Is virtue its own reward? What is justice? Why should we live a moral life? These are questions that many of us are asking ourselves and discussing with others but they are not new topics driven by current events. In fact such issues have been the meat of philosophers and writers from the earliest times.
The Greek philosopher, Plato, posited such enquiries with his classic discussion of ethics, politics, and other facets of life in Republic. Using stories and dialogue featuring different characters he approached the kind of questions that have consumed philosophers and ordinary people over the centuries. The essential themes of the Republic center on the question of why we should live a moral life when we might otherwise live an immoral one and get away with it.
Such was a recent discussion at a gathering of the Houston Institute, whose mission is to help the people of Rice University think deeply about the best way to live. The organization seeks to provide both students and lifetime learners with exposure to the best authors and the best thinkers. Their goal is to provide a venue for meaningful conversations that lead to thinking about the best way to live. In that spirit they provide over fifty programs each year for students and adults that often include a meal.
The discussion of Plato’s philosophical thinking with regard to justice was one of many offered for adults during this year. Those interested in meeting with a diverse group of thinkers have delighted in engaging in a poetry reading, a discussion of the Iliad, and in considering philosophical topics that ask how philosophy might enrich our lives. Each event has been thought provoking and enjoyable.
I suppose that as an educator who continues to work with young students, I appreciate the challenges that we humans face and the questions that we each have as we navigate through the ups and downs of our lives. The Houston Institute posits the idea that a lifetime of study and learning from the great authors and thinkers of the past and the present leads to a more fulfilling experience. As humans we are filled with wonder and questions. Hearing the thoughts of others is essential to our personal growth and our willingness to consider different points of view in deciding the directions we will follow. Through philosophy and literature we can learn more about ourselves and our fellow humans. Through open discussions we share in the goodness of friendship and community.
I first learned of the Houston Institute while taking a continuing education class at the Rice University Glasscock School. There I met Dr. Victor Saenz who is the Executive Director of the Institute. Along with James Prather, the Assistant Director, he has built a thriving community of followers who encourage us all to become part of an intellectual community in which we explore questions that have distinctly defined the innate curiosity of humans. They provide a safe space where diverse groups of people can speak freely and honestly, even when disagreements arise. Much like the intellectual salons of Paris that attracted artists, writers, and philosophers, the Houston Institute is a haven for voicing questions and challenging beliefs.
I admittedly tend to be a listener. It takes time for me to pull my thoughts together into a cohesive and meaningful whole. I enjoy the events more as a fly on the wall, observing the people whose ideas vary from one to another. Then I go home and read more, think more, distill what I have learned until it feels like something akin to my own philosophies. Being part of the adult wing of the Houston Institute has been exciting as I hear from and meet people of every age and of differing occupations and interests seeking explanations for why we humans are as we are. The discussions are both enlightening and challenging just as they are meant to be. They often cause me to question my own beliefs and to look at the world and its people in new ways.
I have often thought of my father and his interest in so many different aspects of our human journey through life. Even though he died at the age of thirty three he left a guide to who he was with the books that he purchased and read so voraciously. Among them was Plato’s Republic. I snatched a copy of it when my mother was giving some of his things away. I hate to admit that it has sat prominently on a bookshelf for all of my adult life but I have never cracked it open to find out why he thought it was so important to have among his possessions. I suppose that the Houston Institute has finally enlivened my curiosity enough to push me to dust off the tome and peer inside. Thus they have encouraged yet one more person to think a bit more deeply.
All It Takes Is A Little Love 