[MGSA-L] Chicago Lecture by Professor Hamalis

[Stefanos Sakellarides]

*Greek Philosophy as a Way of Life: Historical Shifts and Contemporary
Implications*

*On Sunday, December 8, 2013, Hellenic Link–Midwest presents Dr. Perry
Hamalis in a lecture titled “Greek Philosophy as a Way of Life: Historical
Shifts and Contemporary Implications”. The event will take place at 3 pm at
the Four Points Sheraton Hotel, 10249 West Irving Park Road at Schiller
Park (southeast corner of Irving Park Road and Mannheim Road). Admission is
free for HLM members and students with ID, and $5 for non-members.*

Henry David Thoreau once commented that, “Nowadays, there are philosophy
professors, but no philosophers”. Thoreau’s words highlight a shift that
seems to have occurred within philosophy.  Philosophy once was a way of
life, now it is an academic discipline; formerly the “love of wisdom,”
Philosophy has now become a field of discourse, one populated by
specialists who know a lot about philosophers’ writings and arguments, but
who typically lack wisdom—or even the love of wisdom.  Drawing on the work
of Pierre Hadot, this lecture will  begin with a discussion of the meaning
of “wisdom” and its connection to ethos or “ethics.”  Then some current
examples, ranging from workplace challenges to family life, will be
presented stressing   present day implications of the disappearance of
philosophy as a way of life.   After this, we will look at the teachings of
some ancient Greek Philosophers as a way of remembering the meaning of
Philosophy before it became what it is today— to understand Philosophy as a
way of life, not as a field discourse that is often divorced from everyday
life. With this ancient backdrop in place, we will then identify several of
the main factors that contributed to Philosophy’s regression during the
Middle Ages and Early Modern periods. Finally, we will end on a hopeful
note, one that centers on ways in which “the love of wisdom” endures in our
world and can continue to help each of us live more meaningfully and
virtuously.

*Perry Hamalis* is the Cecelia Schneller Mueller Professor of Religion and
Director of College Honors Programs at North Central College in Naperville,
IL. He earned his Ph.D. in Religious Ethics at the University of Chicago,
his M.Div. from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, and his B.A.
in Philosophy from Boston College, where he was also inducted into Phi Beta
Kappa. Dr. Hamalis’s primary areas of research and teaching include Eastern
Orthodox Christian Ethics, religion & politics, and applied ethics. He is a
supporter of the ecumenical movement and serves as a consultant to the
Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches. In addition to
his forthcoming book *Formed by Death: Insights for Ethics from Orthodox
Christianity*, his works have been published in the *Journal of Religion,
Studies in Christian Ethics, *and* the Greek Orthodox Theological *Review,
and in several edited volumes and encyclopedias, including *Toward an
Ecology of Transfiguration*, ed. John Chryssavgis and Bruce Foltz, *The
Orthodox Christian World*, ed. Augustine Casiday; *Thinking through Faith*,
ed. Aristotle Papanikolaou and Elizabeth Prodromou; and *The International
Encyclopedia of Ethics*, ed. Hugh LaFollette.
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