Join our new Charles Taylor Reading Group

The group will meet every other Monday during the winter semester, beginning on November 16, 2026, for approximately six sessions.

Time: 12:30–14:30
Location: Theatre Hall, Department of Humanities and Arts

Mainstream approaches to the study of human nature, meaning, and value often fall short by moving between two extremes: objectivism, which aspires to a “view from nowhere,” and radical subjectivism, according to which one’s own mental activity is the only unquestionable fact of experience.

Charles Taylor, one of the most prominent living philosophers, challenges both extremes. He portrays human beings as embodied, socially situated, and historically formed agents who interpret themselves within shared moral frameworks. These ideas are powerfully developed in works such as Sources of the Self, A Secular Age, and Cosmic Connections: Poetry in the Age of Disenchantment.

Together, we will explore Taylor’s thought and consider its relevance to contemporary challenges, including meaninglessness, human agency, and political fragmentation. We will engage closely with some of his most influential writings, including the canonical Sources of the Self, as well as texts addressing active and experiential approaches to knowledge, the sources of the good in relation to the self, and the moral horizons of modernity.

• No previous background in philosophy is required.
• We would also be delighted to hear from you if there is a particular work by Charles Taylor that you would like the group to read and discuss.
  Questions may be directed to Avigail Ferdman at avigailf@technion.ac.il.

To register, click here.

We look forward to reading and thinking together!

Avigail Ferdman, Ayelet Shavit, and Ron Meir
Department of Humanities and Arts