Philosophy 1

If the ? is your favourite symbol on your computer keyboard, then this group could be your natural home.

Members take turns to choose their own topics to present, having done some research. They do not give a lecture – instead they introduce and guide a discussion, augmenting it at times with selected quotations and their own thoughts. All members are expected to participate.

Some topics covered recently:

Euthanasia. Humanism. What’s wrong with society? African Philosophy. The limits to growth on planet Earth. When is enough, enough? Is there ever such a thing as a just war? The philosophy of History and Historiography. To punish or not to punish? Rawls ‘A Theory of Justice’. What is normal? The philosophy of Literature. Aesthetics. What is beauty and does it matter?

And based on chapters in Julian Baggini’s book ‘How the World Thinks’: Karma, Time, Tradition and Harmony.

None of us is a professional philosopher. But like philosophers, we all enjoy thinking and questioning, and endeavour to make our reasoning as rigorous as possible. When we discuss a topic (always with great civility), the aim of each member is not to ‘win the argument’, but to make some progress towards ‘truth, wisdom and understanding’.