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
The Olmecs 10 Epi-Olmec Script
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/594932535
Private message me over meetup to get the password.
The attendee limit is 10 to allow easier discussion.
The Olmecs: Mesoamerica’s Mysterious First Civilization
"Journey through the world of ancient Mesoamerica with insights from classic archaeology and cutting-edge technology."
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 Evolving Olmec Origins Story
2 The Olmec Discovered
3 San Lorenzo
4 Mesoamerican Mother Culture?
5 La Venta
6 Olmec Iconography and Religion
7 Life as an Olmec
8 The Western Olmec
9 Tres Zapotes and the Epi-Olmecs
10 Epi-Olmec Script
11 Olmec Calendars and Astronomy
12 The Olmec Legacy
Upcoming events
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Phenomenology of Spirit
Epoch Coffee, 221 W North Loop Blvd, Austin, TX, US## Hegel Reading Group: Phenomenology of Spirit
Hosted by Elena
📍 Epoch Coffee, 221 W North Loop Blvd, Austin, TX 🕐 1:00–3:00 PM### Reading for this meeting
We are continuing our progression through G.F.W Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit.
Current focus starting at: §487: The World of Self-Alienated SpiritHegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit has a legendary reputation: daunting, dense, and—according to critics like Schopenhauer and Russell—borderline incomprehensible. And yet, it remains one of the most influential philosophical works of the modern era, shaping everything from Marxist theory to contemporary debates in logic, science, and political thought.
This reading group exists for people who feel the pull of Hegel despite the dread.
We approach the Phenomenology through slow reading and collective interpretation, prioritizing depth over speed. The goal is not to “conquer” Hegel, but to think with him—carefully, critically, and in conversation with others.### What we explore
Self-consciousness, freedom, and recognition
- Individuality, action, and ethical life
*Contradiction and dialectical thinking - The relationship between Hegel’s system and empirical science
- Whether Hegelian contradiction challenges or complements formal logic
- Why this text still matters in our current historical moment
### Format
Open, roundtable discussion
- No lectures, no performance philosophy
- Questions and disagreement are welcome
- You can speak a lot, or mostly listen—both are valid
We’ll be asking questions like:
- Where do we use good language to cover missing action?
- How does our “inner law” quietly become pressure on others?
- What survives when our ideals meet the real world?
If you’re new, prior readings are helpful but not required. This is a continuing group, but newcomers are always welcome.
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A free PDF of the Pinkard translation is available here:
👉 https://files.libcom.org/files/Georg%20Wilhelm%20Friedrich%20Hegel%20-%20The%20Phenomenology%20of%20Spirit%20(Terry%20Pinkard%20Translation).pdf
(If you’re using the Miller translation, be cautious with the paragraph summaries at the end—read them skeptically.)### Schedule
We meet every two weeks on Saturdays.
This session begins at 1:00 PM to allow more time for discussion.3 attendees- Individuality, action, and ethical life
Friendship and Love — Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics
·OnlineOnlineApril 12 - We will read chapter 2 of Book IX. Previous chapters were about (1) beliefs about friendship, (2) object of love, (3) three kinds of friendship, (4) the best kind, (5) state vs. activity thereof, (6) friending varieties, (7) between unequals, (8) loving vs. being loved, (9) friendships in communities, (10) forms of government, (11) friendships and right & wrong in these forms, (12) in families, (13–14) complaints between friends, and (1) friends with dissimilar aims. This next will be about conflict of obligations.
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Our main translation from here on will be by Adam Beresford (Penguin Classics, 2020), but we will occasionally dip into other older English translations to get more insights and commentaries.
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We are live-reading and discussing Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, book VIII–IX, which is about friendship, social relations, and love.
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The prerequisite to this book is our answering for ourselves these questions from the prior books, to which we will briefly review:
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1. What is a virtue of character {ēthikē aretē}?
2. How does one come to acquire any of it? (E.g. pride, ambition, bravery, gentlemanliness, generosity, candor, fairness, …)
3. From a first-person perspective in being virtuous, how does one feel and what does one see (differently, discursively) in a given situation of everyday living?
4. How does one formulate right desires?
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The project's cloud drive is here, at which you'll find the reading texts, notes, and slideshows.2 attendees
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