Compassion

✨ **Come and Enjoy Learning Japanese with Us!** ✨ This is a friendly and affordable class where you can practice speaking, reading, and writing Japanese in a relaxed environment. Whether you are a complete beginner, intermediate, or advanced learner, we have a place for you! **Registration** **form** [https://forms.gle/8MmojM2pzRJ75N1s9](https://forms.gle/8MmojM2pzRJ75N1s9) 📅 **When**: Every 🔸**Tuesday**🔸, 7:00–8:30 PM 📍 **Where**: Family Federation for World Peace and Unification 215 Mavety Street, Toronto, M6P 2M1 💰 Cost: • **$15 for 2 sessions** • Family discount: $20 for 2 sessions (for everyone in the family) (The fee helps cover textbooks, snacks, drinks, and events.) 📘 **Class Update** (Starting This Month!) Classes are divided into Beginner and Intermediate levels, and the lessons are held on alternating weeks. 🟢 **Beginner Class: April 7th, 21st** • Basic words & grammer • long vowel,voiced consonant,double consonant 🔵 **Intermediate Class: April 2nd,14th,28th** • Conversation practice • Kanji 👥**Open to college students and adults** Classes will run weekly for now, with no set end date. Days with other events will be skipped. We hope you join us and enjoy learning Japanese in a warm, community atmosphere!

Do we really choose our actions, or are we shaped by forces far beyond our control? We often think of free will as the power to make our own decisions and direct our lives. But if we are physical beings in a world governed by cause and effect, what kind of freedom is actually possible? At our next Curiosity Café, we’ll explore one of philosophy’s most fascinating and consequential questions: what is free will? Together, we’ll examine some of the major ways philosophers have tried to answer it. Is freedom compatible with determinism? Are we only free when no one is coercing us? Or does genuine freedom require that we somehow break free from the chain of prior causes altogether? From there, we’ll dive into one of the most famous thought experiments in philosophy — Frankfurt’s case of Jones and Black — which challenges the idea that freedom always requires the ability to do otherwise. What does it really mean to choose freely? And what kind of control do we need in order to be morally responsible? In our second hour, we’ll turn to the ethical and political stakes of the debate. How should we think about responsibility in cases involving brain injury or mental illness? When someone’s capacity for control is impaired, does that reduce their blameworthiness? And if free will is more limited than we tend to assume, what does that mean for punishment, justice, and moral responsibility? Finally, we’ll ask what is really at stake in holding on to the idea of free will. Is it essential to moral responsibility? Can we preserve accountability without it? And how might our legal, political, and social institutions look different depending on how we answer these questions? Join co-moderators Ken Boyd and Marybel Menzies to reflect, question, and engage with others as we explore one of the deepest questions about what it means to be human — whether or not we are free. **Space is limited!** **Please obtain a “Pay-What-You-Can” ticket from Curiosity Café at [this link (click here)](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/curiosity-cafe-free-will-tickets-1986181200437) to attend this event. You need a ticket to be admitted.** See the above link for more info about tickets and other options including a limited number of free tickets. Come and hang out with us, grab food, and read through our handout from 6-6:30pm. Our structured discussion will run from 6:30-8:30pm with a 10 minute break in the middle. Hope to see you there! ***__________________________________________________________________*** This event is brought to you by [Being and Becoming](https://beingnbecoming.org/), a Toronto based non-profit. We aim to create community around exploring everyday concepts and experiences so that we may live more intentional, thoughtful, and meaningful lives. We use philosophy as a tool with which we can come to a richer understanding of the world around us. By offering activities, spaces, and other opportunities for conversation and co-exploration, we hope to enable the meeting and fusion of individuals and their ideas. Everyone is welcome, regardless of background: indeed, we believe the journey is best undertaken alongside explorers from a variety of disciplines, cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. Find out more about Being and Becoming [here](https://beingnbecoming.org/). About the Curiosity Café Series: For those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to join us at our Curiosity Cafés and are wondering what they’re all about: every two weeks, we invite members of our community to come out to the Madison Avenue Pub to engage in a collaborative exploration of our chosen topic. Through these events, we aim to build our community of people who like to think deeply about life’s big questions, and provide each other with some philosophical tools to dig deeper into whatever it is we are most curious about.

\*These classes are not a language exchange, but instead are meant to be a step in between so that students feel confident maintaining in depth and grammatically correct oral conversations outside of class\* \***Meetup event numbers only tend to show new students registering and do not include returning students attending class.** **Per class, there is an average of 7 students.** The first 2 classes are free and then only cost between $15 and $35 depending on which type of class you want to continue with\* These French, English (For Spanish and French speakers only), and Spanish classes are primarily meant for adults who are travellers, or who are planning to live in a French, English, or Spanish-speaking country. The classes are primarily oral-based through guided conversations. They will teach you how to handle conversations in situations such as **"Going to the Convenience Store"**, **"Making Plans"**, **"Negotiating Prices"**, and **"Going out for a Drink"**. To ensure that students get used to using the language automatically, students will learn to maintain contextual conversations with timing before moving on to the next lesson. Call (647)787-9953, e-mail us info@monkeylingo.ca, or visit monkeylingo.ca for more information! **Online and private classes are also available!** No other language classes are as conversational as these ones. We guarantee it! Cheap parking can be found using the "Spot Hero" app.

Practice and improve your English through conversation at St. Andrew Centre (73 Simcoe St, downtown Toronto), while making new friends! \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- How to Get to the Event: By TTC, exit at St. Andrew Station. Walk west on King St. West to Simcoe St. Do not enter through the church building; the large church front doors will be closed. At the corner of Simcoe St. and King St. West, turn south and walk on Simcoe St. Enter through St. Andrew Centre, which will be behind the church building.

\*These classes are not a language exchange, but instead are meant to be a step in between so that students feel confident maintaining in depth and grammatically correct oral conversations outside of class\* \***Meetup event numbers only tend to show new students registering and do not include returning students attending class.** **Per class, there is an average of 7 students.** The first 2 classes are free and then only cost between $15 and $35 depending on which type of class you want to continue with\* These French, English (For Spanish and French speakers only), and Spanish classes are primarily meant for adults who are travellers, or who are planning to live in a French, English, or Spanish-speaking country. The classes are primarily oral-based through guided conversations. They will teach you how to handle conversations in situations such as **"Going to the Convenience Store"**, **"Making Plans"**, **"Negotiating Prices"**, and **"Going out for a Drink"**. To ensure that students get used to using the language automatically, students will learn to maintain contextual conversations with timing before moving on to the next lesson. Call (647)787-9953, e-mail us info@monkeylingo.ca, or visit monkeylingo.ca for more information! **Online and private classes are also available!** No other language classes are as conversational as these ones. We guarantee it! Cheap parking can be found using the "Spot Hero" app.

A diffuse harm hurts many people a little; a concentrated harm hurts one person a lot. Other things equal, diffuse harm seems less bad than its concentrated counterpart. For example, shortening a billion happy lives by a second each seems less bad than shortening one happy life by a billion seconds (\~30 years). But this attractive thought is surprisingly difficult to maintain. Although many problems for such a view are known, a particularly vivid difficulty arises in cases that involve a sequence of social positions, each very similar to the last, such as the Fortuna’s Wheel scenario. In such cases, it follows, from rather minimal assumptions, that diffuse harm is just as bad as its relevantly similar concentrated counterpart. In response, some may wonder whether the parity of diffuse and concentrated harms holds only in these special sequential cases. But it can be argued that the approximate parity of diffuse and concentrated harms extends well beyond such cases. Specifically, it can be argued that in many realistic cases, a diffuse harm will bring about an outcome approximately as bad as a relevantly similar concentrated harm. Diffuse harm is easily underestimated. Zach Barnett https://philosophy.nd.edu/people/faculty/zach-barnett/ Assistant Professor Department of Philosophy University of Notre Dame **About the Speaker:** Zach received his PhD from Brown University in 2018. He joined Notre Dame in 2023, moving from the National University of Singapore, where he taught for five years. Zach mainly studies ethics, practical rationality, and epistemology, and he hopes that his work is convincing, surprising, and easy to understand. Current research interests include collective action problems, aggregation and risk, and followability of norms. His representative publications include "Rational Moral Ignorance" (2021) in *Philosophy and Phenomenological Research*, "Why You Should Vote to Change the Outcome" (2020) in *Philosophy & Public Affairs,* "Philosophy Without Belief" (2019) in *Mind*, and "No Free Lunch: The Significance of Tiny Contributions" (2018) in *Analysis*. **\* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \*** This is a talk with audience Q&A presented by the University of Toronto's Centre for Ethics that is free to attend and open to the public. The talk will also be streamed online with live chat here [to be posted]. About the Centre for Ethics (http://ethics.utoronto.ca): The Centre for Ethics is an interdisciplinary centre aimed at advancing research and teaching in the field of ethics, broadly defined. The Centre seeks to bring together the theoretical and practical knowledge of diverse scholars, students, public servants and social leaders in order to increase understanding of the ethical dimensions of individual, social, and political life. In pursuit of its interdisciplinary mission, the Centre fosters lines of inquiry such as (1) foundations of ethics, which encompasses the history of ethics and core concepts in the philosophical study of ethics; (2) ethics in action, which relates theory to practice in key domains of social life, including bioethics, business ethics, and ethics in the public sphere; and (3) ethics in translation, which draws upon the rich multiculturalism of the City of Toronto and addresses the ethics of multicultural societies, ethical discourse across religious and cultural boundaries, and the ethics of international society. The Ethics of A.I. Lab at the Centre For Ethics recently appeared on a list of 10 organizations leading the way in ethical A.I.: https://ocean.sagepub.com/blog/10-organizations-leading-the-way-in-ethical-ai

Do you ever find yourself looking for more from your relationships? Or finding that relating with others is challenging, and wish you could have help? This event may be for you. We’re having an afternoon of organized discussion about what it means to be human and to relate with others, followed by some connection exercises to practice skills and techniques. The discussion salon will include opportunities to share feelings in groups of different sizes. It’s a chance to feel heard and connected, and to practice openness and compassion and empathy. The connection exercises, following the discussion, will provide an opportunity to learn and practice skills that are helpful for open relating. These exercises may include opportunities for gentle, non-sexual touch and may tenderly touch on challenging edges for some people, including the possibility of some clothing optional exercises towards the end. Participants are always at choice, including choosing to observe the exercise or leave this part of the program. After the salon there will be a small casual gathering with snacks and a chance to connect informally.

Commenting on J.M.E. McTaggart's account of love, C.D. Broad said, "love is, in some respects, so sublime, and, in others, so ridiculous, and the two aspects are so closely intertwined, that it is not easy to keep a just mean between cheap cynicism and muddled mysticism" (1938, 129). He thought McTaggart came dangerously close to the mystical extreme, and I think many recent discussions have likewise been too high-minded. Broad hoped to avoid the contrary vice of cynicism by confining himself to "the prosaic paths of platitude and banality," and I plan to follow his lead. I'll argue that love is a complex of many elements and therefore has a complex relationship to reasons. While some elements are supported by reasons, others aren't; while some ground reasons, others don't. This is partly because reasons can bear on love at different points. There can be reasons to start a loving relationship; reasons to continue or end it once it's begun; and reasons, including moral ones, to act one way rather than another during it. Thomas Hurka https://thomashurka.com/writings/recently-published-papers/ Professor Department of Philosophy University of Toronto **About the Speaker:** My main area of research and teaching is moral and political philosophy, especially normative ethical theory. I’ve probably written most about perfectionist moral theories, in my books *[Perfectionism](https://global.oup.com/academic/product/perfectionism-9780195101164?q=Hurka&lang=en&cc=gb)* (Oxford University Press) and *[Virtue, Vice, and Value](https://global.oup.com/academic/product/virtue-vice-and-value-9780195158656?q=Hurka&lang=en&cc=gb)* (Oxford University Press), as well as in numerous articles. But I’ve also discussed the justification of punishment, population ethics, nationalism, friendship, and the morality of war. For a time I wrote a weekly ethics column for the Globe and Mail newspaper, which was great fun; a selection of my columns was published as *Principles: Short Essays on Ethics.* In 2011 I published a non-academic or trade book called *[The Best Things in Life](https://global.oup.com/academic/search?q=Hurka&cc=gb&lang=en)* (Oxford University Press), about the many things — pleasure, knowledge, achievement, virtue, personal love — that can make your life desirable. In 2014 I published *[British Ethical Theorists From Sidgwick to Ewing](https://global.oup.com/academic/product/british-ethical-theorists-from-sidgwick-to-ewing-9780199233625?cc=gb&lang=en&#)* (Oxford University Press), about a group of moral philosophers who approached the subject in broadly similar ways and were active between around 1874 and 1959, though with the high water of their influence in the first forty years of the twentieth century. My own approach to the subject is modeled on theirs, so the book is as much philosophical as it is historical. **\* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \*** This is a talk with audience Q&A presented by the University of Toronto's Centre for Ethics that is free to attend and open to the public. The talk will also be streamed online with live chat here [to be posted]. About the Centre for Ethics (http://ethics.utoronto.ca): The Centre for Ethics is an interdisciplinary centre aimed at advancing research and teaching in the field of ethics, broadly defined. The Centre seeks to bring together the theoretical and practical knowledge of diverse scholars, students, public servants and social leaders in order to increase understanding of the ethical dimensions of individual, social, and political life. In pursuit of its interdisciplinary mission, the Centre fosters lines of inquiry such as (1) foundations of ethics, which encompasses the history of ethics and core concepts in the philosophical study of ethics; (2) ethics in action, which relates theory to practice in key domains of social life, including bioethics, business ethics, and ethics in the public sphere; and (3) ethics in translation, which draws upon the rich multiculturalism of the City of Toronto and addresses the ethics of multicultural societies, ethical discourse across religious and cultural boundaries, and the ethics of international society. The Ethics of A.I. Lab at the Centre For Ethics recently appeared on a list of 10 organizations leading the way in ethical A.I.: https://ocean.sagepub.com/blog/10-organizations-leading-the-way-in-ethical-ai

Eventbrite Link: **[https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/436240616427?aff=oddtdtcreator](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/436240616427?aff=oddtdtcreator)** **Savor the laughter at Sizzling Saturdays! Toronto's comedy spectacle starts at 8 PM. A night of uproarious fun awaits!** Join us for a sizzling Saturday night at 8 PM! Backroom Comedy Club presents a comedy extravaganza featuring Toronto's top comedians. Immerse yourself in an evening of wit, humor, and uproarious laughter. Make your Saturday memorable—reserve your seat now for an unforgettable entertainment experience!

Note: You may be removed from the attendance list if you've participated in the previous week's event. This allows for more people to experience this Meetup. Avengers put your costumes on and let’s go and save the world!
Well we can’t save the world (yet), but we aim to try to play a small part in the lives of those experiencing homelessness by making their day a bit better!
Description: Before the event the organizer will post a list in the comment section of the attendees and what they are responsible to bring (food/drink, kitchen supplies, cleaning supplies). We normally ask each attending member to bring approximately $15-20 worth of ingredients/supplies to our event. We will use the items to prepare and serve food/drink at The Meeting Place.
Timeline: We will meet on location at 11:00 am, with lunch served between 12:30-1:00 pm.
Membership Dues: Membership dues are $2.00 for the calendar year. Membership dues go towards paying for food/supplies incurred by no-shows. Membership dues are due at the first meetup of the year that you attend.
No Shows/Late Un-RSVP: We’re relying on members who RSVP to bring key ingredients for recipes! Please try your best to show-up or alternatively change your RSVP early so another member may fill the empty spot.
\*\*\* If you are on the waitlist, keep checking as you may be moved into attendance to replace someone. We will try to message you to confirm your attendance in advance.
Donations will be assigned before the event.

Contact Alex for location and information.

Welcome ! OM Chanting is a group practice that has multiple benefits, including calming the mind, feeling relaxed, activating one's self-healing potential. OM Chanting''s powerful vibration contributes to send Peace . A participation of 5$ minimum is strongly encouraged to sustain the rent of the studio . \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- EVENT DETAILS: address: 283 Spadina Avenue; 3rd floor. ( SE corner of Spadina and Dundas). We will start at 6:30 pm. Please plan to arrive 5-10 minutes earlier. We will be sitting on chairs; you can also sit on the floor if you prefer. You are encouraged to bring a bottle of water. Looking forward to seeing you ! For more information about Om Chanting, please visit: [https://bhaktimarga.org/yoga-meditation/](https://bhaktimarga.org/yoga-meditation/) Much Love, Veda Cell: 416-845-9375

The Humanist Monthly Program is our longest running event and still a community favorite. In the old days it used to be called "Going to HCCO" and we still like to think of it as our flagship event. We will be hearing from Becca Powell, Director of Advocacy and Outreach at Unchained At Last, an organization whose mission is dedication to ending forced and child marriage in the United States through direct services and systems change. Unchained At Last's mission clearly meshes and addresses several of our Humanist Ten Commitments. Becca will educate us about an issue many of us may not be familiar with--but should be. Food and drinks will be provided at the event. Feel free to show up a little bit early to hang out and talk. Going forward our meetings will be hybrid. You can meet us in-person or attend online Join Zoom Meeting [https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87836564953?pwd=4Mi57ElZkDIFlb1fnlNwOJ0NiOK4tP.1](https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87836564953?pwd=4Mi57ElZkDIFlb1fnlNwOJ0NiOK4tP.1) Meeting ID: 878 3656 4953 Passcode: 760812 One tap mobile +19292056099,,87836564953#,,,,\*760812# US (New York) +13017158592,,87836564953#,,,,\*760812# US (Washington DC) The formal presentation will start at noon

We connect you with up to 30 Men or Women tennis partners close to your PLAYING REGION and skill level. This program is less competitive, no champions crowned, no league standings just dedicated tennis partners who want to meet up with you on the courts. Players will meet up to play a tennis match or just to hit around. Just go through the [Join Page](https://www.tenniscolumbus.com/partner-program) to enter this program. [https://www.tenniscolumbus.com/partner-program](https://www.tenniscolumbus.com/partner-program)

Join us as we get together to get together to help those in need at this CMG Gives Back event! We have a great little community of Movie Group friends so rather than see a movie this time, we’ll help “create a better world” by helping serve those in need. Here are complete details and our plan for this event: FAITH MISSION – GRANT KITCHEN: The Faith Mission kitchen and dining room serves residents 3 meals a day, every day of the year. For this event, our group will help prepare food, serve meals, assist residents in the dining room, wash dishes, and clean surfaces. PLAN: We will be preparing / serving / cleaning for BRUNCH from 10:30am to 12:30pm and have space for a total of 7 volunteers. Please arrive at 10:20am and wear closed-toe shoes and long pants. LOCATION: Faith Mission – Grant Kitchen is located at 245 N. Grant Ave. Enter the kitchen at Dock 1 (in the back of the building), indicated in the attached map. On-site parking in the adjacent lot and street parking is available in the surrounding area. Below are some links / attachments with additional info/details: IMPORTANT REMINDER: Our group will be providing all of the volunteers on this day so a firm RSVP count is essential. Please only sign up if you are certain you’ll be able to attend. If something unavoidable comes up, please try to update your RSVP no later than one week prior to the event. With few exceptions, no shows or cancelations within 1 week of the event will not be eligible for future CMG Gives Back events. I appreciate your understanding as we try to ensure the agencies have the volunteers needed to provide the essential services they provide to the vulnerable population they serve. Our Partner Agency for this event is Lutheran Social Services! A huge THANK YOU to all of YOU for volunteering at this (and any of our previous) CMG Gives Back events! Should be a good/fun/meaningful time together, Dan

Whether you've never done improv before, or you've done it for so long you knew Del Close on a personal level, or anywhere in between, come join us! Swing by *Gresso's* for the **Columbus Improv Comedy Meetup** for some fun and games! The idea behind improv is to create entire scenes from scratch based on a suggestion from the audience. This can be done in game form, like *Whose Line Is It Anyway*, *ComedySportz*, or *Wild 'n Out*; it could also be done to tell stories, like *Middleditch and Schwartz*. Our meetup, which is central Ohio's longest running (and free!) weekly comedy event, brings the games (and occasionally different forms) for you to play in a safe, supportive, and compassionate environment. Not only is it a lot of fun, but you get to work on thinking faster on your feet, plus it's an excellent way to meet new people and make friendships that'll last a lifetime! Ask yourself if you want to join the **Columbus Improv Comedy Meetup**, and say "Yes, And" that you'll have fun!

The Unity of Columbus Resource Group for the Homeless is seeking compassionate volunteers who would like to help serve and uplift members of our homeless community. This group is dedicated to sharing kindness, resources, and support with individuals who may be experiencing difficult circumstances. Anyone with a heart for service is welcome to join us as we work together to make a positive difference in the lives of others. Community members are also invited to contribute by bringing helpful items for those in need. Donations of items can be contributed at the meeting and will be distributed to assist members of the homeless community. Please consider joining us and sharing this opportunity with friends, family, or associates who may also wish to help. Learn more about Unity of Columbus at www.unityofcolumbus.org or call (614) 267-4959. Together we can extend compassion, dignity, and support to our community. 💛

How to be a Better Communicator Communication is everything in life You are only as successful as your ability to communicate. \- What if you could confidently talk to anyone? \- What if you had the ability to calmly control every conversation? \- What if you could close that sale\, ask for that date\, make new friends\, repair problematic relationships\, get that raise\, or effortlessly express any idea with confidence? You can! The secret to success relies on your ability or inability to effectively communicate. Attend a free seminar and gain a better ability to communicate. Hosted by the Church of Scientology of Central Ohio 1266 Dublin Road, Columbus, OH 43215 For more information, contact Rhiannon, the Event Host at 614-221-5024

Sleep in on Sundays. When you've had your fill of pajama-time, roll out and have some tasty brunch with your fellow Humanists!