In the most general sense, Melancholic Joy is about how to contend with the possibility that the rational response to reality is despair. Working with engaging and accessible examples, diverse expressions of poetic and literary insight, and clear philosophical arguments, Dr. Brian Treanor offers an honest assessment of the human condition. It is one that unflinchingly acknowledges both the everyday frustrations and extraordinary horrors that counsel despair and the seemingly inexhaustible opportunities for joy and wonder that suggest the possibility of something beyond despair. The point is to see both aspects of reality clearly. Denying or dismissing the possibility of despair is a fool’s errand, first because there are legitimate reasons for despair, and second because much despair is not rooted in reasons at all, but rather in a kind of global mood or attunement.

However, remaining insensitive to the more salutary aspects of reality is its own kind of failure-to-see, because beauty and goodness are happening everywhere, whether it is noticed or not. Dr. Treanor's goal, then, is not to argue against despair (because there are good arguments for it, and because emotionally rooted forms of despair are not vulnerable to reason at all); rather, the goal is to be trained to see the full picture, the beauty as well as the brutality, and then to cultivate habits that maximize the former while dealing with the latter.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this workshop, attendees will be able to: 

1. Identify different historical characterizations—philosophical, religious, literary, poetic—of the meaningfulness and meaninglessness of life.

2. Analyze both first-person lived accounts of life and more disinterested or objective accounts of life that support arguments for the meaningfulness and meaninglessness of life.

3. Assess the strength of these different positions regarding the legitimacy of reasons one might despair, as well as the possibility that one might embrace life despite the legitimate reasons to despair of it.