Peter Bolland

Algerian-born philosopher Albert Camus (1913-1960) firmly rejected the label “existentialist” his whole life. Nevertheless, his work stands as its most heartfelt expression. Through the rubble of the Russian revolution, WWII, the Holocaust, and the nuclear bomb, Camus helps us chart a course toward a life of meaning and value. Life, Camus argues, is fundamentally absurd, and we will not find any meaning or purpose in it, other than that which we impose upon it ourselves. Join us for a study of Camus’s bracing but ultimately inspiring work.

The most important pupil to emerge from Plato’s Academy in Athens, Aristotle (384-322 BCE) would end up challenging Plato’s core metaphysical assertions while refining and strengthening his ethical theories. In our ongoing series on The Great Philosophers, join us for this exploration into the way Aristotle shaped the Western worldview like no other philosopher before or since.

Join us for this four-day retreat at Camp de Benneville Pines, centered around a study of my book "The Seven Stone Path: An Everyday Journey to Wisdom." Drive up to this beautiful cluster of cabins high in the San Bernardino National Forest to refresh your heart, mind, and body with restful fellowship, meaningful dialogue, great food, and as much camaraderie or solitude your soul requires. For details about the camp, the reservations and accommodations process at their website https://www.uucamp.org/, or call (909) 794-2928 to have all of your questions answered. This retreat will feature a number of opportunites for growth and connection, and as the keynote facilitator I'll be leading a series of sessions on my book. We'll spend an hour each mid-morning working on the ideas in the book, and we'll gather on the deck every afternoon for open dialogue about the ways these ideas are moving through us. Accommodations are rustic but comfortable. Hope to see you there! We'll arrive on Thursday afternoon, and drive home on Monday morning after breakfast. Don't wait--make your reservations now!

If empathy is the ability to understand and feel the feelings of another, how is it different from sympathy? Is empathy innate or is it learned? Was our capacity for empathy selected by Darwinian evolution as a desirable trait that enhances our survival? Or was empathy built into human nature by a benevolent Creator? Why do some people seem to have so little of it, while others effuse empathy through their every pore? What role does the consciousness of empathy play in the establishment of moral norms, and even our political stances? And what’s up with Narcissists and psychopaths? Join us for this fascinating and timely investigation into the nature of empathy.

For millennia, philosophers have wondered about love. It is obviously a central, formative and essential human experience. But what is it exactly? What are the different kinds of love? What kinds of errors occur when we mistakenly conflate or mistake one kind of love with another? Do we misuse the word “love?” What are the distinctions between compassion, altruism, aesthetic appreciation, erotic attraction, family or tribal bonding, personal need, pathological obsession, kindness, etc.? Working with classical sources and contemporary examples we will examine the experience of love from a number of perspectives and bring clarity to the complex and multi-faceted phenomenon of love.