Advance ticket sales have ended but plenty of additional tickets remain available at the door.
Profs and Pints Richmond presents: “The Love Lecture,” with Laura Papish, associate professor of philosophy at George Washington University and teacher of a seminar on the philosophy of love, sex, and friendship.
Who wrote the book of love? Why does love have to be so sad? Is it a thin line between love and hate? On a more serious note, how does our society's understanding of love and romantic love shape our experience of it? Why do we think of love as mysterious and irrational? Do those we love need to be lovable? Is love necessarily a morally good thing, or can it make it harder for us to be good?
Show your love for learning this Valentine’s Day by hearing such questions fielded by Laura Papish, who has built a considerable following among Washington D.C. fans of Profs and Pints with her annual talks exploring the intersection of the brain, the soul, and the heart. Hilariously accompanied by her husband, Chris (on guitar), she’ll offer up a delicious assortment of thoughts about the holiday—some dark, some sweet, and some giving you plenty to chew on.
Dr. Papish will start by examining how ancient Greeks thought about erotic love and move on from there, looking at how love is envisioned in modern thinkers, classic novels, recent films, and pop culture. She’ll also discuss the origins of the idea that people have a “soul mate” and how some thinkers have tried to criticize or transform the very concept of love.
Together, we'll explore different possibilities for love and those mysteries about it that have left more than a few of us feeling befuddled.
Feel free to show up if you are lovelorn, love-stricken, or just love to hear interesting conversation over good food and good beer. (Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later. Please allow yourself time to place any orders and get seated and settled in.)
Image: Cupid as rendered in a 1510 painting by Giovanni Antonio Bazzi.