What we’re about
Mission Statement —
To create a positive impact on our shared world, our mission is to provide a community that values and promotes a freethinking life unencumbered by the biases of tradition, dogma, and authority and that encourages people to live a reason and evidence-based life characterized by close fellowship, ethical contemplation, critical thinking, community service, and the appreciation of scientific knowledge and understanding of the universe and our place in it.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- FOF Philosophy ClubCarrollton Public Library at Hebron and Josey, Carrollton, TX
# “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
― Aristotle, Metaphysics
What: FOF Philosophy Discussion Group
Where: Carrollton Public Library at Hebron and Josey
4220 N Josey Ln · Carrollton, TXHow: READINGS discussed in-depth amongst the group. These tend to be from academic sources.
Readings this month: Various members suggested we read through The Fundamentals of Ethics by Russ Shafer-Landau. We will plan to continue our discussion, covering chapters 9-12. Readings are not required, but people are encouraged to stay on topic.
Many atheists and agnostics have come to believe ethics reduces to utility or well-being. These concepts are broadly considered under the umbrella of Consequentialism; Sam Harris is a famous popularizer of this view.
Intuitively, this makes sense. Whether something is morally good would seem to depend on what good actually occurs. And this seems like something that can be measured, at least in principle, and would do much to answer the question of how morality can be “objective”.
However, it turns out that when analyzed critically, there are many objections Consequentialists must answer. Chapters 9 & 10 discuss some of these objections and possible answers in depth.
An alternative school of thought traces back to Immanuel Kant, sometimes called Deontology. Deontology is derived from the Greek word deon, meaning “duty”.
Chapters 11 & 12 discuss its assertions and then give voice to common objections and possible answers to these objections.
Note about our group:
We are approaching these topics in a "spirit of learning"; we should be humble (we do not know everything) and eager to learn.
There is no party line to adhere to. Disagreement is encouraged so long as it is civil.
There will be people of various backgrounds in philosophy — you do not need to be an expert in philosophy to be in the group. If a topic is new to you, here are some excellent resources, if you are interested:
- Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia)
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://plato.stanford.edu/)
- Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://www.iep.utm.edu/)
- The Oxford Companion to Philosophy (http://amazon.com/o/ASIN/0199264791/ref=nosim/fellooffreetd-20)
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- Philosophy Club--Note location.Carrollton Public Library at Hebron and Josey, Carrollton, TX
# “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
― Aristotle, Metaphysics
What: FOF Philosophy Discussion Group
Where: Carrollton Public Library at Hebron and Josey
4220 N Josey Ln · Carrollton, TXHow: READINGS discussed in-depth amongst the group. These tend to be from academic sources.
Readings this month: TBD
Note about our group:
We are approaching these topics in a "spirit of learning": we should be humble (we do not know everything), eager to learn, and willing to challenge each other while being kind and considerate.
There will be people of various backgrounds in philosophy — you do not need to be an expert in philosophy to be in the group. If a topic is new to you, here are some excellent resources, if you are interested:
- Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia)
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://plato.stanford.edu/)
- Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://www.iep.utm.edu/)
- The Oxford Companion to Philosophy (http://amazon.com/o/ASIN/0199264791/ref=nosim/fellooffreetd-20)
***
- {NEW LOCATION} FoF Staff and Volunteer Meeting - In-person & Zoom - 1st Sundays5024 Custer Rd, Plano, TX
NOTE THE UPDATED LOCATION: We are now meeting in Schimelpfenig Library in Plano.
FoF Staff and Volunteers meet on the first Sunday of the month. Everyone who wants to contribute to our mission is welcome to attend and participate! Come to hear about the current volunteer activities we have or to share your ideas about volunteer activities we might support in the future.You can attend via Zoom by using the following link:
Zoom Meeting Link