Center for Critical Thought (CCT) and INSTITUTE FOR THE RADICAL IMAGINATION (IRI)
1. German Idealism and its Aftermath: Philosophical and Poetic Reactions with Michael Pelias

Given the multiple Left, Liberal and Neo-conservative interpretations of German idealism in terms of the end(s) of history and or its new beginning, we will interpret the world historical spirit (1) in the light of the enlightenment (2) through a close reading of Hegel’s Phenomenology engage the contemporary world and its multiple variations. By thinking through the aftermath of the closure of Western philosophical thought and its meaning for the neo-liberal epoch, we will encounter some of the poetic responses to this closure and the attempts made philosophically to reorient thought. Authors read will include Kant, Hegel, Mallarme, and Rimbaud among others.
Venue:
James Baldwin High School
Room 317
351 West 18th St
New York, NY 10011
(6:30 – 8:30pm): a ten week course starting October 15th, 2019 — $15 per session or $150 for all ten sessions.
Readings:
Kant, Immanuel. “What is Enlightenment?” (pg. 54–60)
*Please read Kant’s short piece on defining the Enlightenment for the first class
Hegel, G.W. F. Phenomenology of Spirit trans, by A.V. Miller. Oxford University Press
Schelling, F.W.J. Philosophical Investigations into the Essence of Human Freedom
**There will be some handouts given in class as well including Marx’s critique of Hegel’s dialectic.
Purchase all sessions of German Idealism and its Aftermath:
$150.00Add to cart
* It is also possible to pay per session in person. Please RSVP to info@radicalimagination.institute if you would like to attend on a per session basis.
2. The Presocratics and their Contemporary Relevance with Bruno Gulli

In this course, we examine the metaphysics/ontology of individuation, rupture, singularity, and time. Indeed, the question that starts philosophical thinking (What is it?) is not only the question about the essence of reality, the whatness of things, but it is also the question of the process of individuation, change, and ultimately of singularity. The second, but more foundational, question, asked by Parmenides (Is it or is it not?), will, perhaps paradoxically, provide us with the critical tools for an understanding of the dialectics of existence, the vortex of becoming described by Heraclitus. The relationship between being and becoming, permanence and change (Parmenides and Heraclitus) will be central throughout the course. This is the question of time, which we will problematize starting from the original thought of Anaximander. Yet, the point is to also appreciate the importance of this early thinking for (and in) our own times. We will also make reference to other philosophical traditions, such as Taoism in China.
Venue:
James Baldwin High School
Room 317
351 West 18th St
New York, NY 10011
(6:30–8:30pm): an seven week course beginning October 7th, 2019 — $15 per session or $90 for all seven sessions.
Readings:
Patricia Curd’s Reader of Presocratic Philosophy
John Burnet’s Early Greek Philosophy
Martin Heidegger’s Early Greek Thinking
Purchase all sessions of The Presocratics and their Contemporary Relevance:
$90.00Add to cart
* It is also possible to pay per session in person. Please RSVP to info@radicalimagination.institute if you would like to attend on a per session basis.
3. Marxism after Marx with Stanley Aronowitz

In recent times, left scholars, militants, and theorists have returned to Marx in the hope of finding the revolutionary truth. Although the study of Marx and his immense production of critical analysis is necessary and demanding, it alone cannot replace the more current theoretical interventions of the middle twentieth century through the first two decades of the 21st century. This course will focus on three of the most original contemporary versions of Marxism which have taken into account current conditions. We will encounter and focus on the exemplary and original work of the Frankfurt School, Henri Lefebvre, and Antonio Negri. The hope is to think in our times with new concepts and categories needed for understanding and making radical change.
*This seminar will be held at: 244 Madison Ave. #10‑A ( between 37th and 38th Sts.)
(12–2pm): a eight week course beginning October 5th, 2019 — $15 per session or $100 for all eight sessions.
Readings:
Lefebvre, Henri. The Critique of Everyday Life, Volume I
Marcuse, Hebert. One-Dimensional Man
Purchase all sessions of Marxism after Marx:
$100.00Add to cart
* It is also possible to pay per session in person. Please RSVP to info@radicalimagination.institute if you would like to attend on a per session basis.
4. Methods of Inquiry: From Aristotle to Evald Ilyenkov with Arto Artinian

Much has been said about “dialectics” in the context of leftist thinking about politics, yet often the conversation is often vague on the specifics of what is it that dialectics in thinking actually means? What is gained by deploying “dialectical thought”? To counter this tendency, we will trace specific articulations of dialectical movement in thought, with the aim of gaining a clearer understanding of the fundamental concepts, ideas and methods that relate to this mode of thinking.
Our focus is on building a grounding in thinking about everyday life that seeks (rather than avoids) contradictions, and is capable of surviving (as Hegel said) the tensions that arise within it.
Readings will begin with a discussion of sections from Aristotle’s “Prior Analytics” and “Categories”. We will then follow with a few excerpts from Hegel’s studies of logic, while making explicit Hegel’s conversation with Aristotle. We will conclude with a close reading of Soviet philosopher Evald Ilyenkov’s presentation of dialectical thinking, in the context of the thread running from Aristotle, through Hegel and Marx.
Venue:
James Baldwin High School
Room 317
351 West 18th St
New York, NY 10011
(7:00–9:00pm): an eight week course beginning October 16th, 2019 — $15 per session or $100 for all eight sessions.
Readings:
Aristotle: “The Syllogism and its Three Figures: A1-A6” (“Prior Analytics”, Hackett, 1989).
David L. Harvey: “The Logic of Commodity Circuits” (The Philosophical Forum Quarterly, Vol. XV, #3, Spring 1984, pg. 280–323).
Marx, selections from “Capital Vol. 2”.
Purchase all sessions of On Methods of Inquiry:
$100.00Add to cart