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Prerequisites
Basic Biology and Chemistry, Adult Life Skills, Common Sense, and a developed sense of mission, humility, and service.
Foundation Courses
Mootopia - or why your life matters
Human ecology, cycling of nutrients and microbes, natural history, biodiversity, and co-evolution of life on Earth. Saving the planet means saving ourselves. We’ll visit texts ancient and new that bring us to the question: who and what are our sacred cows? and gain an introduction to holistic management with visits to local Savory Institute hub.
Baaa Mitzvah
Volunteering on sheep and goat farms to learn animal husbandry, grazing, birthing, shearing, fiber arts, lanolin, milking, yogurt and cheese-making. Volunteering on vegetable farms to learn about production farming. Texts include the Old Testament/Torah, which is/are replete with relatable wisdoms falling from its ancient, revered, sheepskin scrolls.
The Trees Have Eyes
The New Biology, which centers on the understanding that sentience arises in all living things; how shamanic experience and advanced biology approaches merge; how life is organized in holons, from the cell itself to communities of animal and plant cells — and single cell microbes — that learn, communicate, collaborate, and build and transmit culture. Texts include classic philosophy- of- science texts and classics of world philosophical and spiritual traditions as well as current, peer–reviewed biology and physics research addressing the theme. Includes segments on The Biology of Shamanism.
The Farmer Philosopher
Seminar readings and discussions of texts from Ancient Greek and Roman thinkers: Seneca and the Stoics. Moderns: Voltaire, Emerson, Thoreau, and Tolstoy. The Naturalist Farmer: natural history of Farming.
The Pagan Canon
European mythology and pre-Christian culture is baked into Western civilization. We will delve into this ancient wisdom tradition, revealing meaning behind common threads, truisms, tropes and cliches and conventions we use but mostly don’t understand. We will also cover the Days of Initiation, a Norse-Germanic sequence from the root of Viking culture on the phases of life correlated to the days of the week, and learn how to take them on with grace and wisdom. Be prepared for wild tales from Snorri Sturrulson’s sagas – and others.
Oddlyflat Theatre
Writing and performing with shadow puppets and masks, making puppets, costumes, props, movement and music as part of the ancient shamanic art of storytelling. Texts range from shamanic to mythic to classical Hellenic, incl. detour through writings on theatre by Plato and Aristotle.
Natural History
Observation and inquiry, plus contemplation of the natural philosophers who have worked to formalize understanding of the natural world. Aristotle, Spinoza, Sir Francis Bacon, Wallace and Darwin, Karl Popper, Thomas Kuhn, Emerson, Thoreau, Moore, Abbey, Audubon, Carson, MacArthur, Stamets, Wohleben, Alan Savory.
Eat Your Doctor
Learning to grow a kitchen garden and herbal apothecary. Cook and eat locally grown, sourced, and foraged food, and make natural health products like your life depends on it. What did the ancients, from Galen to Ibn -al Sinr (Avicenna) to Hildegard of Bingen, have to teach us about health and healing via our relationship with the natural world?
Makerist Philosophy
Crafting, sewing, canning, preserving, whittling, patching, darning, jerryrigging, and scrounging. All with a touch of modern kintsugi– derived aesthetic, garnished with wabe sabe.
Ecosomatic Physical Practice
Philosophies of embodiment. Humour theory. Attunement to minds of the body systems. balance your body with the natural world. Find your voice as an instrument of healing and personal expression. Farmer Stuff and Chores – commitment to genuine usefulness and skill building.
Occasional Diversions
Esoteric Archery, or Quidditch – the cohort decides, unanimously.
Optional: The World Stage – a very dramatic history of the planet, humanity, human history, and culture. Dramatizations of great works of history, philosophy, literature, and theatre that shake a bony finger at the march of human events. Shamanic texts (Turner Eliade), The Torah, Homer, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Plato, Thucydides, Dante, Shakespeare, Jonathan Swift, Moliere, Fustel de Coulange, Kafka, Ionesco, Brecht, Stoppard, Arthur Miller, Sam Shepard, Kundera, and others. Puppets may be involved.
Music of the Spheres – Pythagoras, Kepler, Hildegard of Bingen, and your own synaesthetic musical practice.
Note: we encourage Philosofarmers who seek to work full time in food production to additionally train with local Savory Institute hubs or at Philosophy Farm East once certified.
Upper Levels
The Bogworts Foundation
Skills and topics offered will include expansions of all of the above, plus in-depth study on Manifesting One’s Life Work, Integration of Personality and Soul, and Group Work and Initiation. This is a cohort -based program of study.
Prerequisites: Year I plus minicourses in Community and Consensus
Mini courses in Community and Consensus
Introduction to Contemplative Practice
Alchemical Universe– a primer on the structure of the Universe according to esoteric traditions. Texts range across the world canon of ageless wisdom traditions.
The Homeopathy of Everything- Hormesis. The Tao. The Ether. Homeostasis and homeorhesis. Electromagnetism. Autopoeisis and autotherapeusis.
Contemplative Practice – group and individual exploration.
Integrative Continuity – demonstrations of skill and inquiry across the topic areas of Year I. Weekly cohort meeting. Individualized Study – intensive expansion on topic/s of Year I.
Wizard Level I – The Compleat Philosofarmer 1 to 2 year intensive program to develop and carry out a program of study and praxis on a focused topic. By invitation. Ideally, many will undertake an apprenticeship in Philosophy Farm program management towards opening and running a site.
Wizard Level II – Philosofarmer Headmaster You’re running a Philosophy Farm site that may even also be a Savory Institute hub. You’re helping people to find their joy and meaning and you’re healing the Earth. Go forth and prosper. And multiply. And unfuck everything. With our blessings.
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