The Free Thinker Institute

Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations" is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest works of Practical Philosophy ever produced.
"Meditations" tops best seller lists internationally,
despite being written over 1800 years ago.
Join us as we engage in an open, free ranging exploration of this classic work.
No previous Knowledge of Stoicism necessary.
Pre read NOT required
We will be starting at Book 1 of The Haines translation,
"The Communings with Himself of Marcus Aurelius Antonius"
C.R Haines - 1916, available, along with excellent introductions, below.
(3rd from bottom in listed translations)
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Meditations

Wikipedia on John Searle

The Agnostics Group discusses the pros and cons of Agnosticism.
They welcome ALL viewpoints, including criticism of Agnosticism.

The Agnostics Group's introductory statement:
Agnosticism, Theism and Atheism.
Agnosticism is about knowledge — an agnostic takes the position that they don't know if any gods exist or not, perhaps that they cannot know if any gods exist or not, and in some cases that no human being can possibly know if any gods exist or not. Saying "I don't know" can indeed be a reasonable answer to the question of what one knows.

But neither atheism nor theism address the question of what one knows. They address the question of what one believes.
Theists believe in the existence of at least one god of some sort and atheists don't. That's it, that's all there is to mere theism and mere atheism.

However, both atheists and theists may be agnostics as well. Whether one believes or disbelieves, one may do so in the context of not claiming to know one way or the other.
In other words, NOT CLAIMING CERTAINTY.

Agnostics Group Facebook

The ZOOM Link will appear for those who RSVP.
Meeting ID: 828 0099 1490 - - Passcode: 276636
Don't be deterred if you are late.
Join the event at any time.

Existentialist Society:
Website - - YouTube - - Weekly Zoom Meetups

Another enjoyable free flowing discussion after the regular
Saturday Melbourne Existentialist Society Meeting. Please feel free to join the Melbourne Existentialst Society meeting from 2 pm AEST
https://www.meetup.com/existentialist-society/?eventOrigin=event_home_page
Life the Universe Street Philosophy commences at cessation of
The Melbourne Existentialist Society meeting.
Some of the many topics we have discussed previously,
some of which I could almost follow, are-
The Id, Super Ego and Ego
Where did the laws of physics come from?
Why is there something rather than nothing?
Does Truth exist independent of consciousness?
Hard problem of consciousness.
Conspiracy theories - is there a psychological profile of a habitual conspiracy Theorist.
Is it possible to have ojective Morality without a concept of God?
Definition of "Information"
How do we know how a particle behaves in an unobserved state if "unobserved" by definition means we don't blinking well see it?
Meaning of meaning in "what is the meaning of life?"
Definition of Language
Ship of Thesis - is the "thing" just a construct?
Tranendentalism
Determinism
Observer effect in quantum physics
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Is there a why to human existence?
Definition of experience.
Method of applying reason.
What does it mean to be "your authentic self?"
Idealism v Realism - ABSOLUTE TRUTH - What does that mean ? does it exist ? Ontology, how equipped are we to fathom the nature of things? HARD PROBLEM OF CONSCIOUSNESS: WHERE DOES CONSCIOUSNESS ARISE?: DOES DNA TRANSLATE TO BEHAVIOUR?, IF SO HOW - definition of rationality - origins of "value" - precision of mathematics - concept of infinity.
Definition of Information
- where is the information in an un opened book, does it exist when unobserved?
Reason
- what is the definition of reason
does it exist in physical laws, i.e. if we can we say "the reason the rock fell is because of gravity"?, how is this different to "what is the reason she chose Pepsi max instead of Coke Zero?"
Validity of evolutionary psychology:
- what evidence is there for evolutionarily selected behaviour, given that we cannot observe the history of the emergence of neurological structures as we can observe evolutionarily selected anatomical changes?04

We are live-reading and discussing Aristotle's Politics, his eight-book treatise on the practical governance of the city-state for the sake of enabling and promoting its citizens individually to flourish.
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The prerequisite to this treatise is a familiarity with Aristotelian ethics--whether that be Nicomachean ethics, Eudemian Ethics, or Magna Moralia.
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The project's cloud drive is here, at which you'll find the reading texts, notes, and slideshows.