“Joker: Folie à Deux” extends the disturbing narrative of Arthur Fleck to a point where it can no longer be extended. We find him trapped in a double bind, caught between his lived reality and the weight of his Joker persona—a “brand” that was initially his means of escape, his line of flight, now confines him. The film shows the dark side of “branding,” when brand becomes totalizing, when an identity becomes locked into a…
Alexander Nicolai Wendt’s recent book, Phenomenological Psychology as Rigorous Science, attempts to build a much-needed bridge between psychology and philosophy. The presence of such a bridge has always been vital for psychology, as Wilhelm Wundt argued in his 1913 essay “Psychology’s Struggle for Existence,” and I hope others would join Wendt in building it. Wendt is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Sigmund Freud University in Vienna and the Ruprecht-Karls University in Heidelberg. Wendt is…
Following our discussions on Albert Camus’ Exile and the Kingdom, we will turn our attention to George Eliot’s Scenes of Clerical Life. We will have a series of six sessions, two sessions dedicated to each of Eliot’s short stories, from June 22nd to July 27th. Here is the plan: Story 1. “The Sad Fortunes Of The Reverend Amos Barton” – Two meetings: June 22 & 29 Story 2. “Mr. Gilfil’s Love Story” – Three meetings:…
Announcing the book and schedule of our reading group (Davood’s book club) for May and June 2024. We’ll be reading Exile and the Kingdom by Albert Camus (translated by Carol Cosman).
I recently listened to a panel discussion of authors reflecting on the use of ChatGPT. Although I agree with their broad skepticism towards using AI, there was an underlying attitude in their discussion—a negative attitude toward something else, something other than AI. The critique against using AI, e.g., ChatGPT, in writing often rests on the assumption that its use takes us away from the purity—and the nobility—of the ‘blank page.’ But the page is never…