LifeLong Learning - San Marcos
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Course Description 

What if you didn't choose most of what made you YOU?

 

By a certain point in life, we start to notice how much was settled before we had any say in it. The family we were born into. The temperament we have argued with since childhood. The era, the town, the body, the language. The roles people handed us and the ones we grew into without deciding to. Yet we still tell people to be themselves. We still believe some choices are ours in a way that matters.

 

These four conversations are not lectures. Each session opens with a single honest question and ideas from a few thinkers who took it seriously, then it is ours to explore. Nothing is assigned beforehand, and no one is ever put on the spot. Some people talk. Some people listen. Both are welcome. Join us for one or all four sessions.

 

Session 1: The Hand You Were Dealt. You didn't pick your temperament, your parents, or the century you were born into, yet we praise and blame each other as if we did. A session on what responsibility can still mean for people who did not make themselves.

 

Session 2: Becoming Who You Are. Find yourself, build yourself, or accept what you were handed? Three ideas about identity that contradict each other and that most of us believe at the same time. A session on where the self actually comes from.

 

Session 3: The Roles We Play. Daughter, veteran, caregiver, the one who always hosts. Roles tell us what to do on an ordinary Tuesday and can outlast their usefulness. A session on when the parts we play hold us up and when they hold us down.

 

Session 4: The Freedom That Remains. Freedom is usually described as an open road. But what does it mean when the body sets terms, help becomes necessary, and the calendar narrows? A closing session on the freedom that outlasts the loss of options.

 

Presenter: Ron Stockdreher, Lecturer, Dept. of Philosophy, Texas State University

Ron teaches courses in ethics, applied philosophy, environmental ethics, and a developing field known as engaged ecology. His academic work focuses on helping students apply philosophical insight to real-world challenges, with special attention to our ethical responsibilities to each other, to non-human life, and to the planet. Ron also co-founded the Engaged Ecology Initiative, which fosters dialogue between philosophical traditions and contemporary environmental practice. (Note: LifeLong Learning will host monthly dialogues through the Initiative starting in September). Ron has a Master of Arts in Applied Philosophy and Ethics from Texas State.