What we’re about
The Greater Philadelphia Thinking Society is a Meetup group that brings together thoughtful people for stimulating and civically minded conversations.
We meet in a relaxed setting on almost every Saturday and Sunday at 10:30 AM and occasionally in the evening. Most of our events aim for a small group ambiance with about 10-12 participants. Sometimes we use larger spaces with different group dynamics and formats.
Almost all our events engage participants in a group conversation to explore a wide range of topics including society & culture, philosophy & religion, design, science & technology, psychology, politics, economics, and current events.
We organize a safe, facilitated forum of inquiry and exploration.
Our interactive format engages participants to speak up and be heard, to explore our assumptions, to listen and hear others, and to find and build meanings.
We value topics that matter, diverse points of view and ways of knowing, sensitive listening, and your contributions to our explorations.
In addition to ideas and resources posed by the event host(s), our conversations are informed by participants exchanging experiences, interpretations, understandings, beliefs, feelings, values, thoughts, and ways of thinking.
Through discourse and consideration these ideas can reveal a web of relationships which participants can form into meaningful insights and new possibilities.
We start the conversation so come participate and accept your own genius.
We are always looking for new discussion leaders and other volunteers to bring new and interesting topics and perspectives to our group. Please see https://www.meetup.com/thinkingsociety/pages/14433542/Discussion_Leader_Guidelines/ if you are interested.
For more information about our group including our list of Frequently Asked Questions, please visit About the Greater Philadelphia Thinking Society.
Upcoming events (1)
See all- Election previewLink visible for attendees
At this meetup we will discuss the upcoming election. The focus will be the presidential election, but we will also touch on the Senate and House, and the prospects for each party to control them.
There are a total of 538 electoral votes. 270 are needed to win. In 2020, Biden won 306-232. This means the Democrats can afford to lose 36 compared to what they got last time. The seven so-called swing states (PA, MI, WI, GA, NC, AZ, NV) have 93 electoral votes between them.
Democrats won six of them in 2020 (all except NC). Here is a link to a more detailed breakdown:
https://www.270towin.com/Here is an interactive web page where you can explore the different paths to victory for either party based on how the swing states vote.
https://www.270towin.com/road-to-270-combinations/?mapstr=22201111140142122221130322202231301421012224231102214252&year=2024Currently Democrats control the Senate 51-49. There are 34 seats currently up for election, 23 of them currently held by Democrats. Here is a link to a more detailed breakdown:
https://www.270towin.com/2024-senate-election/Currently the Republicans have a majority in the House. Out of the 435 total seats, 220 are held by Republicans, 212 are held by Democrats, and 3 are held by independents who caucus with and usually vote with Democrats. All House seats are up for re-election every two years. Here is a link to a more detailed breakdown:
https://www.270towin.com/2024-house-election/Questions to be covered during the meetup can include but are not necessarily limited to:
Why was Joe Biden doing so badly in the polls before he withdrew?
How effective has each campaign been? What have they done effectively and what mistakes have they made?
What issues are really motivating voters? Which favor the Democrats and which favor the Republicans? Why?
Recent data has shown that the U.S. economy has been doing very well in the last few months. Inflation has eased, and the job market is strong. Why do so many people not feel this personally and say they’re struggling compared to a few years ago?
Why do white working class voters continue to move to the Republicans?
Why are upper middle class professionals increasingly moving to the Democrats?
Why do we have an unprecedented gender gap in the support of the two candidates? Part of this could be attributed to the gender of the two candidates, but there is no doubt much more to it.
How much of an issue will abortion be? These are the states where abortion is on the ballot: NY, MD, FL, MO, SD, NB, MT, CO, AZ, NV. Two of those are swing states. Could this boost turnout for the Democrats?
How real is the concern that the Republicans will again attempt to challenge and overturn the election results if it is very close?
What do you think of how the media has covered the campaign?
Were the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates constructive and informative?