What we’re about
This group is for people that want to meet new people in Kingston AND engage in deep, meaningful conversations about topics in philosophy, ethics, politics, science, etc. "The unexamined life is not worth living" is the motto of our group. If you are interested in living an examined life, please consider joining us for some fun, deep conversations.
“The unexamined life is not worth living”. Those were the words of my intellectual hero Socrates, shortly before the Athenians sentenced him to death for challenging their beliefs. Socrates was considered a bit of a pain in the butt to his contemporaries because he was always asking deep questions like “What is the good life?” and “What is justice?”. Not everyone appreciates having their ideas and beliefs questioned. But the members of The Philosopher’s Club (Kingston) embrace, indeed celebrate!, the inquisitive mindset. We long for substantive conversations about all topics- ethics, politics, art, science, religion, law, evolution, economics, psychology, etc. We believe that the life of the active mind is the good life, and we want to continue to grow, learn and develop by engaging in civil discussion and debate with kindred spirits that live in our fine city.
Who am I? I’m a professor at Queen’s University. I am a secular humanist with a PhD in philosophy and I have had the good fortune to teach thousands of bright students in England, Scotland, Canada and the United States. While not a luddite, I will admit I loath the erosion of real (vs virtual) community and “cognitive presence” I see rampant in the hyper-social-media connectivity of the modern world. Very few people have the time or desire to meet in person and converse any more. A “re-tweet” or FB “like” are inadequate substitutes to meet our desire for substantive connection that is engrained in our evolved, pro-social biology.
People are often too busy texting away with their nose glued to their phone to meet and converse with new people in “real life”. Well, I have opted out of that virtual rat race, and this meetup group is my attempt to help forge an authentic, “conversationally-present” community of like-minded Kingstonians. I hope you will consider joining me!
Why join this group?
Answer #1: To meet new people! You like people, right?
Answer #2: To be happier! You like being happy, right? Science has shown that people are happier when engaging in meaningful conversations vs making small chat.
Format of the Group.
This meetup group is a social experiment. As such, the nature and frequency of our meetings will evolve depending on the size of the group and people’s interest. But at the moment I am planning on running two styles of meetings, what I shall call “informal” meetups, and “formal” meetups.
“Informal meetups” will take place at least once a month, at a pub, coffee shop or (when weather permits) a scenic location for walking. There will be no size limit on these events, or set topic to discuss. Just show up and chat about whatever deep topics or ideas you would like to discuss and debate.
“Formal meetups” will take place once a month. These will be lunch or dinner events, with an attendee limit of only 4 people. A table reservation for 4 people will be booked in advance. And with only space for 3 other people (besides myself), please be sure you attend an event you have booked to attend (or if you have to cancel, update it so someone else can take your place). For these formal events there will be a set “Conversation Starter” topic, to try to get people’s ideas going in advance of the meeting. The topics will be detailed on the event listed.
Hope to see you at an event soon, and we can engage in some substantive conversations together! I accept requests to join the group from people who (1) are local to Ktown and (2) have a clear profile picture of their face. A sense of authentic community is important to the group.
Cheers,
Colin
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Upcoming events (3)
See all- Spring Reading Group (The Burnout Society, Meeting #2)Lake Ontario Park, Kingston, ON
Part 2 ...... the second meeting on Byung Chul Han's book The Burnout Society For this session will cover the second half of this short book, from the section "The Pedagogy of Seeing" till the end.
You can download the book for free here, and listen to it here.
Please be sure to bring your own lawn chair for sitting on, as that enables us to sit somewhere quiet in the park. Hope to see you there!
Cheers,
ColinSummary points forthcoming....
- War of Art (summer reading group) Meeting #1Lake Ontario Park, Kingston, ON
Following on from the theme of creativity in the March meeting, I will run a summer reading group (2 meetings, one in June and the second in July) on Thursday evenings from 7-8:30pm to go over Steven Pressfield's excellent book The War of Art. I have run a reading group on this book a few times of the past few years, and find it a rewarding topic and book to return to. It is an easy and short read. Below I detail the central themes/issues in Part 1 of the book, which will be our focus in this first meeting. You can watch an interview with Pressfield here.
Please be sure to bring a lawn chair, and head towards the sheltered area with the bathrooms, we will be sitting behind that structure under a tree.
First point- why read this book? I think anyone facing obstacles in their personal lives – be it with writing, or switching careers, or ending an unhealthy marriage, or moving to a new city, or entering retirement, or re-entering dating, etc.- will stand to benefit from reading this book. The dominant theme in Part 1 of the book is that the thing that prevents us from accomplishing what we want to accomplish in life is Resistance. As Pressfield puts in: “Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance”. Resistance is the enemy! And the book aspires to help us identify, and ultimately, conquer Resistance in our personal lives.
Resistance can arise when aspiring to pursue your calling (e.g. painting, writing), launching a new business, pursuing your spiritual advancement, romantic relationships and parenthood, education, getting fit, overcoming an unhealthy habit or undertaking an action that requires ethical or political courage.
Resistance is invisible. So it is a sly enemy! But we feel it, it emits an energy. It tries to prevent us from doing our work. Resistance arises from within. “It is self-generated and self-perpetuated”.
Resistance is insidious, implacable, impersonal, infallible, universal, it never sleeps, it plays for keeps, it is fuelled by fear, etc.When the finish line is in sight, that is when Resistance is most dangerous (see, I said it was sly!). As we get closer to our aspirations resistance hits “the panic button!”, a counterattack to thwart us from achieving what we really want in life. Perhaps you bail on resigning from your current, unhappy, job after you finally get that dream job offer. Or you finally meet a great person for dating but get cold feet and call it off before risking getting your heart broken.
We must be aware of the symptoms of Resistance, such as victimhood (a strategy that doesn’t require honest work or any contribution), and choice of a partner (someone whose coattails we can ride on or whose adoration we use to prevent them from overcoming their own Resistance).
What does Resistance feel like? Bored. Restless. Guilt. Unsatisfied. It can become critical and lead to depression.
Resistance and Fundamentalism: Pressfield argues we didn’t evolve to life as individuals, rather we are wired tribally- to act as part of a group. We don’t know how to be alone, how to act as free individuals.
A contrast is made between the artist and the fundamentalist. The artist is creative and positive, the fundamentalist is destructive and negative. The latter is a philosophy of powerlessness.
When it comes to fear, Pressfield notes that fear is actually a good thing! “The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it” (40).
Healing- Pressfield argues a fixation on healing can be a form of Resistance. Telling yourself you need to heal completely before undertaking the work to achieve what you want. “Resistance knows that the more psychic energy we expend dredging and re-dredging the tired, boring injustices of our personal lives, the less juice we have to do our work” (50).
Rationalizations is Resistant’s right-hand man (57), the spin doctor. My favourite quote from Part 1:
“If Resistance couldn’t be beaten, there would be no Fifth Symphony, no Romeo and Juliet, no Golden Gate Bridge. Defeating Resistance is like giving birth. It seems absolutely impossible until you remember that women have been pulling it off successfully, with support and without, for fifty million years” (57)
Hope to see some of you there.
Cheers,
Colin
