What we’re about
The BIG IDEAS book club is a monthly meetup for members wanting to discuss important or intriguing ideas and issues in society and our lives. Originally called the 'Phil-Psyc' book club, the discussions include not only big ideas in philosophy and psychology but also from economics, politics, sociology, and science.
Each month a big idea or key thinker will be selected for discussion. For example, a topic could be something like ’free will’, ‘identity’, ’meritocracy’, ‘the simulation hypothesis’, ’post-capitalism’, etc. Similarly, the key thinker could be someone like ‘Carl Jung’, ‘Michel Foucault’, ‘Daniel Kahneman’, etc.
For each topic, a key book and video material will be suggested. The attendees are not required to have read/watched these in order to attend and are welcome to engage in their own reading/viewing material. However, I do strongly encourage reading the set book as it helps in creating focal points for the discussion.
This monthly Meetup will be hosted by Paul T. Many thanks to Dr Steve Mayers who started this book club (and who also started Café Psychologique Sydney) but who unfortunately has moved on from Sydney. Hopefully, the meetup organizer pool will expand so as not to rely on one person.
During the post-Covid restart of this book club (late 2023), it may take some time to find a favourite meeting venue, and hopefully members will have some promising ideas on venues. Being relatively quiet, having food and drink, being approximately central to Sydney and close to public transport are at least four criteria that make sense to me. As a starting place, we can test the 2nd floor (one below the rooftop) of the Keg & Brew Hotel, 26 Foveaux St, Surry Hills. It’s close to Central Station and the light rail. But make sure to check the actual event location.
Come along and join in the conversation!
Keywords: Book club, philosophy, psychology, sociology, economics, politics, science, critical thinking, intellectual discussions, conversation.
Upcoming events (1)
See all- Language and Thought - Does the language you speak shape how you see the world?Keg & Brew Hotel, Surry Hills
Do Russian speakers, whose language contains two categories of blue, discriminate shades of blue more accurately than English speakers? Do Hopi speakers, whose grammar lacks markers for past, present, and future, conceptualize time differently from English speakers? Do Arabic speakers, who have a rich vocabulary for emotions, perceive emotional subtleties more precisely than English speakers?
The linguistic relativity hypothesis suggests that the language we speak influences how we see the world – the perception of our surroundings, our sense of time, our memories, our behaviour, and even our sense of self. Intriguing. But is it true, or true beyond the most trivial examples? Let’s do a meetup to discuss.
Book: Through the Language Glass – Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages (2011) by Guy Deutscher.
In our book this month, Guy Deutscher, a former professor in languages at the University of Leiden, weaves together history, anthropology, and linguistics to challenge the mainstream notion that language merely reflects reality. Instead, he provides examples suggesting how the structure and vocabulary of different tongues influence how their speakers perceive colour, space, time, and even emotions.
Some of the questions he raises include:
- Does language reflect the culture of a society?
- Is our mother-tongue a lens through which we perceive the world?
- Can different languages lead their speakers to different thoughts?From the vivid hues described by ancient Greeks to the spatial orientation of indigenous Australian tribes, Deutscher’s engaging narrative invites readers to see the world through new linguistic lenses, revealing how culture and cognition are intertwined with the words we speak.
While reading the book for this meetup is not compulsory, it is strongly encouraged to enable more focal points in our discussion. But don't worry if you can't get access to a copy. We’ve also provided some short videos and articles on the linguistic relativity hypothesis (also called the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis) below.
So join us for a drink (and optional meal) at 6.30pm Monday, January 13th at the far-end of the 2nd floor at the Keg & Brew Hotel, Surrey Hills. The Keg & Brew is close to Central Station and the Light Rail.
Hope to see you there!
p.s. PLEASE ADJUST YOUR RSVP if you have indicated that you will come but are no longer able to do so. This is courteous to people on the waitlist.
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These are just possible links to consider. Feel free to pass on other useful links in the discussion section.Video
- A 30-minute summary of the Deutscher book:
Summary - Through the Language Glass
- Some short videos on the linguistic relativity hypothesis:
Language, Culture, and Thought (12 mins)
Linguistic Relativity (20mins)- Using the movie Arrival (2016; Amy Adams) here are a couple of videos discussing linguistic relativity (& linguistic determinism):
The science (and linguistics) of Arrival
Science Behind Arrival: Can language determine the way we think?Written
- A couple of simple articles looking at linguistic relativity (Sapir-Whorf hypothesis):
Does Our Language Change How We See The World?
The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis- Wikipedia entry on linguistic relativity:
Wikipedia - Linguistic relativity
- If you are a fan of John McWhorter, try to find this small book of his that takes the negative side of ‘language-shapes-thought’ debate: The Language Hoax – Why the world looks the same in any language (2014)
