Philosophy Cafe London

Political philosophy asks questions that go to the very heart of our participation in public life. Questions such as: What rights and freedoms should I have in society? What responsibilities do I have to my fellow citizens? Should we be interested in equality of outcome or equality of opportunity?

For this week, we will focus on the role of Government in society by asking: 'Why Should I Obey the State?'. This will bring up social contract theory, difference concepts of liberty, amongst other issues.

We will start with a 10 min introductory talk. Members will then vote on what questions to ask, and the top questions will be discussed in small groups. We will then report back to share and discuss the ideas from the small groups.

We have a slight change of format - Roga & Jake will present differing perspectives on whether it is high time that we ditch metaphysics!! What is metaphysics actually about? - Is it useful or meaningful in a contemporary context?

After the brief presentations, we can vote on some more specific questions, and then split into small group discussions. At the end, the groups will report back what came up in their discussions.

The philosophy cafe returns, this time at the White Swan near Aldgate East. We will have a room to ourselves.

Every meeting will have a specific topic. We will start with a 10 min introductory talk. Members will then vote on what questions to ask, and the top questions will then be discussed in small groups.

After the group discussion the small groups report back, and we share the insights of the small groups.

The philosophy cafe returns, this time at the White Swan near Aldgate East. We will have a room to ourselves.

Every meeting will have a specific topic. We will start with a 10 min introductory talk. Members will then vote on what questions to ask, and the top questions will then be discussed in small groups.

After the small group discussion the groups report back to all, and we share the insights of the small groups.