What we’re about
What we’re about
Guelph (Faux) Philosophy Book Club (GFPBC) is a monthly club that meets in Guelph, ON at 10 am on the first Saturday of each month. Our current home is the Red Brick Café on Douglas Street downtown.
We are not exactly a philosophy club, and not exactly a book club. We do aim to create a space to share and socialize a range of ‘big’ questions and the underlying concepts. While philosophical texts are one source of discussion, we will take advantage of articles, YouTube talks, documentaries and movies that offer worthwhile insights, and can feed our “love of wisdom”.
Each month we will focus on a topic, perhaps through a prompting question, and utilize one or several related sources to feed a discussion. I will do my best to pick sources that are accessible, at no or low cost.
I am relaunching the Meetup as the new organizer and keenly interested in any suggestions, so feel free to share any recommendations, questions, or thoughts through a direct message. Our next meeting will be October 6th (this is a Sunday, changing from Saturday) at 10 am til noon at The Redbrick (Thanksgiving is the 14th this year). I will share our topic and the reference materials over the next week or 2.
I look forward to meeting and exploring some interesting philosophical questions with you all!
Upcoming events (1)
See all- Three (Faux) Philosophy Explorations - Short but SweetThe Red Brick Café, Guelph, ON
Hello everyone and best wishes for Thanksgiving.
I want to thank everyone who came out last Sunday for our first meeting of the season. The group seemed to enjoy the discussion and were good with the concept of some eclectic and relatively short readings paired with a video or perhaps podcast.
In this spirit, here are the items I stumbled on for our next meeting planned for November 10th, 10 am at the Red Brick.
The first reading is a well-known essay by Thomas Nagel, “What is it like to be a bat?” available for download at https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~cavitch/pdf-library/Nagel_Bat.pdf. Nagel explores the limits of human understanding when it comes to the subjective experiences of other creatures, like bats. This piece delves into the philosophy of mind, emphasizing the importance of subjective experience, or "consciousness," and the idea that some aspects of reality may be inaccessible to human comprehension.
The second item is likely even better known, "On Bulls#^*t” by Harry Frankfurt, available for download at https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781400826537/html. A witty and philosophical take on a very human phenomenon. His essay provides an amusing yet insightful analysis into why people engage in bulls#^*t and how it shapes communication and public discourse.
Finally, something a bit easier to consume. Meghan O’Glieblyn is a young American writer/essayist who focuses on topics such as religion, spirituality and technology. She brings a philosophical lens and an unconventional background to her writing. I found an entertaining lecture she did that I hope you will find engaging. You can find it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTXleWp5fUA.
There it is! Looking forward to our next meetup. Please share this with any friends who might like to partake.
