Philosophy
| Group Organiser | Ted Bower |
| Venue | Member House |
| Meeting Days | 2nd Thursday of the Month (pm) |
| Group Vacancies? | No |
The Philosophers meet on the second Thursday of the month at the Borstal Institute where we try and make sense of a confusing world and try to discover some pointers as to how we got into this mess anyway.
A topic is chosen and all the members do research which they discuss with the group. We limit the group to eight members to make sure that everyone gets the chance to present their ideas and observations which are then discussed.
Philosophy is a huge subject and, rather than adhering to a rigid chronological schedule which would exclude newcomers, we agree a programme which may include a group or individual philosophers or a topic presenting ethical/moral dilemmas.
In the past ‘Academic Year ‘ we discussed amongst others:-
Jean-Paul Sartre and existentialism--difficult to pronounce and even more difficult to understand.
Philosophical Paradoxes with Zeno positing that if Achilles gave a tortoise a start he could never run past it.
Karl Marx observed that the workers earned it while the capitalists spent it.
Logical Positivists of the Vienna Circle were largely scientists who insisted that if a proposition cannot be tested empirically it is nonsense thus dismissing rationalist philosophy. Their ideas ran into deep do-do when scientists started talking about quarks and dark matter which are necessary conjectures.
The Pre Socratic Heraclitus could not step into the river of reality twice because it is always changing. Parmenides countered with the thought that nothing comes from nothing therefore reality must be eternal and unchanging.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau produced a succession of infants who were all dumped in orphanages while he went on to lecture the world on education.
Niccolo Machiavelli advised that a successful ruler should not keep promises or be restrained by Christian ethics since morality and politics don’t mix.
Could it be that here, in the UK, the leaders of the two main political parties are guided by Jean-Jacques and Niccolo???
We continue to try and ‘set the world to rights’ and we look forward to the New Year when we will discover yet again how much we don’t know.The group meets on the 2nd Thursday each month at 2.00pm.
For further information please contact Ted Bower