What we’re about
Welcome to the Toronto Philosophy Meetup! This is a community (online and in-person) for anyone interested in philosophy, including newcomers to the subject. We host discussions, talks, reading groups, pub nights, debates, and other events on an inclusive range of topics and perspectives in philosophy, drawing from an array of materials (e.g. philosophical writings, for the most part, but also movies, literature, history, science, art, podcasts, poetry, current events, ethnographies, and whatever else seems good.)
Anyone is welcomed to host philosophy-related events here. We also welcome speakers and collaborations with other groups.
Join us at an event soon for friendship, cooperative discourse, and mental exercise!
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Bluesky and join our new Discord.
Feel free to propose meetup topics (you can do this on the Message Boards), and please contact us if you would like to be a speaker or host an event.
(NOTE: Most of our events are currently online because of the pandemic.)
"Philosophy is not a theory but an activity."
— from "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus", Wittgenstein
"Discourse cheers us to companionable
reflection. Such reflection neither
parades polemical opinions nor does it
tolerate complaisant agreement. The sail
of thinking keeps trimmed hard to the
wind of the matter."
— from "On the Experience of Thinking", Heidegger
See here for an extensive list of podcasts and resources on the internet about philosophy.
See here for the standards of conduct that our members are expected to abide by. Members should also familiarize themselves with Meetup's Terms of Service Agreement, especially the section on Usage and Content Policies.
See here for a list of other philosophy-related groups to check out in the Toronto area.
Please note that no advertising of external events, products, businesses, or organizations is allowed on this site without permission from the main organizer.
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Make a Donation
Since 2016, the Toronto Philosophy Meetup has been holding regular events that are free, open to the public, and help to foster community and a culture of philosophy in Toronto and beyond. To help us continue to do so into the future, please consider supporting us with a donation! Any amount is most welcome.
You can make a donation here.
See here for more information and to meet our donors.
Supporters will be listed on our donors page unless they wish to remain anonymous. We thank them for their generosity!
If you would like to help out or support us in other ways (such as with any skills or expertise you may have), please contact us.
Note: You can also use the donation link to tip individual hosts. Let us know who you want to tip in the notes section. You can also contact hosts directly for ways to tip them.
Welcome everyone to this meetup presented by Scott and Philip. Every second Friday we will get together to talk about this book: The Twenty-Five Years of Philosophy: A Systematic Reconstruction (2017, Harvard University Press) by Eckart Förster.
Here is the description from the back cover of the book: ⬇️
Kant declared that philosophy began in 1781 with his Critique of Pure Reason. In 1806 Hegel announced that philosophy had now been completed. Eckart Förster examines the reasons behind these claims and assesses the steps that led in such a short time from Kant’s “beginning” to Hegel’s “end.” He concludes that, in an unexpected yet significant sense, both Kant and Hegel were indeed right.
“Presents a novel interpretation of the development of German idealism that is rich in both historical depth and philosophical insight… Förster sets forth a historically nuanced and philosophically discerning interpretation of the central debates of the era.” ― Peter Yong, Philosophy in Review
“[Förster’s] book does not disappoint… The amount of material covered by Förster is impressive… Förster’s book is rich in specificity… Wherever the discussion goes, it is going to have to go on by taking Förster’s big picture and all his detailed accounts into account.” ― Terry Pinkard, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
“Förster’s command of the historical sources is most impressive. Moreover, this book is clearly written, and Bowman’s translation is commendable. Scholars and graduate students will welcome this masterpiece.” ―J. M. Fritzman, Choice
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The format will be Philip's usual "accelerated live read" format. What this means is that each participant will be expected to read roughly 10-15 pages before each session. Each participant will have the option of picking a few paragraphs they especially want to focus on. We will then do a live read on the paragraphs that the participants found most interesting when they did the assigned reading.
People who have not done the reading are welcome to attend this meetup. However if you want to TALK during the meetup it is essential that you do the reading. We mean it! It is essential that the direction of the conversation be influenced only by people who have actually done the reading. You may think you are so brilliant and wonderful that you can come up with great points even if you do not do the reading. You probably are brilliant and wonderful – no argument there. But you still have to do the reading if you want to talk in this meetup. REALLY.
Please note that this is a "raise hands" meetup and has a highly structured format, not an anarchy-based one. This is partly for philosophical reasons: We want to discourage a simple-minded rapid fire "gotcha!" approach to philosophy. But our highly structured format is also for disability related reasons that Philip can explain if required.
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Here is the reading schedule for the first few get togethers (pdf here):
- Sept 12th, Please read the Preface and Prologue (up to page 13)
- Sept 26th, Please read up to page 31
- Oct 10th, Please read up to page 40
- TBA.....
After that, the readings will be posted. A pdf of the text is available here.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- [In-person] Curiosity Café: Perfectionism and the Good LifeMadison Avenue Pub, Toronto, ON
What it means to live life well has been a topic of debate for millennia. One prominent theory, perfectionism (not to be confused with being a perfectionist, the personality trait), holds that living well consists in developing and exercising our essential human capabilities, whatever those are. In other words, you’re living a good life when you’re being the best person you can be. We can think of ‘essential human capabilities’ as things that make us the sort of beings we are. For example, we might think of ‘appreciation of beauty’ as an essential human capability that we wouldn’t think a cat or chair would be capable of or in need of.
Perfectionism isn’t just an abstract philosophical idea, it has also influenced our personal lives, popular culture, and even international governance. Do you ever feel pressure to ‘live life to the fullest’? Have you come across the phrase ‘being the best version of myself’? Or noticed how initiatives like the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals set out a universal list of goods, such as good health, quality education, and gender equality? These are just a few examples of how perfectionism, as a theory of what constitutes ‘a good life,’ has shaped our lives. We’ll discuss questions such as:
- What kinds of things are ‘essential human capabilities’? Are there any?
- Are there any negative things, like failure, pain, grief that could also make a life go better?
- Do we buy that there is a universal definition of a good life?
- Can perfectionism ideals or policies be universalized?
Join us on September 23rd for a collaborative discussion with returning moderator Kenneth Boyd and our own Sofia Panasiuk. Together, we’ll explore what kinds of things might belong on the list of perfectionist goods, whether a universal definition of a good life is possible, and what the proliferation of ‘perfectionism’ means for us in everyday life.
Space is limited! Please obtain a “Pay-What-You-Can” ticket from Curiosity Café at this link (click here) to attend this event. You need a ticket to be admitted. See the above link for more info about tickets and other options including a limited number of free tickets. Come and hang out with us, grab food, and read through our handout from 6-6:30pm. Our structured discussion will run from 6:30-8:30pm with a 10 minute break in the middle.
Hope to see you there!
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This event is brought to you by Being and Becoming, a Toronto based non-profit. We aim to create community around exploring everyday concepts and experiences so that we may live more intentional, thoughtful, and meaningful lives. We use philosophy as a tool with which we can come to a richer understanding of the world around us.
By offering activities, spaces, and other opportunities for conversation and co-exploration, we hope to enable the meeting and fusion of individuals and their ideas. Everyone is welcome, regardless of background: indeed, we believe the journey is best undertaken alongside explorers from a variety of disciplines, cultures, backgrounds, and experiences.
Find out more about Being and Becoming here.
About the Curiosity Café Series:
For those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to join us at our Curiosity Cafés and are wondering what they’re all about: every two weeks, we invite members of our community to come out to the Madison Avenue Pub to engage in a collaborative exploration of our chosen topic. Through these events, we aim to build our community of people who like to think deeply about life’s big questions, and provide each other with some philosophical tools to dig deeper into whatever it is we are most curious about.
- FTI: God, Gödel, and the Gaps: Can Limits of Logic Suggest Something Greater?Link visible for attendees
The “God of the Gaps” argument—claiming that God explains what science cannot—has long been criticized for shrinking as human knowledge expands. But what if there’s a more nuanced version of this argument? One not rooted in ignorance, but in the fundamental limits of human understanding itself.
Enter Gödel’s incompleteness theorems, which mathematically proves that within any consistent system of logic, there will always be true statements that cannot be proven within that system. Does this open the door to a rational acknowledgment of mysteries that may remain permanently beyond human explanation—whether those mysteries point to God, the transcendent, or simply the limits of reason?
In this session, we’ll explore:
- What Gödel’s theorems actually say—and don’t say—about the limits of human knowledge.
- Whether the “God of the Gaps” argument, when reframed as an acknowledgment of intrinsic limits rather than temporary ignorance, holds any philosophical merit.
- Alternative secular explanations for the unknown, such as human cognitive limits, multiverse theories, or epistemological humility.
- How this question intersects with science, philosophy, and personal belief systems across the spectrum.
This conversation is for skeptics, believers, and anyone intrigued by the boundaries of what we can know. It’s less about proving or disproving God, and more about asking: When we reach the edges of knowledge, what—if anything—should we place there?
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.
- The Kantian Perspective: Autonomy and RespectLink visible for attendees
Come join us to discuss another topic in ethical philosophy. No book or previous experience is required.
The hosts will use a presentation to lead the discussion, in order to provide information and to elicit participation.
But we proceed as if we were in a conversation. Yet the focus is always on the topic at hand, say, Kantian ethical theory. We try to master the topic at hand under the motto, "wash, rinse and repeat."
We refer often to a well written book titled "The Fundamentals of Ethics" by Russ Shafer-Landau. (A pdf of the text is here.)
Chapter 12 of The Fundamentals of Ethics, titled "The Kantian Perspective: Autonomy and Respect," expands Immanuel Kant’s moral philosophy, focusing on the role of fairness, justice, and respect for persons.
Key points of the chapter include:
- The Principle of Universalizability: An action is morally right if its guiding maxim can be willed as a universal law without contradiction. This emphasizes consistency and fairness in moral reasoning.
- Respect for Persons: Kant’s second formulation of the categorical imperative insists that we treat humanity—whether in ourselves or others—as an end in itself, never merely as a means. This underlines the inherent dignity and moral worth of all rational beings.
- Moral Duties and Autonomy: Kant believed that moral duties are derived from reason, not consequences or emotions. Respecting others means recognizing their autonomy and capacity to make rational choices.
- Criticisms and Challenges: The chapter also discusses criticisms of Kantian ethics, such as difficulties in applying the principle of universalizability and potential conflicts between duties.
Overall, the chapter emphasizes that morality, from a Kantian perspective, is about acting from duty, guided by principles of fairness, justice, and respect for all individuals.
See you this Tuesday!
![[In-person] Curiosity Café: Perfectionism and the Good Life cover photo](https://secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/2/8/f/9/event_530230489.webp "[In-person] Curiosity Café: Perfectionism and the Good Life")
