What if we had evolved from cats, not apes?!

Introduction
What if it were not us, humankind, a species of ape, that had evolved higher intelligence? What if the evolutionary advantages of opposable thumbs were over-rated? What if homo-sapiens had never emerged from sub-Saharan Africa at all, let alone gone on to dominate the world? If they hadn’t, then they would never have encountered the irresistibly cute African Wildcats hanging around the near-East. They would not have come to domesticate them and indulge their every pleasure, thus handing to them on a plate (or in a bowl), the hedonistic life of lazy pleasure the cats had always craved and now lapped up.

Let us Imagine an alternative history where the African wildcats, tired of waiting for the fabled homo-sapiens to emerge from Africa, decided that if they wanted the hedonistic lifestyle that they craved, they were just going to have to knuckle-down and evolve themselves! Imagine it was they, a species of cat, that evolved higher intelligence, not us. Now imagine that you are one of them - a feline thinker with a thirst who enjoys philosophical discourse – and let me welcome you to Philosophy in milk bars!

Session focus
In this session we will be looking at how our evolutionary past may shape our philosophy more than you may at first think...

By performing a thought experiment and imagining higher intelligence to have evolved, not in humans, but in another species of animal, and imagining ourselves to be of that species, we explore how primitive aspects of our nature may affect the answers we give to some of the main philosophical questions.

First half
In the first half of the session, we will focus on just one species of animal (the domestic cat), one primitive characteristic of a species (sociality) and one philosophical question (How should we live?).

This philosophical question “How should we live?” has been answered in many ways by notable philosophers and schools of philosophy down the ages. But almost all pre-date the publication of Darwin’s “The Origin of Species” and do not explicitly consider the aspects of human nature that are innate to us as a species of social animal. For example:

• Our need for social interaction and discomfort with loneliness.

• Our desire to be part of a tribe (group) and our competitiveness, and potential enmity towards all other tribes (groups).

• Our empathy towards locals and suspicion of outsiders.

We could of course ignore the primitive aspects of human beings when answering the question, but would a framework for living without consideration for these primitive aspects be viable? By imagining ourselves to be a highly intelligent, but solitary species evolved from the domestic cat in contrast to the social species of humans that we are, we hope to be able to focus on the nature of our sociality and how it may affect our answers to both this secondary question above and the main question of “How should we live?”. (A sheet of prompting questions will be provided to help guide this discussion.)

Second half
In the second half we will open the discussions to include any species, any primitive characteristic of that species and any philosophical question! There will be a sheet of thought-provoking questions provided to help initiate these discussions, but anyone present is welcome, and indeed encouraged, to bring to their table their own thoughts and ideas on the impact of evolution on philosophy!

Anyone can attend this session. No experience in philosophy or knowledge of the subject is required in advance. Just come along and enjoy. Our events use the the 4Cs of community philosophy:

• Caring for others, making space for their contributions
• Collaborating to get a better mutual understanding rather than scoring points
• Critically assessing what we say, clarifying what is meant and asking what reasons support assertions
• Creatively coming up with alternative perspectives, rather than dogmatically sticking to our initial positions

We welcome everyone of a wide range of ages, social and educational backgrounds etc. Don't worry if you don't have a qualification in philosophy - almost no-one does. Occasionally, attendees will be asked to watch, read or listen to a short piece of material in advance of the session (as the 'stimulus' for discussion), but this will be minimal and will be made clear in the description of the session.

We ask for donations of £1 per session from those who can afford to pay to cover the costs of the Meetup subscription. First timers are exempt. Don't feel obliged to pay if you can't afford it - or pay less. Feel free to put £5 to cover five sessions or however you want to donate - this is left entirely up to you.