About us
The Austin Philosophy Discussion Group (APDG) offers many opportunities for discussions of philosophy and philosophical issues. No advance preparation or knowledge is required, unless stated in the meeting description. All our meetings are free of charge.
Click on "Events" just under the picture, above, to see details about upcoming meetups. The types of meetups that we have are:
- Weekly Lecture/Discussion groups, which offer free DVD lectures and discussions covering a wide range of philosophical topics.
- Special Events and Lectures covering topics of interest to our membership.
We are always open to new ideas, so come and share your thoughts at one of our meetings.
This group is a member of the Virtual Philosophy Network, a consortium of philosophy groups like ours in the U.S. and Canada. Now that Meetup events are virtual, we can discuss ideas with folks from all over the world, and we have a broader range of topics to choose from. Go to https://sites.google.com/view/virtualphilosophynetwork to see all the Meetup groups in the network,
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Our web site also features lively discussions, within a culture that values civil discourse.
Here's what civil discourse is: Conversation intended to enhance understanding. It employs language of dispassionate objectivity. Civil discourse requires mutual respect of the participants. It neither diminishes the other's moral worth, nor questions their good judgment; it avoids hostility and direct antagonism. It requires an appreciation for the other participants' experiences.
Featured event
Understanding Cognitive Biases 2 Things We Want to Be True: Confirmation Bias
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/594932535
Private message me over meetup to get the password.
The attendee limit is 10 to allow easier discussion.
Understanding Cognitive Biases
"Understand how your brain’s efficiency shortcuts can leave you with a biased view of the world and learn how to combat these tendencies in your everyday life."
At each meeting, we watch / listen to a lecture together and then discuss it together.
Typically, we cover one lecture per week. See the event’s title for what lecture is for that event.
Here is the full list of lectures for the course:
1 Why We're Blind to Our Own Biases
2 Things We Want to Be True: Confirmation Bias
3 We See People In and Behind Everything
4 We Love It Because We Built It
5 Why We Think Differently in Groups
6 Learn Better with Cognitive Biases
7 Expectations Change Results: Observer Bias
8 Bias Boot Camp for Better Decisions
9 We Think Others' Behaviors Are Their Fault
10 How Memory Is Biased toward Misinformation
11 How Fast Thinking Leads to a Great Fall
12 I Knew It All Along: Hindsight Bias
13 Even Random Outcomes Lead to Bias
14 How Con Artists Exploit Our Biases
15 Stereotypes: See the Person, Not the Group
16 Biases from Knowing Too Much or Too Little
17 Is That Memory Mine or Someone Else's?
18 I Believe, Therefore I Think: Belief Bias
19 Why Emotional Peaks and Endings Matter
20 We Lie to Be Socially Desirable
21 Why Emotional Gaps Cause Trouble
22 Only Survivors Tell the Story
23 Reactance: You Can't Watch This Lecture!
24 Status Quo: The More Things Change …
Upcoming events
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Aristotle’s Organon — Topics II — Live-Reading
·OnlineOnlineOctober 27 – We are reading chapter 3. The previous one was on grasping an object through its expression and account: [1] use paronyms to identify P as a coincident, [2] have a chain of definables of the S, [3] have an account each for P and S (and recursively of each) so as to see if any assumed combo is untrue, [4] set your premise and try to object to it, [5] acknowledge common usage but defer to precise references.
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Organon means "instrument," as in, instrument for thought and speech. The term was given by ancient commentators to a group of Aristotle's treatises comprising his logical works.Organon
|-- Categories ---- 2023.02.28
|-- On Interpretation ---- 2023.12.12
|-- Topics ---- 2025.10.21
|-- Topics Book II ---- 2026.09.29
|-- Sophistical Refutations
|-- Rhetoric*
|-- Prior Analytics
|-- Posterior Analytics(* Robin Smith, author of SEP's 2022 entry "Aristotle's Logic," argues that Rhetoric should be part of the Organon.)
Whenever we do any human thing, we can either do it well or do it poorly. With instruments, we can do things either better, faster, and more; or worse, slower, and less. That is, with instruments they either augment or diminish our doings.
Do thinking and speaking (and writing and listening) require instruments? Yes. We do need physical instruments like microphones, megaphones, pens, papers, computers. But we also need mental instruments: grammar, vocabulary words, evidence-gathering techniques, big-picture integration methods, persuasion strategies. Thinking while sitting meditatively all day in a lotus position doesn't require much instrumentation of any kind, but thinking and speaking well in the sense of project planning, problem-solving, negotiating, arguing, deliberating--that is, the active doings in the world (whether romantic, social, commercial, or political)--do require well-honed mental instruments. That's the Organon in a nutshell.
Are you an up-and-coming human being, a doer, go-getter, achiever, or at least you're choosing to become one? You need to wield the Organon.
Join us.
1 attendeeUnderstanding Cognitive Biases 2 Things We Want to Be True: Confirmation Bias
·OnlineOnlinehttps://us04web.zoom.us/j/594932535
Private message me over meetup to get the password.
The attendee limit is 10 to allow easier discussion.Understanding Cognitive Biases
"Understand how your brain’s efficiency shortcuts can leave you with a biased view of the world and learn how to combat these tendencies in your everyday life."
At each meeting, we watch / listen to a lecture together and then discuss it together.
Typically, we cover one lecture per week. See the event’s title for what lecture is for that event.
Here is the full list of lectures for the course:
1 Why We're Blind to Our Own Biases
2 Things We Want to Be True: Confirmation Bias
3 We See People In and Behind Everything
4 We Love It Because We Built It
5 Why We Think Differently in Groups
6 Learn Better with Cognitive Biases
7 Expectations Change Results: Observer Bias
8 Bias Boot Camp for Better Decisions
9 We Think Others' Behaviors Are Their Fault
10 How Memory Is Biased toward Misinformation
11 How Fast Thinking Leads to a Great Fall
12 I Knew It All Along: Hindsight Bias
13 Even Random Outcomes Lead to Bias
14 How Con Artists Exploit Our Biases
15 Stereotypes: See the Person, Not the Group
16 Biases from Knowing Too Much or Too Little
17 Is That Memory Mine or Someone Else's?
18 I Believe, Therefore I Think: Belief Bias
19 Why Emotional Peaks and Endings Matter
20 We Lie to Be Socially Desirable
21 Why Emotional Gaps Cause Trouble
22 Only Survivors Tell the Story
23 Reactance: You Can't Watch This Lecture!
24 Status Quo: The More Things Change …8 attendees
🔴Quotes & Discussions night - Critical Thinking & Social
·OnlineOnline🔴 Camera & Mic Mandatory!
ZOOM LINK posts 15 minutes to the meeting.
- cross post, with a good number of participants who join through our group (Minds&Hearts Without Borders, Int’l”)https://www.meetup.com/mindshearts-without-borders/?eventOrigin=your_groups
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Dear friends,
What wonderful fulfilling conversations we have always had in our QUOTES&meme nights with our friends from different corners of the world! It is amazing how we travel through love, life, politics, psychology, wealth and…What a delicate mix of mind stimulating quotes and.. topics as we practice Critical Thinking, learn Emotional Intelligence and, explore the sophistication of human behaviour through the lens of practical philosophy.
Come and explore the world of QUOTES!
In the modern world when we have not enough time to read as much as we’d like , when the attention span gets shorter and shorter, when life runs with a speed much faster than our feet…the world of quotes has found a life of its own!
The effect of QUOTES can be quite strong in leading life!
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🔴 Have you WRITTEN a quote or two of your OWN?
Please do SHARE with us OR bring your favourite Quotes/memes should you have any.
As we live, we are the philosophers of our our hearts and minds! It is valuable to share thoughts and feelings!
Tell us why you find them of importance and we will share opinions about them!
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—- can you bring “Memes”? Absolutely!!
We appreciate some lighthearted content.9 attendees
Past events
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