Spring 2017 OLLI Catalog (Interactive)

PEER-LED CLASSES (Omnilore)
Common Reading:
The Stone Reader: Modern
Philosophy in 133 Arguments
1st Edition, edited by Peter Catapano
and Simon Critchley
(December 2015)
(STN) The Stone:
New York Times Essays In Modern Philosophy
In 2010 the New York Times established a philosophy column,
The Stone, moderated by Simon Critchley and featuring the
writing of contemporary philosophers and other thinkers on
issues both timely and timeless. First appearing as an online series,
the column attracted millions of readers through the accessible
examination of universal topics like the nature of science,
consciousness, and morality, while also probing more contemporary
issues such as the morality of drones, gun control, and the gender
divide. The column emancipated contemporary philosophy from
its academic closet where it had been the province of ivory-tower
professors and college classrooms. Now the essays from this
column have been collected and published in a book,
The Stone Reader.
The authors of the essays are leading contemporary thinkers who
engage closely, critically and analytically with the affairs of the day,
and help reveal the power of philosophy to help shape our viewpoints
on nearly every issue we face today.
Common Reading:
The Hidden Reality:
Parallel Universes and the
Deep Laws of the Cosmos,
by Brain Greene (November 2011))
(UNV) The Hidden Dimensions of the Universe
There was a time in the recent past when we believed that our
Milky Way galaxy was the extent of our universe. Today, after many
decades of astronomical and astrophysical research and exploration,
we know for certain that our galaxy is only one among billions of
others. Yet with all that we have discovered, there are many major
aspects of our universe which are hidden to our immediate perception
and detection. This S/DG will explore those hidden dimensions.
Suggested topics for presentations might include: dark energy, dark
matter, strings, gravitational waves, other universes (“multiverse”),
the holographic principle, among others.
Dr. Brian Greene is a well-known and published professor of
physics and mathematics at Columbia University, as well as a
Rhodes Scholar. He is considered by many to be a consummate
presenter of programs about our universes and the possibility of
other universes as well as the “unseen-hidden” aspects of our
own Milky Way.
44 OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE @ CSU DOMINGUEZ HILLS