The public is invited to the Marion Music Hall on Thursday, August 20 at 7:00 pm for a special lecture, Plato’s Search for the One Thing Needful: Why Philosophy Is Important Today, with featured speaker David M. Prentiss. Sponsored by the Sippican Historical Society, the lecture will explore the relevance of ancient thinkers in the modern world. Is it possible to learn anything important from a person who lived nearly 2,500 years ago? Plato is perhaps the most influential – and misunderstood – thinker of all time. Yet at the heart of his wisdom is a very simple insight: Human beings have a deep and permanent need to understand themselves and their world, and this need must always be accounted for in how we live individually and politically. Plato and his teacher, Socrates, understood philosophy as a way of life devoted to seeking this understanding. By seeing how they understood philosophy as an activity rather than as a system of knowledge, we can gain a better understanding of ourselves and the world today.
Dave Prentiss has taught political philosophy as an adjunct professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth for 15 years. He is also the President and CEO of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra and former Board Chair of the Alma del Mar Charter School in New Bedford. He has a B.A. in philosophy from Assumption College, a Master’s degree in political science from Boston College, and a J.D. from New England School of Law. His lecture will be presented free of charge, with no reservations required. The Marion Music Hall is located at 164 Front Street, and ample parking is available across the street at Island Wharf. For more information, contact the SHS at 508-748-1116.