South Lakes U3A - Philosophy Group

Meeting Details

Frequency	Monthly
Time	9.45 for 10.00 am
Day	Wednesday.
Duration	2 hours
Location	Abbot Hall Social Centre
Coordinator	Roger Collinge

What we do

This is a study-group for interested amateurs, or retired professionals. It is run by a team comprising Roger Collinge (Group Coordinator), Chris Bisco and Jim Pottinger.

Our way of working is to select topics of interest and invite a member or members) of the group to research the subject and then present with a talk of 20 minutes or so on that subject. The members are then invited to discuss and comment on the topic. As we are all learning to a greater or lesser extent an absence of previous knowledge of a subject is certainly no bar to taking on a presentation!

The following books may be useful for newcomers to the subject:

The Story of Philosophy by Bryan Magee (Dorling Kindersley hardback 1998, softback 2001 and later editions). This is an excellent and readable overview of western philosophy.
The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy Ed. Thomas Mautner (Penguin 1997 and later editions). This is a very useful complement to an historical account.
The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain de Botton (Penguin 2001). In his books and TV programmes,
Philosophy for Dummies by Tom Morris (Wiley, New York, 1999). This is an engaging account, written with humour and insight, and so complements the other books mentioned.

Reports

February 2012

So far this year we have discussed Existentialism and Eastern Philosophies. Future topics currently arranged are:

7 March: The Enlightenment (Jim Pottinger)
4 April: Kant and Critical Philosophy (Janet Franklin)
6 June: Utilitarianism (John Studholme)

Our suggested list of future topics includes Rationalism, Empiricism, Idealism, Marxism, Linguistic Philosophy, Freedom and Determination, Language and Thought, and Nature v Nurture. We may in the autumn consider how the boundary between philosophy and science (neuro- science and psychology) is moving as scientific understanding of the brain improves.

We are seeking members to pick up one of the suggested topics for the meetings on 5 May, 4 July and 1 August. Please do not hesitate to come forward if any of these topics interest you, or alternatively suggest new topics to consider.

Roger Collinge

Details of meetings between August 2008 and December 2011 can be found by clicking the following links: