What we’re about
We're a community that practices and discusses philosophy, being free and open to all levels and backgrounds. We offer seminars, a variety of discussion formats, and the occasional lecture / guest speaker.
Many meetings will have fewer RSVPs than people who actually attend. This is because overtime people stop making use of Meetup.com and instead communicate with their groups via Discord, Slack, Zoom, E-mail, or similar You can think of the list of events hosted on this Meetup as advertisements for groups seeking new participants.
Our philosophy offerings are organized and facilitated by volunteers. If you have a philosophy offering - or an offering that compliments the study of philosophy, such as in literature, the sciences, and so on - that you'd like to advertise through this Meetup, please contact the organizer. We're grateful to those who want to enrich Seattle with study and discussion!
Participants must speak, write, and act in a considerate, professional, and respectful manner, and be prepared for the meetings that they attend, having reviewed the materials to the degree necessary to participate. If you haven't reviewed the materials but still wish to attend an event, please consult the event facilitator regarding the best manner for you to be present.
We look forward to studying philosophy together!
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- FTI: Socrates Cafe [Host: Karl Iglesias]Link visible for attendees
This event is brought to you by the Free Thinker Institute (FTI), a not-for-profit looking to support and empower personal development for its members - and for everyone interested. We organize an event every Tuesday to discuss ways to transform wisdom into practical applications that benefit our lives, covering topics widely ranging from professional subjects to spiritual ones.
Format: Social where we introduce ourselves (for those who want to) (15 mins), Brainstorm topics as a group about what we will discuss for the evening (15 mins), group discussion (1 hour 45 mins).
Description:
We will brainstorm topics to discuss at the start of the event, vote on said topics to decide which topic(s) are the most popular, and discuss those topics.For reference, see this TEDx talk about Socrates Café https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWNOa-Q0S6c
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.
- Does Spinoza’s ethics have anything to offer to modern moral philosophy?Link visible for attendees
## Details
Workshop # 52, Spinoza's Ethics, Series 9,
This event begins at 7.30 pm S'pore & WA time, 11.30 am UK, 7.30 am NY.
You will need to view the relevant podcast below on YouTube before joining the meeting in order to participate in the discussion.
https://youtu.be/ujkf2iDrKxA
I know it's stupid, but please click 'like', as it promotes circulation.
The workshops include of a prior presentation of the topic by myself on YouTube. The meeting itself consists of a brief review of the topic followed by questions and discussion. The weekly topic is posted a week before the event, together with a suggested reading from my work The Pursuit of Value, available through Amazon Books or myself. Discussion notes for the topic are available by email.
THIS WEEK: Spinoza’s ethics are still widely discussed in the modern world. But is his account too dependent on classical ideas like; a realist conception of absolute knowledge ‘sub specie aeternitatis’, and a pantheistic animism in the world, for his views to be viable? Yet many of his methods remain popular today, such as a widespread rationalism and cognitivist philosophy, and a philosophical conception of God as an explanative principle, as well as replacing free will with a determinism that calls for education rather than moral condemnation. Are these developments sufficient to redeem Spinoza’s thought, or are they further reasons why it is outdated? Reading: The Pursuit of Value, Ch. 4, Scn. i.
