What we’re about
Did you take a philosophy class in high school or college and wish you had taken more? Do you read philosophy texts independently but have no one to discuss them with? Then this group is for you.
The History of Philosophy Boston Meetup is for anyone with an interest in having in-depth discussions about Western/Eastern philosophy, intellectual history, critical theory and more. All backgrounds are welcome! Whether you have a doctorate in the field or are completely self-taught, this group seeks members with an appetite for reading, analyzing and discussing philosophical texts.
This group will center discussions around a single book by a single author. Potential philosophers will include Plato, Averroes, Confucius, Descartes, Spinoza, Kant, Sartre, Arendt, Rawls, Foucault, and Hume. Many of these philosophers are considered “canonical” (mostly to the Western tradition) but this group is open to including lesser known authors from any culture. To keep things in historical context, we will try to read authors in chronological order. We conducted a recent poll of members on interests. American Philosophy, Continental Philosophy, and Social Theory scored highest as areas of interest, so we'll be focusing on those areas in 2022
The meetings have moved entirely online since early 2020, so the meetings are open to anyone globally.
Tips in Preparing for Meetings
After you have finished the reading, ask yourself: (1) What are the philosopher’s principal ideas? (2) What arguments are used to support them, and are they strong or weak? (3) Who were the author’s major influences, and whom in turn did he/she influence? (4) What was the historical context in which the author wrote, and did this affect what was said? (5) Are the author’s works still relevant today and, if so, how?
To help in answering these questions, attendees are encouraged to consult the secondary resources posted in each announcement. Wikipedia, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy are especially useful.
Rules of Conduct at Meetings
Avoid monopolizing the conversation;
Stay on topic;
Challenging arguments and disputing facts are fine; personal attacks are not;
Read least 50% of the recommended selections.
Upcoming events (1)
See all- Ethics Series (Session 5): Kant - Grounding for the Metaphysics of MoralsLink visible for attendees
This Meetup is the fifth in a series addressing ethics, the discipline concerned with what is morally good or bad and morally right and wrong, which has implications the numerous aspects, including happiness, autonomy, social interactions, and justice. In the Meetup we’ll be discussing Immanuel Kant's work, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals.
“An action from duty has its moral worth not in the purpose to be attained by it but in the maxim in accordance with which it is decided upon, and therefore does not depend upon the realization of the object of the action but merely upon the principle of volition in accordance with which the action is done without regard for any object of the faculty of desire.”
Immanuel Kant (April 22,1724–1804; Happy 300th Birthday, Immanuel!!) is a giant of philosophy that has had an enormous impact in multiple philosophical disciplines. Kant published three works containing his moral philosophy: Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals (1785), Critique of Practical Reason (1788), and Metaphysics of Morals (1797). Here, we will be focused on the Grounding – a work that Kant says established the supreme principle of morality. It is a supreme principle based on a priori pure reason, which Kant refers to as the categorical imperative.
“Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merely as a means to an end, but always at the same time as an end.” Grounding
The categorical imperative commands immediately the maxims one conceives which match its categorical requirements, denoting an absolute, unconditional requirement that must be obeyed in all circumstances and is justified as an end in itself possessing intrinsic value beyond simply being desirable. This is presumably a working criterion employed by an rational agent as a guide for making ones on choices and judgments. A key aspect of Kant’s formulation is that it is foundationally autonomous. The moral law is imposed by reason itself and is not imposed externally, which isn’t the case for models based on the attainment of happiness or the case of moral precepts commended by God. If members of society act rationally, we arrive at what Kant calls the Kingdom of Ends. This is an ideal society in which each member acts in such a way that if all members would act in such a way, which would result in a society of free and equal members. Each member would act autonomously under the rationalism of universal laws and yet cooperate harmoniously within the society.
In this meetup we’ll discuss Kant’s model of duty in detail and also discuss how and if the Grounding is able to address the role of compassion and empathy as driving factors of moral behavior.
We will be reading and discussing three sections (with heavy emphasis on the 1st two sections) of the Grounding.
Section 1: Transition from the Ordinary Rational Knowledge of Morality to the Philosophical; ~12 pages.
Section 2: Transition from Popular Moral Philosophy to a Metaphysics of Morals; ~30 pages
Section 3: Transition from a Metaphysics of Morals to a Critique of Pure Practical Reason; ~14 pages.
I will be using the translation by James Ellington; Hackett Publishing (ISBN-13: 978-0-87220-166-8). Hope to see you at the session!
This work is complex and at times difficult to digest. I encourage you to leverage secondary sources as well.
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundwork_of_the_Metaphysics_of_Morals
