About us
We discuss topics of general philosophy and the implications of new technology on the future.
Upcoming events
63
Aristotle’s Dialectic — Topics I — Live-Reading
·OnlineOnlineJune 9 - We are reading chapter 13 of Topics, Book I, at Bekker lines 105a20–105a33. In this chapter we will find Aristotle enumerating four tools by means of which deductions come about. We will also review the prior chapters, beginning with chapter 4 and thereafter.
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We are using the translation by Robin Smith: Topics Books I & VIII (Oxford University Press, 1997). We will read the bottom of page 11 to the top of page 12.
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Smith in his helpful "Introduction" forewarns us that because we don't know what we are ignorant of, we barbarians don't know yet what dialectic is or why we need it. So there will be learning pain involved as we bootstrap ourselves toward knowing and practicing what we will learn. The payoff will be tremendous and will be commensurate with personal effort.
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A new reading adventure beckons you and your willpower. Join us.
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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
|-- 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.
2 attendees
FTI: Listening to understand Trump Supporters
·OnlineOnlineToo often, conversations about politics turn into debates instead of understanding. This session flips that dynamic.
In this Free Thinker Institute event, we focus on listening first—creating space to understand the perspectives, values, and experiences that shape support for Donald Trump.
We’ll explore:
- What motivates support beyond headlines and stereotypes
- How economic, cultural, and institutional factors influence viewpoints
- Where misconceptions exist on both sides
- What concerns and priorities are most often overlooked
- How better understanding can lead to more productive conversations and solutions
This is not about agreement or persuasion—it’s about gaining clarity, reducing polarization, and building the ability to engage across differences in a way that leads to better outcomes for everyone.
A little about our host:
Garrett is a programmer turned award-winning software inventor turned entrepreneur (PlateRate.com is his company). His hobby is writing and discussing practical philosophy, and he does life coaching on request to help people live happy, moral lives. He is also the executive director of The Free Thinker Institute (FreeThinkerInstitute.org), which aims to create a community that helps members increase happiness and decrease harm for themselves and those they can influence.Format:
Lecture and discussionNote:
Social time for our community 15 minutes before the presentation.
To get familiar with our past events, feel free to check out our YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmixGB9GdrptyEWovEj80zg
After registering via zoom, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.We publish our event recordings on our Youtube channel to offer our help to anyone who would like to but can’t attend the meeting, so we need to give this clause. If you don’t want to be recorded, just remain on mute and keep your video off.
Here’s our legal notice:
For valuable consideration received, by joining this event I hereby grant Free Thinker Institute and its legal representatives and assigns, the irrevocable and unrestricted right to use and publish any and all Zoom recordings for trade, advertising and any other commercial purpose, and to alter the same without any restriction. I hereby release Free Thinker Institute and its legal representatives and assigns from all claims and liability related to said video recordings.3 attendees
Friends As Life-Partners — Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics
·OnlineOnlineJune 14 - We will finish IX. Earlier, we read 1) beliefs about friendship, 2) objects of love, 3) three kinds of friendship, 4) the best kind, 5) state vs. activity, 6) varieties of equals, 7) of unequals, 8) loving vs. being loved, 9) friendships in societies, 10) forms of government, 11) right & wrong therein, 12) in families, 13–14) complaints, 1) problems with aims, 2) with obligations, 3) breaking up, 4) relation to oneself, 5) goodwill as starter, 6) concord, 7) good-giving, 8) selfishness, 9) needing it, 10) how many. Now: life sharing in all times.
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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
Past events
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