In this meetup group we will be discussing a number of interesting issues that stem from books, movies, current events, and everyday experiences -- all with a philosophical bent, but also in an environment that invites the participation of all its members. I imagine discussions for which people have prepared at least minimally beforehand by reading up on the issues to be discussed, and positing / answering a few questions on those issues; we'll see what works best, and tweek things accordingly.

Here is a list of some possible topics of discussion (both general and specific) for future meetups; please send your ideas to the Message Board, so that they might be considered and included.

Materialism, consumerism, brands and the marketplace

art / aesthetics and philosophy

semiology and structuralism

cognitive linguistics

the role of the body in the mind

Globalization & the spread of / loss of culture

fashion as language / text

Propaganda

Mass media

Rhetoric / rhetorical devices

marketing / consumerism / commercialism

Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau... perspectives on human nature and their effects

self extension - the apparent human need for “growth”

The role of religion, and the ethics of inclusion / exclusion of the “other”

Orwell’s 1984 and our world

The Enlightenment and its problematics

the “myth” of modern, western Individuality

individual vs. culture / writing the self vs. being written by culture

postmodernism and why it matters

Dystopian / apocalyptic movies
- what do they say about us, and what are their effects?

Derrida & Deconstruction

politics - the “other” in a two-party system

What is gender, and why does it matter?

Facebook, My Space, Twitter...

Roland Barthes

“self-expression” and the authentic self

Foucault - history, power, surveillance...

What is belief, and why should it matter?

The importance of the Bible in modern life

Lacan and the indeterminacy of language

Existentialism

Victor Frankel’s “Man’s Search for Meaning”

et cetera.