An eight-week literary and philosophical writing seminar
- Teacher: Finn Janning, PhD, author and philosopher
- Dates: 27 October – 15 December 2026
- Time: Eight Tuesdays, 16:00–18:00 CET
- Location: Online via Zoom
- Group size: Maximum 10 participants (minimum 4 participants)
- Price: €350
Who were we before we started choosing who to be?
What if there is no “true self” waiting to be discovered? What if becoming a self is not a matter of finding out who we really are, but something we continually do — through relationships, choices, stories, failures, desires, and the ways we learn to see ourselves?
This eight-week seminar brings together philosophy, literature and writing to explore how a self comes into being, how it changes, and what it might mean to remain true to ourselves when there is no fixed self to return to.
We will read closely, write regularly and use literature and philosophy as ways of thinking about our own experience.
The question is not simply: Who am I? But: Who am I becoming?
The eight weeks
Each week explores a different aspect of the self through philosophy, literature, discussion and guided writing exercises.
1 — The Self We Inherit
Simone de Beauvoir
Who were we before we started choosing who to be?
We begin with the selves we inherit: gender, family, culture, expectations and the circumstances into which we are born. What is given to us, and what can we make of what we have been given?
2 — The Self We Perform
D. W. Winnicott
True self / false self.
What happens when the person we present to the world begins to feel different from the person we experience privately? Can the self be both something we discover and something we create?
3 — The Ordinary Self
John Williams, Stoner
What happens when a life doesn’t become what we imagined?
Through Stoner, we turn towards the ordinary life: its disappointments, compromises, quiet pleasures and unrealised possibilities. What makes a life meaningful when it does not resemble the life we once imagined?
4 — The Self We Escape
Thomas Merton
What happens when you stop trying to become someone?
Merton offers another way of thinking about the self: not as an identity to construct, but as something that may emerge when we become less attached to the person we think we ought to be.
5 — The Self in Other People’s Stories
Roberto Bolaño
Who are we in the stories other people tell about us?
Through Bolaño’s fragmented voices and shifting perspectives, we explore how identity is shaped by memory, fiction, desire and other people’s versions of who we are.
6 — The Self We Desire
Simone de Beauvoir
We return to Beauvoir, now from another direction: freedom, desire, relationships and responsibility.
The question shifts from Who am I? to:
Who do I become through my relationships with other people?
7 — The Self That Changes
Winnicott · Beauvoir · Merton · Bolaño · Stoner
Can a person be true to themselves if the self is always changing?
We bring the different perspectives together and consider whether authenticity means remaining faithful to something stable — or learning how to live with change.
8 — No Final Self
What kind of person do you want to continue becoming?
The final session brings the course back to the question of becoming. Rather than looking for a final definition of the self, we ask what it means to continue becoming.
Reading
You do not need to read five entire books.
The course combines two core books with selected essays, chapters and passages from the other authors.
Core reading:
- Simone de Beauvoir, The Ethics of Ambiguity
- John Williams, Stoner
Selected readings:
- D. W. Winnicott
- Thomas Merton
- Roberto Bolaño, The Savage Detectives
The reading is there to give us something to think with — not to turn the seminar into an academic syllabus.
How the seminar works
Each session combines a short philosophical or literary introduction, close reading, guided writing and conversation.
The basic rhythm is:
READ → WRITE → CONVERSE
You will have time to write during each session, as well as optional writing exercises between sessions.
The writing is not about producing polished literary work. It is a way of slowing down, paying attention and discovering what becomes visible when we put experience into words.
This is not a conventional writing course. And it is not a book club. Rather, it is a small, live seminar for people who want to read deeply, write seriously and think together.
Questions we will explore
- Who were we before we started choosing who to be?
- How much of ourselves is inherited?
- What is the difference between the self we experience and the self we present?
- What happens when a life does not become what we imagined?
- What might we discover if we stop trying to become someone?
- How are we shaped by the stories other people tell about us?
- Who do we become through our relationships with others?
- Can we be true to ourselves if the self is always changing?
- What kind of person do we want to continue becoming?
What is included
- Eight live online sessions of 2 hours via Zoom
- Literary and philosophical introductions
- Guided writing exercises
- Close reading and discussion
- A small, confidential seminar group
- Selected reading materials
- Optional writing exercises between sessions
Is this seminar for you?
This seminar is for anyone interested in literature, philosophy, writing and the question of how a human being becomes a self.
You do not need to be a professional writer, philosopher or academic. You do not need previous experience with creative writing.
What matters is curiosity — and a willingness to read closely, write honestly and think together.
Practical information
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Price | €350 |
| Dates | 27 October – 15 December 2026 |
| Time | Tuesdays, 16:00–18:00 CET |
| Format | Live online via Zoom |
| Group | Maximum 10 participants |
| Minimum | 4 participants |
| Materials | A notebook and pen are recommended for each session |
| Registration | Reserve your place through the registration link |
About Existing Creatively
Existing Creatively is a series of online seminars where philosophy and literature become active, lived practices.
Rather than simply asking what we think about life, the seminars explore how we might experience, examine and live it differently — through reading, writing, conversation and sustained attention.
How Do We Become a Self? is an invitation to spend eight weeks with a difficult and fascinating question:
What if becoming yourself is not about finding who you are, but discovering who you can become?
FINN JANNING 