Xavier Escribano, a professor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities, taught the first session this academic year of the Philosophy Seminar, which is organized by Dr. Magdalena Bosch. Prof. Escribano spoke to nearly a hundred people about "the problem of death and the origins of philosophy".
Possessing the specifically human trait of being aware that we will die determines how we live: we carry this knowledge with us from the moment we are capable of rational thought and it affects all of our life experience. But can we challenge death in any way? Can we put it into perspective? Should we consider death to be an absolute evil?
These and other questions were raised by Prof. Escribano at the session on Tuesday, 30 September 2014. He said, “Socrates, Thomas More and Sophie Scholl are examples of attitudes towards death in which affirming the transcendental values humans are strongly committed to can suspend the incredible fear of death and even death's overwhelming power”.
Prof. Escribano’s lecture was the first in this year's Philosophy Seminar conference cycle. The seminar was first held four years ago and is organized for secondary-school teachers and students, but anyone interested in the subject matter can also attend.
UIC Philosophy lecturers teach the sessions to get the members of the audience to think about these topics. The lectures last 45 minutes and are followed by a short discussion session.
