What we’re about
Café Philo is a way of meeting interesting, inquiring people who enjoy talking about life's big issues and conundrums in a convivial atmosphere in the Bristol and Bath area.
We discuss all manner of topics. Some are profound, others are decidedly not. We aim to have one topic per month, we hold events to discuss this topic in a number locations, often with two separate discussions in each venue - we limit numbers to 12 for each discussion (usually less in practice). Each discussion goes in its own direction, depending on the people around the table. A facilitator gently steers the discussion to help keep things moving, interesting and balanced.
Our discussions are non-party-political and free of religious or ideological dogma (most of the time at least). We encourage a healthy mix of the serious and humourous, so you can be guaranteed a lively, stimulating evening.
We're not academics or experts - just ordinary people from a variety of backgrounds who share a common interest in exchanging ideas about things which matter in life and meeting like-minded people.
If you're a heavy-duty philosopher you may find this group a bit lightweight. For anybody else, come along and get stuck into a decent conversation over a coffee or beer.
In addition to our discussions we hold some social events and occasionally arrange to meet for public talks.
Upcoming events (2)
See all- Paranoia, Trust, and the Allure of ConspiracyThe Llandoger Trow, Bristol
Note: Café Philo is a way of meeting interesting, inquiring people who enjoy talking about life's big issues and conundrums in a convivial atmosphere, rather than a heavy-duty philosophy seminar. Read more about our approach here.
“Just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you.”
This well-worn phrase captures a central tension in modern life. History provides cautionary tales for those who offer unconditional trust. Had you told the average person in the 1960s that their government was secretly conducting mind-control experiments (Project MKUltra), or later, that the intelligence used to justify the 2003 Iraq War would be profoundly misrepresented, you might have been dismissed. This history confronts us with a fundamental question:
* Where do we, as citizens, draw the line between healthy scepticism of power and corrosive, baseless paranoia?This challenge is amplified today. The recent Post Office scandal in the UK, a 20-year cover-up that ruined hundreds of lives, shows how institutions can deny truth with impunity. When events like these occur, it is no surprise that official narratives are met with deep suspicion. When institutions designed to protect us are proven to have failed,
* how can they ever hope to regain public trust, and what fills the void when they don’t?We now live in a world where these alternative narratives can be shared, debated, and monetised at unprecedented speed. The internet provides fertile ground for both genuine inquiry and deliberate disinformation. When belief can translate directly into influence and income, the lines blur. This raises a distinctly modern dilemma:
* How are we to navigate an information ecosystem where the sincere search for truth is so often entangled with the business of building an audience?Perhaps the cause is not only external–in untrustworthy institutions or biased algorithms–but also internal. These explanations for a confusing world are undeniably popular. We should therefore also ask:
* What fundamental human needs for order, control, or a sense of community do these alternative beliefs fulfill?Ultimately, this may lead to the most challenging question of all about our own minds:
* Are we truly ‘rational’ beings who occasionally believe irrational things, or are we fundamentally narrative-driven creatures for whom pure rationality is more of an effort than a default state?Please join us to discuss the causes behind these compelling, and often irrational, beliefs.
Further reading & videos
The enduring appeal of conspiracy theories (BBC Futures)
Why People Believe Conspiracy Theories (Psychology Today)
How to talk to someone about conspiracy theories in five simple steps (The Conversation)
Everything Is a ‘False Flag’ Now (Wired)
Why we believe conspiracies (Dan Ariely, YouTube 14mins) - Time: What is it, how do we experience it and what is it worth?Westbury on Trym, Westbury on Trym
Note: Café Philo is a way of meeting interesting, inquiring people who enjoy talking about life's big issues and conundrums in a convivial atmosphere, rather than a heavy-duty philosophy seminar. Read more about our approach here.
What is time?
According to Pink Floyd, time is what "[ticks] away the moments that make up a dull day". Scientifically, a second is defined by physics as the duration it takes a caesium atom to emit a photon after receiving energy—a highly precise measurement that treats time as a fundamental, independent unit. But is time truly independent and consistent?An alternative view comes from Einstein's theory of space-time, which treats time as inseparable from space. In this model, time is relative—affected by gravity and motion. For instance, time passes (slightly) more slowly for a satellite in orbit than for someone on Earth. This relativistic perspective has profound implications, challenging our understanding of a “universal” second.
But stepping back—is time even real? Could we explain it to someone who exists outside of it? We experience the present, but what about the past and future? While we can prove we’re reading this now, can we say the past or future truly "exist" in any real sense?
Historically, humans measured time in more experiential ways. Before clocks, people used phrases like a “Miserere whyle” (the time it takes to recite Psalm 50). In pop culture, the film My Cousin Vinny humorously questions the reliability of cooking time with: “Perhaps the laws of physics cease to exist on your stove?”
Today, we still use shared experiences to mark time—like how long it takes to brew coffee or sit through a meeting. But our perception of time varies. Try this: Start a stopwatch and stop it when you think a minute has passed—how accurate are you? This reveals your “time urgency,” an unconscious sensitivity to time that differs from person to person.
Does time feel faster as we age? Many say yes. One reason might be the relative lack of change in adult life compared to the rapid physical and emotional growth of childhood. Each year becomes less distinct, blending into the next. Novelty could also play a role—new experiences stretch our perception of time, while routine compresses it.
Can we travel through time?
Most physics equations are time-symmetric—they work the same forward and backward. But entropy (the tendency toward disorder) introduces the "arrow of time." Is that arrow real or just a product of our perception?Memory might be a kind of mental time travel. When we recall a moment vividly, does our mind briefly revisit the past? Fiction often explores time jumps—films like Back to the Future or novels that shift between past, present, and future invite us to think differently about time's flow.
Eastern philosophy offers an intriguing model: walking backward into the future, with the visible past before us and the unseen future behind. Is this a better metaphor than the Western idea of marching forward into the unknown?
Indeed, which is the better model of time: linear or cyclical? Is the universe destined to loop back to a new Big Bang, or are we riding a one-way arrow through time?
Finally, can we take, buy, or sell time? A credit card balance transfer might literally “buy time” to pay a debt. Employment could be seen as selling our time. Should we instead be paid for our output?
May we share an interesting moment reflecting on the most valuable resource we have—time—and may this moment fly by.
Further resources
- Philosophy of Space and Time: Are the Past and Future Real? (Dan Peterson, 1000-Word Philosophy)
- Time isn’t real. Here’s how people capitalized on that. (Ainissa Ramirez, Popular Science)
