A panel discussion on the occasion of the publication of the book by Alik Pelman |

In his book titled Way, Alik Pelman joins a long line of philosophers who have engaged with the art of living and who have aspired to implement their insights in their own lives. Like many of the works of these philosophers, this book uses brief aphorisms to express the author’s ideas. Each chapter deals with a topic related to contemporary human existence, including humankind’s relations with the surrounding culture, with the institutional system, and with the natural environment. Many of the thoughts concern the moral, environmental, and experiential price of the tentacled contemporary socioeconomic system, the feeling of alienation it generates, and the challenges—both theoretical and practical—in store for those who long to break away and carve out an alternative path. The book is unique in that between its chapters are brief descriptions of the autarkic farm that Pelman established for himself a decade ago, descriptions that demonstrate the practical meaning he chose to give the insights and thoughts expressed in the book. At the same time, as he says, the book proposes one of many ways, and the ideas expressed in it “may lead other people to totally different places—physical or theoretical” (Asia Publishers, October 2021).

Participants

Chair: Prof. Pini Ifergan, Bar-Ilan University and the Spinoza Center at the VLJI

Prof. Dror Burstein, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Dr. Noa Naaman Zauderer, Tel Aviv University

Dr. Dror Yinon, Bar-Ilan University and the Spinoza Center at the VLJI

Respondent: Dr. Alik Pelman, Author of the book