About us
This group is for people that want to meet new people in Kingston AND engage in deep, meaningful conversations about topics in philosophy, ethics, politics, science, etc. "The unexamined life is not worth living" is the motto of our group. If you are interested in living an examined life, please consider joining us for some fun, deep conversations.
“The unexamined life is not worth living”. Those were the words of my intellectual hero Socrates, shortly before the Athenians sentenced him to death for challenging their beliefs. Socrates was considered a bit of a pain in the butt to his contemporaries because he was always asking deep questions like “What is the good life?” and “What is justice?”. Not everyone appreciates having their ideas and beliefs questioned. But the members of The Philosopher’s Club (Kingston) embrace, indeed celebrate!, the inquisitive mindset. We long for substantive conversations about all topics- ethics, politics, art, science, religion, law, evolution, economics, psychology, etc. We believe that the life of the active mind is the good life, and we want to continue to grow, learn and develop by engaging in civil discussion and debate with kindred spirits that live in our fine city.
Who am I? I’m a professor at Queen’s University. I am a secular humanist with a PhD in philosophy and I have had the good fortune to teach thousands of bright students in England, Scotland, Canada and the United States. While not a luddite, I will admit I loath the erosion of real (vs virtual) community and “cognitive presence” I see rampant in the hyper-social-media connectivity of the modern world. Very few people have the time or desire to meet in person and converse any more. A “re-tweet” or FB “like” are inadequate substitutes to meet our desire for substantive connection that is engrained in our evolved, pro-social biology.
People are often too busy texting away with their nose glued to their phone to meet and converse with new people in “real life”. Well, I have opted out of that virtual rat race, and this meetup group is my attempt to help forge an authentic, “conversationally-present” community of like-minded Kingstonians. I hope you will consider joining me!
Why join this group?
Answer #1: To meet new people! You like people, right?
Answer #2: To be happier! You like being happy, right? Science has shown that people are happier when engaging in meaningful conversations vs making small chat.
Format of the Group.
This meetup group is a social experiment. As such, the nature and frequency of our meetings will evolve depending on the size of the group and people’s interest. But at the moment I am planning on running two styles of meetings, what I shall call “informal” meetups, and “formal” meetups.
“Informal meetups” will take place at least once a month, at a pub, coffee shop or (when weather permits) a scenic location for walking. There will be no size limit on these events, or set topic to discuss. Just show up and chat about whatever deep topics or ideas you would like to discuss and debate.
“Formal meetups” will take place once a month. These will be lunch or dinner events, with an attendee limit of only 4 people. A table reservation for 4 people will be booked in advance. And with only space for 3 other people (besides myself), please be sure you attend an event you have booked to attend (or if you have to cancel, update it so someone else can take your place). For these formal events there will be a set “Conversation Starter” topic, to try to get people’s ideas going in advance of the meeting. The topics will be detailed on the event listed.
Hope to see you at an event soon, and we can engage in some substantive conversations together! I accept requests to join the group from people who (1) are local to Ktown and (2) have a clear profile picture of their face. A sense of authentic community is important to the group.
Cheers,
Colin
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Upcoming events
3
Bader Lecture in European Art
Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, 390 King St W, Kingston, ON K7L 2X4, Canada, Kingston, ON, CAThis is not an official Philosophy Meetup event. I am attending this free event, and if others are interested feel free to join me. Doors open at 5:30pm, lecture starts at 6pm. The event will also be streamed live if you cannot attend in person.
The advertised info for the event is as follows:
- In this annual lecture program that celebrates the legacy and interests of Drs. Isabel and Alfred Bader, an outstanding scholar presents a free public lecture on a topic in European art. This year, in anticipation of what would have been Isabel Bader’s 100th birthday, Dr. Mei Mei Rado presents “The Silk Road in Reverse: The Global Lives of Eighteenth-Century European Silks.” This talk will focus on the fascinating and unexpected ways European textiles circulated in the early modern period.
- Dr. Mei Mei Rado is Assistant Professor of Decorative Arts at Bard Graduate Center. Her research focuses on textiles, dress, and decorative arts in China and France from the eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries, especially on Sino-French exchanges. Previously she was Associate Curator of Costume and Textiles at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and she also held research positions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Institut national d’histoire de l’art in Paris, and the Palace Museum, Beijing. Her recent book The Empire’s New Cloth: Cross-Cultural Textiles at the Qing Court (Yale University Press, 2025) was a finalist for College Art Association's 2026 Charles Rufus Morey Award and a winner of the Louis Gottschalk Prize awarded by the American Society for Eighteenth Century Studies.
- This program is supported by the Bader Legacy Fund and presented in partnership with the Agnes Etherington Art Centre.
The link to the details of the event are below, you need to register, the event is free (but you still need to get an QR code and provide your info in advance).
Isabel and Alfred Bader Lecture in European Art | Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts
Should be an interesting event, hope to see some of you there!
Cheers,
Colin12 attendees
Autumn Reading Group ("Me, Myself and US" meeting #3)
Douglas Library, 93 University Ave, Kingston, ON K7L 5C4, Canada, Kingston, ON, CAJoin us for the third and final installment of Brian Little's book Me, Myself and US.
For this meetup we will be covering chapters 8, 9 & 10.
I've booked us room 105 inside of Douglas Library (ground floor, we use this room a lot in winter) at Queen's University. This room can hold a dozen people so others that haven't attended the previous sessions on this book that would like to come along to hear/discuss topics like "The Pursuit of Happiness" and "Art of Wellbeing" are more than welcome to join us.
Tindall Field Surface Parking Lot is free after 5pm, and about 5 mins walk to library. See if you are driving and looking for free parking, I recommend parking there.
Cheers,
Colin5 attendees
Herland (Feminist Utopia) luncheon
Location not specified yetDear philosophers,
The next installment in the series of utopian works I am reading is Charlotte Perkins Gilman's 1915 novel Herland. The story details the adventures of 3 men who travel to a hidden, isolated feminist utopia composed of only women (who reproduce asexually). What would society be like without any men (I won't take it personally ha ha!)?
Let's read this book together and discuss and debate.
Here is a copy of the book online: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32/32-h/32-h.htm
And a 10 minute video summary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBZzZdtG4y4
Location will be finalized closer to the date once numbers are finalized. But it will be somewhere downtown and involve eating lunch while also conversing and debating.
Cheers,
Colin11 attendees
Past events
295
