Friendship

Socratic Conversation with Ron Gross

Thursday, April 17, 4-5:15pm

Please arrive by 3:45.pm

 

Gottesman Library, Teachers College
525 West 120th St.  – between Broadway & Amsterdam Avenues, north side of street 
#1 train to 116th St.
RSVP to grossassoc@aol.com and http://www.meetup.com/Conversations-New-York/events/176548712/

 

A photo ID is required for admission to building.
PLEASE ARRIVE BY 3:45.
There will be a display of relevant books.
Coffee and refreshments can be purchased as you enter the Library.

Please come to share our experiences, understanding, and questions, including:

(1)What kind of friend do you try to be?

(2)What do you seek from your friends?

(3)Does friendship “just happen” and “grow naturally” –

or are there skills and techniques that can be helpful?

What’s one you’ve learned?

(4)Is friendship different at different stages of life?

(5)Do women’s and men’s friendships differ? How?

(6)How do you feel about re-connecting with old friends  with whom you have lost touch,  via Internet searching or other means?

(7) Are your friendships affected by digital technologies?

(Those Facebook “Friends”…)

(8) What is one of your favorite portrays of friendship in literature, movies, TV, or other genres?  (Like Friends,  Seinfeld, or….?)

(9)What happens when friendships change, falter, or fail?

 

Optional Reading:
Available free on-line:
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics: Book VIII
Michael de Montaigne, On Friendship

Other:
Jacques Derrida, The Politics of Friendship
Steve Duck, Friends,For Life: The Psychology  of Personal Relationships
Joseph Epstein, Friendship: An Expose

Next Socratic Conversation: Thursday, 5/29.