Previous Philosophy Meetings

How much of reality can we explain and how much just remains mysterious? Reasons and causes figure in our explanations, but what is the difference between a reason and a cause? The laws of nature figure in some of our explanations but are the laws of nature...

"Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable." according to Cesar A Cruz (and more recently, Banksy) - but what is Art? Art has come to mean many different things to different people at different times throughout history. So, what do philosophers have...

The Concept of Mind is a 1949 book by philosopher Gilbert Ryle, in which the author argues that "mind" is "a philosophical illusion hailing chiefly from René Descartes and sustained by logical errors and 'category mistakes' which have become habitual." The next...

Daniel Dennett died recently on 19th April aged 82. He was an American philosopher and cognitive scientist. His research centered on the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of science, and the philosophy of biology, particularly as those fields relate to evolutionary...

The upward spiral of artificial intelligence looks set to produce machines which are cleverer and more powerful than any humans. What happens when machines can themselves create super-intelligent machines? 'The Singularity' is the name science fiction writers gave to...

Relativism is a family of philosophical views which deny claims to objectivity within a particular domain and assert that valuations in that domain are relative to the perspective of an observer or the context in which they are assessed. The next meeting of the...

Our next meeting is on 16th April 2024 starting at 7.30 pm – the location is: 34 Waldeck Road, Carrington, Nottingham NG5 2AF - we will be considering the topics rasied in Left Is Not Woke by Susan Neiman

Wesley Milligan will introduce the topic for his new book: All Is One - in which he seeks to deconstruct the ways Christian theology underpins much of human thinking about Life, Death, the Universe and about Time itself.  Our next meeting is on 19th March 2024...

Just as Alfred North Whitehead once said that all philosophy was “footnotes to Plato”, much of post-Cartesian philosophy has been a response to Descartes’ bold claims. So what are Descartes’ ‘bold claims’? The next meeting of the Philosophy Club is on Tuesday 20th...

Scientists are learning more and more about how brain activity controls behaviour and how neural circuits weigh alternatives and initiate actions. As we probe ever deeper into the mechanics of decision making, many conclude that agency—or free will—is an illusion....

Beliefs that determine behaviour are based on core survival instincts, received knowledge, and experience/observation. Sometimes this foundation is considered proof and sometimes prejudice. Philosophers from Cicero to the present time have suggested how to determine...

Heidegger's perspective on truth is complex and deeply philosophical, and his writings on the topic have been influential in existential philosophy and hermeneutics, shaping discussions about truth and reality in the 20th century and beyond. Filosofen: Martin...

One might think that the central question of John D Caputo's book: Truth - would be “what is truth?” however, Caputo announces that this question has no answer, for “there is no such thing. Instead there are truths—many of them, in the plural and lower case.” Caputo...

The philosophy of fiction is a branch of philosophy that explores the nature, function, and significance of fictional entities, narratives, and the act of storytelling. It delves into questions about the nature of truth, the relationship between fiction and reality,...

An opportunity to explore the latest thinking on the controversial topic of Sex and Gender Next meeting: Tuesday 15th August 2023 at 7.30pm Location: 107 Chalfont Drive, Nottingham NG8 3LS Reflections-on-the-Metaphysics-of-Sex-and-Gender-by-Jim-StuartDownload...

In his book "On Evil" - Terry Eagleton explores the origins and nature of evil. He emphasizes that evil is not an external force or an inherent quality but rather a result of human actions and societal structures. Tuesday 18th July @ 7.30pm 34 Waldeck Road,...

Ronald Dworkin, a prominent legal philosopher and scholar, has written extensively about the concept of unity of value in his work. According to Dworkin, unity of value refers to the idea that there is a fundamental connection between different aspects of human value,...

Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby God's omniscience...

The concept of virtue has exercised philosophers throughout history. This meeting explores how philosophers have defined virtue through the ages, from the ancient thinkers to the modern day - and what it means to lead a good life. Tuesday 18th April 2023 @ 7.30pm 34...

So what is mediocrity? Being mediocre? And what is being mediocre? Being average. Being ordinary. Being the norm: so why is 'mediocre' considered disparaging whereas 'average' does not carry this opprobrium? The Joys of Mediocrity...

America is said to be the land of opportunity, where any person can rise to be President no matter where in the USA or what background they come from.  In The Tyranny of Merit Michael Sandel says, in effect, fat chance!  The Myth of Meritocracy...

This book is about the joint power of circumstance and character: about four people who were in the right place and time—and in the right company—to do unprecedented and transformative things. How did Elizabeth Anscombe, Philippa Foot, Mary Midgley, and Iris Murdoch...

"I am a devout political secularist. Yet at the same time I am deeply opposed to so-called 'secular thinking'. How is this possible?" Secularism Secularism-Matt-McVeaghDownload

A collection of papers from previous meetings: a treasure trove or a dumping ground - you decide.... Internalism-and-Externalism-in-Epistemology-Mark-LoweDownload Rationality-by-Steven-Pinker-Jos-BurtonDownload The-Problem-With-Plato-Peter-KingDownload...