What we’re about
[Note: This group is looking for a new owner! In the meantime, join the Toronto Philosophy Meetup to find many more online philosophy events and activities: https://www.meetup.com/the-toronto-philosophy-meetup/
The description below is from the previous organizer of the group.]
Welcome to the Calgary Philosophy Meetup! We're a local community for people interested in reading and discussing philosophy. We hold discussions and other events on a broad range of philosophical topics and problems. No previous experience is required for any of our meetups, only a willingness to engage with the works being discussed. The only basic ground-rule is to please, as with everywhere else in life, be polite and respectful during discussions.
Feel free to propose topics you would like to see (you can do this in the Discussions section), and please contact the organizers if you would like to host an event yourself, or organize events here on a regular basis.
Raymond Carver was one of America’s preeminent short story writers during the 1970s and 1980s — a time that witnessed a great renaissance of the art — and an accomplished poet publishing several highly acclaimed volumes. Carver was born into a poverty-stricken family at the tail-end of the Depression. He was married and the father of two before he was 20, and held a number of low-paying jobs: he “picked tulips, pumped gas, swept hospital corridors, swabbed toilets, [and] managed an apartment complex,” according to a profile by Bruce Weber in a New York Times Magazine. Not coincidentally, “of all the writers at work today, Carver may have [had] the most distinct vision of the working class”.
Rejecting the more experimental and postmodern fiction of the 60s and 70s, he pioneered a style of stark, precisionist realism in American literature, heading the line of so-called "dirty realists" or "K-mart realists". Set in trailer parks and shopping malls, they are stories of ordinary working-class people that turn on seemingly insignificant details. Carver writes with unflinching exactness and meticulous economy, suddenly bringing a life into focus in a similar way to the paintings of Edward Hopper.
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This is a series of occasional meetups (hosted by the Toronto Philosophy Meetup) to discuss short stories by various authors. We started in 2023 and generally meet every other Sunday evening. Authors we have read include Haruki Murakami, Anton Chekhov, Alice Munro, James Baldwin, Feng Menglong, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and James Joyce.
This time we will discuss the first 3 short stories from Raymond Carver's celebrated 1981 collection What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, "a haunting meditation on love, loss, and companionship, and finding one’s way through the dark." We will read other stories from the volume, including the famous title story, at future meetups.
In “Why Don't You Dance?”, a man sells his furnishings on his front lawn, attracting the attention of a young couple. In “Viewfinder”, a man with prosthetic hooks for hands visits a grieving man's home to sell photographs. And in “Mr. Coffee and Mr. Fixit”, a man recalls the breakdown of a relationship in a fragmentary, disjointed manner.
Please read the 3 stories in advance (~20 pages in total) and bring your thoughts, reactions, queries, and favourite passages to share with us at the discussion. A pdf of the text will be posted on the main event page.
Note: We'll be joined by many other participants from the Toronto Philosophy Meetup at this meeting – https://www.meetup.com/the-toronto-philosophy-meetup/events/308741043/
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- FTI: Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill”Link visible for attendees
Is it beautiful? Is it big? What should we make of it? What are the good and bad parts of it (just from skimming what it does, I know there are both good and bad parts of it). I’ll share what it does and doesn’t do, and then explain what I think is good vs. bad and why. Then in the Q&A/discussion you can give your opinions (about the bill, or my opinions, or both, as you prefer).
Format: Lecture and discussion
Note: social time for our community 15 minutes before the presentation.
To get familiar with our past events, feel free to check out our YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmixGB9GdrptyEWovEj80zgAfter registering via zoom, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
We publish our event recordings on our Youtube channel to offer our help to anyone who would like to but can’t attend the meeting, so we need to give this clause. If you don’t want to be recorded, just remain on mute and keep your video off.
Here’s our legal notice: For valuable consideration received, by joining this event I hereby grant Free Thinker Institute and its legal representatives and assigns, the irrevocable and unrestricted right to use and publish any and all Zoom recordings for trade, advertising and any other commercial purpose, and to alter the same without any restriction. I hereby release Free Thinker Institute and its legal representatives and assigns from all claims and liability related to said video recordings.
- Short Film Discussion – The Red Balloon (1956) by Albert LamorisseLink visible for attendees
Rarely has the spirit of childhood been evoked as exquisitely as in this Academy Award–winning cinematic fable, a nearly wordless fantasy with the texture of reality. On the streets of 1950s Paris, a young boy is launched on a miraculous adventure when he’s playfully pursued by a shiny red balloon that seems to have a mind of its own — until the harsh realities of the world interfere. Shot in beautifully muted Technicolor, this beguiling, deceptively simple allegory of innocence and transcendence has inspired generations of viewers to let their imaginations take flight.
"A tender, humorous drama of the ingenuousness of a child, and a poignant symbolization of dreams and the cruelty of those who puncture them..." (New York Times)
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Join the Toronto Philosophy Meetup to discuss the short film The Red Balloon (1956) written, directed, and produced by the French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse. The film is often cited as one of the greatest short films ever made and won numerous awards, including the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay (the only short film to have ever done so) and the Palme d'Or for short films at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. The film's influence can be seen in the work of many later filmmakers, from Steven Spielberg to Pixar Studios.
Please watch the movie in advance (34 minutes long) and bring your thoughts, reactions, and queries to share with us at the meeting. You can stream it with a viewing link to be posted on the main event listing here.
We'll be joined by many other participants from the Toronto Philosophy Meetup at this meeting — https://www.meetup.com/the-toronto-philosophy-meetup/events/305237213/
Check out other film discussions in the group every Friday and occasionally other days.
- Susan Sontag's "The Pornographic Imagination"Link visible for attendees
In preparation for reading Bataille's novel Blue of Noon, we'll take up Susan Sontag's seminal essay on pornographic literature titled "The Pornographic Imagination". What is the literary value, if any, of pornographic writing and can it even be classed under the authoritative category of 'literature'?
Note: our discussion of Bataille's novel Blue of Noon is coming up in a couple of weeks. If you're interested in participating, I strongly suggest getting started on the longish text if you haven't already (available in the Google Drive).
You can find all texts in the Google folder linked at the BOTTOM of this description (also the Zoom link) -- scroll all the way down 👇
For notes and commentary on the texts see my Bataille blog at this link:
https://sites.google.com/view/existentialism-and-its-critics/Tentative reading schedule:
Jun 28: Last session on Bataille's Inner Experience
Jul 5: Susan Sontag, "The Pornographic Imagination"
Jul 12: Bataille's novel Blue of Noon
Jul 19: Scholtz, "Bataille and Deleuze’s Peculiar Askesis"
Jul 26: Bataille with/against Deleuze (cont'd)Please take the time to read and reflect on the reading prior to the meeting. Everyone is welcome to attend, but speaking priority will be given to people who have read the text.
Future topics to be discussed:
- Bataille's aesthetics: the rift with Surrealism
- Eroticism and the 'logic' of transgression
- Foucault's "A Preface to Transgression"
- Bataille's reading of Hegel, the negative and general economy
- Derrida's "From Restricted to General Economy"
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ABOUT THIS GROUP
Bataille stands out as an eclectic, fascinating and controversial figure in the world of French letters. A contemporary of Sartre and Lacan, he combined ideas from diverse disciplines to create a unique position that he labeled 'base materialism' and which could equally be called 'ecstatic materialism'. Keeping outside the academic mainstream (he worked as a librarian), Bataille writes at the intersection of multiple disciplines including philosophy, psychoanalysis, sociology, mythology, and mystical theology. His works develop a libidinal economy, offer a critique of fascism and embrace marginal experiences in the style of the French poets. He is a formative precursor to the post-structuralist philosophers of the '60s -- and may well be more relevant in our time than ever.We'll start with Bataille's early writings on Nietzsche and make our way through his important concepts over a number of weeks. We'll aim to understand Bataille's thought on its own terms as well as to place him in the context of the German thinkers that preceded him and the French philosophers who followed his lead. In view of Bataille's early relationship with Surrealism, the referenced artworks will spotlight this movement.
Note: Bataille's texts, while philosophically important, discuss difficult themes such as mortality, the unconscious, eroticism, primeval social practices, etc. Keep this in mind as you approach him, especially if this is your first experience with French philosophy.
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GROUP RULES
- Please spend 1-2 hours per week reading and preparing for the discussion.
- Keep your comments concise and relevant to the text.
- Please limit each comment to a maximum of 2-3 minutes. You're welcome to speak as many times as you wish.
- Virtual meeting courtesy: let's not interrupt each other and keep mics muted when not speaking.
- We'll focus the discussion with key passages and discussion questions. Be sure to bring your favorite passages, questions, comments, criticisms, etc.
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Join the Facebook group for more resources and discussion:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/755460079505498
If you have attended previous meetings, please fill out a brief survey at this link: https://forms.gle/tEMJ4tw2yVgnTsQD6All readings can be found in this Google folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1VPRdvZYmUKBY3cSxD8xC8sTYtSEKBXDs
Zoom link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81251109319?pwd=R3hVQ2RqcVBvaHJwYnoxMFJ5OXJldz09Art: Pasiphae, André Masson (1937)
- Heidegger & the Measure of Truth: Themes From His Early PhilosophyLink visible for attendees
Welcome everyone to the next meetup series that Jen and Philip are presenting! This time around we are reading the book: Heidegger and the Measure of Truth: Themes From His Early Philosophy by Denis McManus.
Click here for the publishers' book description. Due to limited characters, I could not include here. Thank you for your understanding.
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CHAPTERS
Click here for a list of chapters.
The plan is to cover 1 chapter per meeting.***
MEETING DETAILS (2-WEEK ROTATION)
· Starting April 21
· Meetings run every 2 weeks (every other Sunday)
· Accelerated live read format, with live readings to be done on chosen paragraphs
· Read roughly 30-40 pages beforehand
· Pick a few paragraphs to discuss
· 1pm reserved for book topic
· 3pm reserved for free for allAll are welcome. However if you want to speak in the meetup, please be sure to do the assigned reading.
NOTE: We'll be joined by numerous other participants from the Toronto Philosophy Meetup at these meetings –
https://www.meetup.com/the-toronto-philosophy-meetup/events/calendar/***
PURPOSE OF COVERING THIS BOOK
Please note that in this meetup we will be doing philosophy, not history of ideas. We will be trying to find flaws in Heidegger's reasoning and in his mode of presenting his ideas. We will also be trying to improve the ideas in question and perhaps proposing better alternatives. Historians of ideas are people who try to understand ideas from the past. Of course philosophers must try to do this too, but they then go on to critically assess the ideas in question. In this meetup, we will be philosophers and not historians of ideas!
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CLARIFICATION OF THIS MEETUP'S ATTITUDE TO HEIDEGGER'S RACISM
Philip writes: I feel that it is important to be clear up front about how the topic of Heidegger's racist politics will be dealt with in this meetup. Throughout his life (starting as a very young man) Heidegger was drawn to far right wing, nationalist, racist views which any reasonable person should find loathsome. Yet when it comes to thinking about the way the world is and what it means to be a human in that world, Heidegger is arguably the most important philosopher of the twentieth century. Some meetups rule out any discussion of Heidegger's politics, even though this is a core aspect of Heidegger's way of thinking. This meetup will not do that. In this meetup, we will make room for discussion of how Heidegger's politics may relate to his ideas on ontology and being human. Also, it will be possible in this meetup to consider whether Heidegger's ideas on ontology and being human shaped his politics. These questions will certainly not be the main focus of the meetup (far from it). But these questions will not be ignored either.
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OTHER PHILOSOPHERS IN THIS BOOK
Please note that Denis McManus's book refers to many other philosophers, both living and dead. No one should feel overwhelmed by the task of learning about these other philosophers since Philip will fill in the relevant background information on these philosophers as they come up.
The one possible exception is Kant. The Denis McManus book does mention Kant from time to time. Although Kant is the philosopher that Philip knows best, Kant's philosophy is so vast and intricate that it just does not lend itself to easy summarization. Philip will do his best to explicate Kant when Kant's name comes up – but it is a Herculean task!
There is an awful lot of nonsense written about Kant which is widely circulated (and widely believed) in the English speaking world. Anyone who wants to explore in any depth the parts of the McManus book which deal with Kant should consider reading one of the following excellent books about Kant:
- Kant's Transcendental Idealism: An Interpretation and Defense (second edition, 2004) by Henry E. Allison. This book gives a great overview of many of the various ways of interpreting Kant. It also gives an interpretation which Philip thinks is (in broad outline) basically on the right track. However, even if you do not accept Allison's interpretation, this book is invaluable in helping the reader overcome the interpretations.
- Kant's Critique of Pure Reason: An Introduction and Interpretation
by James O'Shea.
