About us
Café Philo is a way of meeting interesting, inquiring people who enjoy talking about life's big issues and conundrums in a convivial atmosphere.
We discuss a wide range of topics that include: the way we live our lives, ethics, current affairs and topical social issues. We aim to have one topic per month with up to 12 people in a discussion. 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 humorous, so you can be guaranteed a lively, stimulating and fun evening. Our meetings are discussions - not debates, and certainly not arguments. We try to be respectful of everyone's point of view, even if we don't agree with them.
The group isn't aimed at 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. So 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 regular discussions, we'll arrange some purely social evenings as well.
About the organiser: I've been running Cafe Philo in Bristol for over 10 years. I've now moved to Bromley. Let's see if there is sufficient interest to form a local group here.
It is free to attend our events. I run this group on a not-for-profit basis. However Meetup charge fees for using their platform so periodically I ask for donations to cover these costs. Regulars are asked to donate £10 per year if they can.
Upcoming events
1
In what ways can we benefit from “the Arts”?
The Partridge, 226 Bromley High Street, Bromley, GB*** Our first meeting in a second venue to allow more people to take part in our group ***
NOTE: the pub does not charge for our space on the understanding that we all purchase something from the bar. Please support them.Please arrive in time for a prompt start at 7:30.
We’ll inevitably spend some time exploring what distinguishes “art” from anything else. But most of our discussion will focus on the ways in which art can be beneficial to both the consumer and the creator.
We’ll take a fairly broad interpretation of "the arts", including music, literature and other forms of creativity, in addition to the sorts of things you see in art galleries. (Hence my use of “consumer” instead of “viewer”/”listener”/”reader”).Some questions we might consider…
- To what extent does “art” need to be pleasing to the consumer?
- If not “pleasing”, what else draws people to experience it?
- To what extent should art challenge us to think, or see the world differently? How does this vary across different art forms?
- In what ways is being creative for its own sake, beneficial?
- In what ways is expressing feelings through art a form of therapy?
- What distinguishes works produced primarily to benefit the creator from works produced primarily to benefit the consumer? Who judges? On what basis?
- “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist” is a quote attributed to Picasso. What did he mean? Was he right? Is “art” a licence to break rules? How healthy is that – for creators and consumers?
- Marc Chagall, an early 20C painter said “If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing.” To what extent does successful creation and consumption of art rely on an emotional component / a rational component?
- To what extent does a consumer need to understand the creator's intent in order to benefit from a work of art?
- What effort does the consumer have to make to fully benefit from the art they consume? How does this vary across different art forms?
- To what extent is the act of physically going to a gallery/concert/theatre… more beneficial than seeing photos of pictures in a book / listening to music at home / watching a play on TV etc.?
- In what ways do the benefits of creating differ from the benefits of consuming?
Relevant articles you may want to look at:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/oct/28/picture-of-health-going-to-art-galleries-can-improve-wellbeing-study-reveals
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2yr0d3m1no
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/may/20/art-cure-by-daisy-fancourt-review-is-culture-the-best-medicineHope to see you there.
7 attendees
Past events
17
