Deep Thoughts: Philosophy-Themed Events

By Troy Segal

There may be more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in philosophy, to paraphrase the Bard. But that doesn’t mean theoretical approaches, and systematic interpretations of the world and various subjects, are without value or interest — as these upcoming NYC talks, lectures, and presentations demonstrate.

A fashion authority (Barneys creative consultant Simon Doonan) and a philosopher (Dion Mattison) discuss and deconstruct the art of menswear, and what current styles say about masculine image and identity, at the Pratt Institute, Oct. 6.

Reflect on the aging process, and how it can be used for self-examination and growth, as author Dag Sebastian Ahlander (Older and Happier!), discusses his new book, Older and Wiser!, Oct. 7 at Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America.

Even in outer space, you cannot change the laws of physics (as Star Trek engineer Scotty perpetually protested). So who better than a physicist, plus two scientifically oriented philosophers, to discuss The Origins of the Universe: Why Is There Something Rather than Nothing? at the New York Academy of Sciences, Oct. 14.

The Aesthetic Realism Foundation, home of a 70-year-old philosophy that argues the study of what makes for beauty in art is a guide for a good life, likes to unfold its principles in presentations that parse works of literature and song; on Oct. 18, it’ll be the problem of evil Hawthorne’s short story “Young Goodman Brown” and humility in the Beatles song, “She Loves You (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah).”

Examine the evolution of morality in human beings — the subject of a conversation among religious, psychological and medical experts, part of Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival, at the Walter Reade Theater, Oct. 25.