| Status: | Active, open to new members |
| Leader: | |
| When: | Monthly on Tuesday afternoons 2:00 pm 1st Tuesday |
| Venue: | Various Locations |
- Meetings: Monthly 2:00 pm, Usually 1st Tuesday of each month (except August) or by prior arrangement
- Where: Various Locations, usually topic leader’s house or by agreement
- Who's in charge? We take turns to be leader! Chris shaw is acting as the contact for the group
For this coming year, 2025-2026, with the recent retirement of John Meacham as group leader, we decided to continue his tradition of taking turns to lead on our chosen topics. Topics are suggested by members and agreed by the group.
In general, philosophy (from the Greek, ‘love of wisdom’) is the study of such fundamental topics as the meaning of life, the nature of existence, beauty, the mind, or the nature of language. In more recent times, the study of science is mainly left to actual scientists whilst philosophers ponder such things as the ethics of scientific advances and universal themes like war, society, and politics
The topic leader will be the point of contact for further information and will generally begin by circulating some relevant titles—books, online articles, podcasts, videos, films. and research materials. We make careful use of AI and can provide helpful hints on how to to do this for those unfamiliar with these tools. All communications are by email.
If you are interested in joining us then do contact Chris on the link above. We cover a broad range of topics. Here is the list of what we have decided so far for the 2025-2026 season.
- 4th November. 'Philosophical basis of duties to future generations’. Leader, Elizabeth Jorge
- 2nd December. ‘Logical Fallacies'. Leader, Jenny Watton
- 6th January. ‘How is morality generated in the 21st century?’ Leader, John Meacham
- 3rd February. ‘Kierkegaard’s approach to individuality and truth’. Leader, Sarah O’Brien-Twohig
- 3rd March. The Philosophy of David Bohm. Leader, John Meacham
- 7th April. Could the ideas in the 'Communist Manifesto' be applied usefully today? (Leader, Chris Shaw)
- 5th May. Will it ever be feasible, or sensible, to put an AI in charge of making all our decisions? If not, why not?" Leader Michael
- 2nd June. How do language and thought influence our perception of the world? Leader Gordon
- 7th July. Zoroastrianism. Leader Sarah
We have a further list of topics that will take us into the Autumn semester, but we have yet to agree and order them.