Screening of the documentary short Being 97, followed by reflections on life and death by local philosophers.
Being 97 is a documentary short that features 97-year-old philosopher Herbert Fingarette reflecting on aging and the meaning of life and death as he approaches his final days.
In his 1996 book about death, Herbert Fingarette argued that fearing one’s own demise was irrational. When you die, he wrote, “there is nothing.” Why should we fear the absence of being when we won’t be there ourselves to suffer it?
Twenty years later, facing his own mortality, the philosopher realized that he’d been wrong. Death began to frighten him, and he couldn’t think himself out of it. Fingarette, who for 40 years taught philosophy at the University of California at Santa Barbara, had also written extensively on self-deception. Now, at 97, he wondered whether he’d been deceiving himself about the meaning of life and death. https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/604840/being-97/
This event will involve a screening of this documentary short. The screening will then be followed by four local philosophers' own reflections on the meaning of life and death. The speakers will be Wayne Pomerleau, John Wagner, Rosemary Volbrecht, and Anna Nowland.
Pomerleau, Wagner, and Volbrecht are Professors of Philosophy, Emeritus, at Gonzaga University.
Ms. Nowland is a senior philosophy major at Gonzaga University.
By attending library programs, you are agreeing to potentially appear in photos/videos taken at our locations that may be used in promotional materials including social media.
We strive to make events welcoming for people of all abilities. To request accommodations, call the library at 509-444-5308.
AGE GROUP: | Adults |
EVENT TYPE: | Learning & Lectures | Book & Film Discussions | Arts & Culture |
Mon, May 29 | Closed |
Tue, May 30 | 9:00AM to 7:00PM |
Wed, May 31 | 9:00AM to 7:00PM |
Thu, Jun 01 | 9:00AM to 7:00PM |
Fri, Jun 02 | 10:00AM to 5:00PM |
Sat, Jun 03 | 10:00AM to 5:00PM |
Sun, Jun 04 | 12:00PM to 4:00PM |
COMPUTERS & TECHNOLOGY
66 public computer stations
MEETING & STUDY ROOMS
300 person capacity nxʷyxʷyetkʷ Hall (pronounced: inn-whi-whi-ettk, a Salish word meaning Life in the Water)
256 capacity combined event space on the 1st floor
34 person capacity maker studio
2 conference rooms
2 reservable co-working spaces in the Business Lab
5 study rooms
Media Studios – production studio, recording studio, and video studio
SERVICES
Friends of the Library used book store
New Leaf Café
Business Lab with Bloomberg Terminal & Coworking Space
Computer Lab (Faxing, copying, scanning, printing)
Inland Northwest Special Collections
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Shimmer (public art) by John Rogers
River Rumpus Children’s Playspace
Serenity Room