Nature as a Source of Wisdom
Instructor: Peter Whitkop
Wednesdays • 7 classes • 9/18-10/30 • 10:00 AM-12:00 PM
Class size 5-20 students
15 seats remaining
Location: Jewett 190
This course has been cancelled.
The ancient Greek Stoic philosophers believed that nature can be a source of wisdom that informs us as we pursue our goal of a life well lived. Based on this principle, the Stoics developed a roadmap to guide us toward living a fulfilling life.
This course starts by examining the structure of this roadmap and exploring the fundamental beliefs about human nature and the cosmos that lie beneath it.
We then shift our focus to the modern perspective of nature as a complex system. Comparing it with the ancient viewpoints shows that the Stoic roadmap is still valid today.
Along the way, we’ll explore what complex systems can teach us about finding purpose in our lives and dealing with life’s uncertainties and paradoxes. We’ll also see how limitations imposed by nature enhance our creativity and our sense of wonder about the mystery of the cosmos.
The scientific topics will be addressed in an easygoing and accommodating manner, and will be free of mathematical details. The class book, Mystery Teachings From the Living Earth, explains how the laws of complex systems can help us to better understand our own behaviors as they relate to our well being and the health of our planet.
Peter Whitkop holds a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Maine. He has worked in various capacities at Cornell University and DuPont’s Savannah River Laboratory. After returning to Maine, he was an adjunct faculty member in the chemistry department at UMaine, where he researched confined quantum systems and taught courses in analytical chemistry and quantum mechanics. Over the past several years, he has been engaged in a course of individual study that helped guide the development of this course.