What we’re about
This meetup is a philosophical and psychological discussion group, focused often on the ideas of Jordan Peterson but also a range of other related modern thinkers. We meet at two locations, St Kilda Presbyterian Church and St James Old Cathedral. The main gatherings are called Estuary which are focused on philosophy, psychology, politics, religion and culture and there is also a spin-off gathering called Planet Evidence focused on controversial and fun science.
Estuary
This group was originally founded by Keith in 2017 at RMIT as a free-speech club and then in 2019 became a Jordan Peterson discussion group. After the lockdown years Luke invited Keith to host the group at the St Kilda Presbyterian church. Paul VanderKlay, an American pastor coined the term Estuary to describe the discussion groups that sprung up in the wake of Jordan Peterson's book tours. An estuary is a type of wetland where a river meets the ocean, causing the mixing of salty and fresh water and there is a healthy natural environment. And that's what we want this discussion group to be; a place where different and competing ideas interact and people feel comfortable discussing deeper questions without any expectation of conforming.
Membership
The only requirement is that you're interested in either listening or participating in a discussion and are happy to abide by our discussion protocol below.
Fees?
There are no fees.
Catering
We are happy when people bring finger food to share.
Tea and coffee are provided.
Discussion Protocol
We are committed to practising these few principles when we meet to help create a safe and caring environment for everyone to open up and share ideas.
We encourage you to engage in:
- Speaking your mind
- Speaking with passion
- Contributing your knowledge
- Debating with people who disagree with you
- Showing kindness and affection
- Sharing your personal story
and as a corollary to the above we trust you have the common sense to exercise:
- Courtesy to treat people with common decency
- Patience to not cross-talk or dominate
- Humility to be open to learn from others
- Curiosity to truly appreciate different ideas
- Self control by observing others personal boundaries
- Keeping the confidences of others
Spin Off groups
Over the years we tried a number of spin off groups. The first in 2022 was called SYO Sort Yourself Out, and was focused on applying Jordan Perterson's self-help principles to practical life problems. In 2023 we started a group called Planet Evidence focused on the sciences related to origins and philosophy such as biology, geology, palaeontology, archeology, and cosmology. Planet Evidence meets twice a month on the Sundays "in-between" the Estuary meetups.
Hosts
St Kilda Presbyterian Church
https://www.stkildapc.org
https://www.facebook.com/stkildapresbyterianchurch
St James Old Cathedral
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Estuary (Balaclava): Petersons and God Part 1: Free Speech & the value of ValuesBalaclava Presbyterian Church, St Kilda East, VI
The Petersons and God Part 1: Free Speech and the value of Values
We are going to look Jordan's story from a woman's perspective (namely Tammy Peterson, Jordan's wife): The genesis of Jordan's free speech proclamation, his rise to fame and people's hunger for God's speech (or word?).
VIDEOS
Tammy Peterson talks about Jordan's story (7 min: 8:23 - 16:22)
Jordan give a lecture on values (7 min)DRAFT DISCUSSION OUTLINE
Free Speech- Did Jordan have a dark past?
- Why was Jordan a target of rage by protesters?
- Why do people hate Jordan Peterson so much?
Values
- Where do values come from?
- How do we go back to the source of western values?
- Why is Jordan proclaiming the value of christian values?
- Is he doing a good job of that?
- Can he be an effective promoter of christianity when he is not a professing christian?
