Would we have different philosophical views... if we were Cats?!

What if it were not us, humankind, a species of ape, that had evolved higher intelligence? What if the evolutionary advantages of opposable thumbs were over-rated? What if homo-sapiens had never emerged from sub-Saharan Africa at all, let alone gone on to dominate the world? If they hadn’t, then they would never have encountered the irresistibly cute African Wildcats hanging around in Egypt and the near-East. They would not have domesticated them, and by indulging their every pleasure, handed to them on a plate (or in a bowl), the hedonistic life of lazy pleasure the cats had always craved and now lapped up.

Let’s Imagine an alternative evolutionary history where the African wildcats, tired of waiting for the fabled homo-sapiens to emerge from Africa, decided that if they wanted the hedonistic lifestyle that they craved, they were just going to have to knuckle-down and evolve themselves! Imagine it was they, a species of cat, that evolved higher intelligence. Now imagine that you are one of them - a feline thinker with a thirst who enjoys philosophical discourse - and let me welcome you to the first (and probably the last) session of Philosophy in milk bars!

In this session, by imagining ourselves to be a solitary species evolved from cats rather than a social species evolved from apes, we will explore how our answers to some of the big philosophical questions may depend, more than we might think, on our evolutionary past!

More detail to follow...

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Anyone can attend this session. No experience in philosophy or knowledge of the subject is required in advance. Just come along and enjoy. Our events use the the 4Cs of community philosophy:

• Caring for others, making space for their contributions
• Collaborating to get a better mutual understanding rather than scoring points
• Critically assessing what we say, clarifying what is meant and asking what reasons support assertions
• Creatively coming up with alternative perspectives, rather than dogmatically sticking to our initial positions

We welcome everyone of a wide range of ages, social and educational backgrounds etc. Don't worry if you don't have a qualification in philosophy - almost no-one does. Occasionally, attendees will be asked to watch, read or listen to a short piece of material in advance of the session (as the 'stimulus' for discussion), but this will be minimal and will be made clear in the description of the session.

We ask for donations of £1 per session from those who can afford to pay to cover the costs of the Meetup subscription. First timers are exempt. Don't feel obliged to pay if you can't afford it - or pay less. Feel free to put £5 to cover five sessions or however you want to donate - this is left entirely up to you.