About us
Welcome to The Free Thinker Institute
[www.FreeThinkerInstitute.org](freethinkerinstitute.org)
Are you interested in a community that values critical thinking, transparency, and open-mindedness? The Free Thinker Institute (FTI) is a group of like-minded individuals who prioritize the following intentions:
- Devotion to using reason and intuition to be the best version of yourself, seek truth, and be fair
- Transparency & Open-Mindedness: Being transparent about who you are and what you believe to the extent that you trust someone, and having an open mind towards new ideas that help you achieve the first intention.
- Commitment to Critical Thinking, so we can better discern fact from fiction and wisdom from folly
- Attempt to Maximize Happiness While Minimizing Harm and empower others who do the same
- Eagerness to Give and Receive Love - Platonic as well as romantic
At FTI, members support each other, stay in touch, and enjoy learning from each other, while also valuing attributes such as sincerity, integrity, wisdom, and fairness. The FTI also values and respects diversity, making it a welcoming space for all opinions and backgrounds. If you're interested in being a part of a positive, growth-focused community, then consider joining the FTI.
In addition to our in-person meetings, you are also invited to join the FTI text chat discussions on Discord (https://discord.gg/fksQBjS).
If you want to speak or nominate a speaker, or have a topic you'd like us to discuss, email Garrett@FreeThinkerInstitute.com.
We'd love to see you in discord and at the next meetup - Join today!
Upcoming events
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ORLANDO STOICS - MEDITATIONS - MARCUS AURELLIUS
·OnlineOnlineMarcus Aurelius' "Meditations" is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest works of Practical Philosophy ever produced.
"Meditations" tops best seller lists internationally,
despite being written over 1800 years ago.
Join us as we engage in an open, free ranging exploration of this classic work.
No previous Knowledge of Stoicism necessary.
Pre read NOT required
We will be starting at Book 1 of The Haines translation,
"The Communings with Himself of Marcus Aurelius Antonius"
C.R Haines - 1916, available, along with excellent introductions, below.
(3rd from bottom in listed translations)
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Meditations8 attendees
The Ten Lost Tribes: Fact or Fiction?
·OnlineOnlineEXISTENTIALIST MEETUP - Melbourne, Australia.
History of Religion: Our monthly online Meetup.
The presentations are followed by questions, comments and discussion. All viewpoints welcome.Early Religion: An Alternative History
What do the historians and archaeologists think of the veracity of religious legends? Legends are an amalgamation of history and mythology. But how much of each?"THE TEN LOST TRIBES: FACT OR FICTION?"
The notorious Assyrian Empire had developed a cunning way of destabilising rebellious vassal kingdoms. They conquered the cities (military strongholds) and swapped the inhabitants with another rebellious kingdom's cities.
As the Assyrians had realised that the prosperity of their Empire depended on agriculture, they tried not to disturb the peasantry. So 75% of the rebellious kingdoms' populations were left in place.We will look at the implications of this behaviour by the Assyrian Empire on the legend of the Ten Lost Tribes contended by Israel Finkelstein, Professor of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University and his historian colleague, Neil Asher Silberman, in their book:
"The Bible Unearthed" - - YouTube Audiopedia summary of the book.David Miller will present the topic and lead the discussion.
Background reading for those interested in doing so:
Biblical references: 2 Kings 17: verses 6 & 24.
Wikipedia's entry on the Neo-Assyrian Empire
Wikipedia's entry on the Ten Lost Tribes
YouTube: Historical Origin of the 12 Tribes of Israel
The Zoom link will appear for those who RSVP.
Meeting ID: 857 9575 9056 - - Passcode: 251701
Don't be deterred if you are late. Join the event at any time.Existentialist Society's Website - - - Facebook - - - YouTube
4 attendees
Street Philosophy - Life the Universe and Everything
·OnlineOnline## What we’re about
Another enjoyable free flowing discussion after the regular
Saturday Melbourne Existentialist Society Meeting. Please feel free to join the Melbourne Existentialst Society meeting from 2 pm AEST
https://www.meetup.com/existentialist-society/?eventOrigin=event_home_page
Life the Universe Street Philosophy commences at cessation of
The Melbourne Existentialist Society meeting.
Some of the many topics we have discussed previously,
some of which I could almost follow, are-
The Id, Super Ego and Ego
Where did the laws of physics come from?
Why is there something rather than nothing?
Does Truth exist independent of consciousness?
Hard problem of consciousness.
Conspiracy theories - is there a psychological profile of a habitual conspiracy Theorist.
Is it possible to have ojective Morality without a concept of God?
Definition of "Information"
How do we know how a particle behaves in an unobserved state if "unobserved" by definition means we don't blinking well see it?
Meaning of meaning in "what is the meaning of life?"
Definition of Language
Ship of Thesis - is the "thing" just a construct?
Tranendentalism
Determinism
Observer effect in quantum physics
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Is there a why to human existence?
Definition of experience.
Method of applying reason.
What does it mean to be "your authentic self?"
Idealism v Realism - ABSOLUTE TRUTH - What does that mean ? does it exist ? Ontology, how equipped are we to fathom the nature of things? HARD PROBLEM OF CONSCIOUSNESS: WHERE DOES CONSCIOUSNESS ARISE?: DOES DNA TRANSLATE TO BEHAVIOUR?, IF SO HOW - definition of rationality - origins of "value" - precision of mathematics - concept of infinity.
Definition of Information
- where is the information in an un opened book, does it exist when unobserved?
Reason
- what is the definition of reason
does it exist in physical laws, i.e. if we can we say "the reason the rock fell is because of gravity"?, how is this different to "what is the reason she chose Pepsi max instead of Coke Zero?"
Validity of evolutionary psychology:
- what evidence is there for evolutionarily selected behaviour, given that we cannot observe the history of the emergence of neurological structures as we can observe evolutionarily selected anatomical changes?041 attendee
Aristotle’s Politics
·OnlineOnlineOct. 18 - Given the many mentions of "habit" and "habituation" at our inaugural meeting last week (10/11/2026), we will review what Aristotle really means by "habituation" from Nicomachean Ethics I.4 1095b4; I.7 1098b4; II.1 1103a16–26, b3–4, b23–25, X.9 1179b21–25. What is a habit, and what is habituation? And is a virtue a habit or not? We need to level-set these terms before we can make progress on understanding the function of the city-state--before we can read Book I chapter 2.
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We are live-reading Aristotle's Politics, the treatise on the practical governance of the city-state for the sake of enabling and promoting its citizens individually to flourish.
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The prerequisite to this treatise is a familiarity with Aristotelian ethics—whether that be Nicomachean ethics, Eudemian Ethics, or Magna Moralia.
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The project's cloud drive is here, at which you'll find the reading texts, notes, and slideshows.2 attendees
Past events
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