About us
Hello everyone!
Welcome to Philosophy pot :)
If you are someone like me - who likes to ask and chase questions and doesn't know when to stop. Then this might be the right place for you.
The idea of this nascent group is to meet once in a while in a cafe/bookshop/park, and take part in an open, tolerant dialogue centered on questions around topics that interest us all. The questions may be historical, religious, ethical, cultural, psychological, existential, etc., in nature. Pointed with precision, allowing to be pecked with discourse, or broad in their perspective, leading to scattered speculation. "Is my reality separate from yours?", "What does understanding entail?", "What are the uses of Philosophy?", "Why do we do science?", "What is 'love', after all?", "What is self-knowledge?"
Philosophy pot is an attempt to use the universal seed of curiosity to bring together people with diverse beliefs and backgrounds. After all, different lives create unique perspectives!
We will meet at a cafe in Lund/Malmö. Events will be posted at least a week in advance and will usually point to a source such as an article/documentary to streamline and direct the discussions. Feel free to suggest topics and we can host the event together!
Logistics:
Being the organiser, it is my responsibility to gauge and maintain an open welcoming space for its members. If I see someone disrespecting others in the group, crossing their personal borders, or displaying aggression. They will be asked to exit the group. Unfortunately, there is a limit to tolerance. Which can be discussed, of course. But only in a congenial discourse :p
Upcoming events
2
What is simple living?
Espresso House, Stortorget 5, 222 23 Lund, Sweden, Lund, SEOur lifestyles have been transforming at an unprecedented, accelerating rate over the past few decades. We are surrounded by more material goods than ever before, and continue to increase the consumption of the limited resources available in our environment. This has far reaching implications - both on the Natural world and our experience of life.
In this discussion we ask the question of what it means to live a simple life, and have an open dialogue regarding its implications on our experience and its ethical standing.
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The following questions will act as a rough guide, and more will be added as we get closer to the date:
----------------------------------------------------------------------##Material/physical resource consumption
1. What is the average lifestyle of a person in the current epoch? How far are we, as individuals living in Sweden, from this mean?
2. With the current levels of consumption by our species, how far into the future can we continue living on our planet?
3. Is buying more/consuming considered morally good? How is it encouraged/discouraged in the society?
##Simplicity and its impact on our experience
1. What is the boundary that separates necessities from luxuries? Does crossing the boundary makes us suffer more?
2. Does exercising self-restraint, add any value to our lives?
3. Can experience be categorised as being shallow/superficial or depthful/rich? Does our lifestyle influence the category in which our experience falls?
#Society and its organisation
1. What are the traditional measures of an individual's success in our society? What is a measure used for a country?
2. Does our current socio-economical model support or hinder a transition to a simpler/sustainable lifestyle? Do we have alternative examples?
3. With the current technology, and limitations imposed by the laws of physics, can we expand the "dominion" of humans to interstellar dimensions and evade the scarcity of resources on our planet?
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Resources/Food for thought.
----------------------------------------------------------------------Nature article on human consumption: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08154-w
Random quote:
"We notice that the mind is a restless bird; the more it gets the more it wants, and still remains unsatisfied. The more we indulge our passions the more unbridled they become. Our ancestors, therefore, set a limit to our indulgences. They saw that happiness was largely a mental condition. A man is not necessarily happy because he is rich, or unhappy because he is poor. The rich are often seen to be unhappy, the poor to be happy."
- Mohandas Karamchan Gandhi in What is civilisation? [source: https://www.mkgandhi.org/hindswaraj/chap13_truecivilization.php]9 attendees
Past events
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