About us
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 welcome 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 for discussion and to stay in touch with other members.
(🚨🚨🚨 WARNING: FRADULENT EMAILS are circulating that IMPERSONATE organizers of this group and eventually ask you for money or personal information if you engage. IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED SUCH AN EMAIL OR IF YOU ARE UNCERTAIN about any message claiming to represent this group, PLEASE REPORT IT by contacting the main organizer Darren directly through Meetup's messaging system or email us at philosophyto [at] gmail [dot] com. Be vigilant for scams in general, which are everywhere these days and easier than ever to generate because of A.I. 🚨🚨🚨)
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 have moved 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.
Featured event
Plato’s Hippias Major, on Beauty (Live Reading)
Hippias of Elis travels throughout the Greek world practicing and teaching the art of making beautiful speeches. On a rare visit to Athens, he meets Socrates, who questions him about the nature of his art. Socrates is especially curious about how Hippias would define beauty. They agree that beauty makes all beautiful things beautiful, but when Socrates presses him to say precisely what he means, Hippias is unable to deliver such a definition. The more Socrates probes, the more absurd the responses from Hippias become.
The Hippias "Major" (aka the Greater Hippias) is one of Plato's most comedic dialogues and one of his finest efforts at posing the philosophical problem of the difference between particular things and universal qualities.
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This will be a live reading of Plato's Hippias Major (or "Greater Hippias"). Saturday September 12 will be the first session and thus the ideal time to join our group. Reference will be made to contemporary and older scholarship. Historical context will be brought up whenever necessary to illuminate the dialogue.
A translation can be found here.
This Plato group meets on Saturdays and has previously read the Symposium, Phaedo, the Apology, Philebus, Gorgias, Critias, Laches, Timaeus, Euthyphro, Crito, Protagoras, Hippias Minor, and other works, including ancient commentaries and texts for contextualisation such as Gorgias’ Praise of Helen. It is our aspiration to read the Platonic corpus over a long period of time.
The host is Constantine Lerounis, a distinguished Greek philologist and poet, author of Four Access Points to Shakespeare’s Works (in Greek) and Former Advisor to the President of the Hellenic Republic.
Upcoming events
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Sinister, Somber, Serene: The Aesthetic of Places & The Normative Landscape
Larkin Building, Room 200, 15 Devonshire Place, University of Toronto, Toronto, on, CAIn this talk, I explore ways that the aesthetic character of places (inviting, strange, threatening, familiar, comforting, creepy, seedy, sinister, somber, serene, etc.) can impact moral, prudential, and political norms that operate in those spaces. This will in turn lead to questions about how we should approach our power to shape the aesthetic character of places.
Erich Matthes
https://www.wellesley.edu/people/erich-matthes
Professor
Department of Philosophy
Wellesley CollegeAbout the Speaker:
My primary research interests concern the ethics, politics, and aesthetics of cultural heritage, art, and the environment. I have published papers on topics including repatriation, historic preservation, landscape art, cultural appropriation, irreplaceability, authenticity, place-loss due to climate change, and the value of history and heritage. My second book, What to Save and Why: Identity, Authenticity, and the Ethics of Conservation was published by Oxford University Press in September 2024. It's about the ethics of conserving and preserving things, from heirlooms to artworks, traditions to landscapes.
I've also written about the problem of immoral artists: what should we do, think, and feel when artists whom we love do or say objectionable things? My first book, Drawing the Line: What to Do with the Work of Immoral Artists from Museums to the Movies, tackles these questions, and was published by Oxford University Press in 2022.
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This is a talk with audience Q&A presented by the University of Toronto's Centre for Ethics that is free to attend and open to the public. Free pizza and refreshments will be provided at the event. The talk will also be streamed online with live chat here [to be posted].
About the Centre for Ethics (http://ethics.utoronto.ca):
The Centre for Ethics is an interdisciplinary centre aimed at advancing research and teaching in the field of ethics, broadly defined. The Centre seeks to bring together the theoretical and practical knowledge of diverse scholars, students, public servants and social leaders in order to increase understanding of the ethical dimensions of individual, social, and political life.
In pursuit of its interdisciplinary mission, the Centre fosters lines of inquiry such as (1) foundations of ethics, which encompasses the history of ethics and core concepts in the philosophical study of ethics; (2) ethics in action, which relates theory to practice in key domains of social life, including bioethics, business ethics, and ethics in the public sphere; and (3) ethics in translation, which draws upon the rich multiculturalism of the City of Toronto and addresses the ethics of multicultural societies, ethical discourse across religious and cultural boundaries, and the ethics of international society.
The Ethics of A.I. Lab at the Centre For Ethics recently appeared on a list of 10 organizations leading the way in ethical A.I.: https://ocean.sagepub.com/blog/10-organizations-leading-the-way-in-ethical-ai
13 attendees
Kant: The Doctrine of Virtue (Week 4 - Methods of Ethics & Teaching Ethics)
·OnlineOnlineThe Metaphysics of Morals is divided into two halves: the first concerns rights and the second regards virtues. This was one of the earliest works of practical philosophy that Kant envisioned; however, he put it off to write foundational works to support it, such as Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals and even the Critique of Practical Reason. If you find it more helpful to start ethics discussions closer to their practice, the Metaphysics of Morals may be a more useful starting point than the meta-ethical works we have covered up to now.
This week's reading: Method of Ethics (591-603; 12 pages).
Note: Meetings focus on developing a common language and friendship through studying Kant. The host will provide an interpretation of Kant; other interpretations will not be discussed until later in the meeting. Additional interpretations, topics, and questions can be addressed through the Jitsi chat feature.
No prior experience with Kant is necessary.
Reading Schedule (pages are from Cambridge's Practical Philosophy collection):
THE DOCTRINE OF RIGHT
Week 1 (29):
Preface, Introduction, Introduction to the Doctrine of Right (365 - 397; 32 pages)Week 2 (30):
Private Right, Chapters I and II (401 - 443; 42 pages)Week 3 (31):
Chapter III, Public Right Section I (443 - 481; 38 pages)Week 4 (32):
Public Right Section II, III, and Appendix (482 - 506; 24 pages)THE DOCTRINE OF VIRTUE
Reading Schedule (pages are from Cambridge's Practical Philosophy collection):
Week 1 (35):
Preface and Introduction (509-540; 31 pages)Week 2 (36):
Part 1 Introduction and Book 1 on Perfect Duties (543-564; 21 pages)Week 3 (37):
Book 2 on Imperfect Duties (565-588; 23 pages)Week 4 (38):
Method of Ethics (591-603; 12 pages)There are numerous editions (and free translations available online), but this collection contains all of Kant's Practical Philosophy in translation:
http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Philosophy-Cambridge-Works-Immanuel/dp/0521654084/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445894099&sr=8-1PDF: https://annas-archive.gl/md5/d7be559ff61b09b0a414875261a5ee60
17 attendees
Kant FTΦ: Schiller’s Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Man (Live Reading)
·OnlineOnlineIn Kant's Critique of the Power of Judgment, we see vague suggestions on how aesthetic judgments contribute to culture. In Friedrich Schiller's letters, we can see a more developed argument on how aesthetic education is required to promote the freedom of the individual as well as transition us between a state of nature and a state ruled by reason.
Hopefully, this reading provides an opportunity to compare Kant's interest in how aesthetic judgments (and moral judgments themselves) contribute to culture with Schiller and expand our interpretation of both.
At this meeting we will be starting at Letter XXVII, paragraph 1.
I've linked the Penguin edition of the book here, but please feel free to use whatever edition you have or want.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Aesthetic-Education-Man-Friedrich-Schiller/dp/0141396962?sr=8-1
PDF: https://annas-archive.li/md5/22dcd586440cfd2d7ada034ca119db79
PDF (with facing German): https://annas-archive.li/md5/005de78cf1a714cc2c155ce569f670cf
Note: Kant FTΦ (Friends Through Philosophy) is a group of individuals who have connected over reading Kant (and other philosophers).
This meeting will focus on the interests of regular attendees. We will frequently reference Kant and other philosophers. Discussions may involve shared notions that have developed over time. If you are not a regular attendee and feel lost in the conversation, it may be a byproduct of being newer to the meetings: don't hesitate to ask for clarification.
7 attendees
Past events
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