he’ll be reaching a wider audience through this course!