What we’re about
Welcome to the Toronto Philosophy Meetup! This is a community for anyone interested in philosophy, including newcomers to the subject. We host discussions, talks, reading groups, pub nights, debates, and other events on an inclusive range of topics and perspectives in philosophy, drawing from an array of materials (e.g. philosophical writings, for the most part, but also movies, literature, history, science, art, podcasts, current events, ethnographies, and whatever else seems good.)
Anyone is welcomed to host philosophy-related events here. We also welcome speakers and collaborations with other groups.
Join us at an event soon for friendship, cooperative discourse, and mental exercise!
You can also follow us on Twitter and join our Discord.
Feel free to propose meetup topics (you can do this on the Message Boards), and please contact us if you would like to be a speaker or host an event.
(NOTE: Most of our events are currently online because of the pandemic.)
"Philosophy is not a theory but an activity."
— from "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus", Wittgenstein
"Discourse cheers us to companionable
reflection. Such reflection neither
parades polemical opinions nor does it
tolerate complaisant agreement. The sail
of thinking keeps trimmed hard to the
wind of the matter."
— from "On the Experience of Thinking", Heidegger
See here for an extensive list of podcasts and resources on the internet about philosophy.
See here for the standards of conduct that our members are expected to abide by. Members should also familiarize themselves with Meetup's Terms of Service Agreement, especially the section on Usage and Content Policies.
See here for a list of other philosophy-related groups to check out in the Toronto area: https://www.meetup.com/The-Toronto-Philosophy-Meetup/pages/30522966/Other_Philosophy_Groups_in_the_Toronto_Area/
Please note that no advertising of external events, products, businesses, or organizations is allowed on this site without permission from the main Organizer.
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Make a Donation
Since 2016, the Toronto Philosophy Meetup has been holding regular events that are free, open to the public, and help to foster community and a culture of philosophy in Toronto and beyond. To help us continue to do so into the future, please consider supporting us with a donation! Any amount is most welcome.
You can make a donation here.
See here for more information and to meet our donors.
Supporters will be listed on our donors page unless they wish to remain anonymous. We thank them for their generosity!
If you would like to help out or support us in other ways (such as with any skills or expertise you may have), please contact us.
Note: You can also use the donation link to tip individual hosts. Let us know who you want to tip in the notes section. You can also contact hosts directly for ways to tip them.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- unDavos Webinar: How to end unjust wars & improve human rights globallyLink visible for attendees
Garrett has been reflecting on the Ukraine war—an injustice he finds deeply troubling—and regards the Iraq war as another stark illustration of the same moral failure. He has been pursuing a single question: how to end unjust wars permanently and, in doing so, secure historic progress for human rights.
Convinced he has identified a viable answer, Garrett reports that his initial presentation of the idea was well received, and he believes this audience could help turn it into action. Although he acknowledges real obstacles, he considers them minor and is eager to help overcome them.
Amid the current climate—particularly the escalating rhetoric from Donald Trump toward Greenland, Panama, and others—Garrett sees an urgent need for solutions. He actively invites critique to uncover any flaws and, if the idea withstands scrutiny, seeks collaborators capable of bringing it to those who can realize it.
He calls on others to join him in exploring this proposed path to lasting peace.
Format: Keynote
Speakers:
Garrett Lang, Executive director/Founder and president - Free Thinker Institute/PlateRate
Garrett is a software developer turned award-winning software inventor. He is the founder and executive director of the Free Thinker Institute, a community of practical philosophers where he has presented numerous novel hypotheses that could benefit wider audiences. An AI specialist since 2001—when artificial intelligence was his computer-science concentration—Garrett has designed his own AI algorithms and continually evaluates emerging AI tools, identifying standout solutions across multiple domains. He has also hosted and delivered AI presentations for various groups, including Ivy+ and Cornell alumni.
- Nietzsche: The Gay Science [Session 49]Link visible for attendees
While the Walter Kaufmann translation is preferred, a link to the free Cambridge translation is here. For this Meetup, we will read aphorisms 184-195, and discuss them one at a time and get as far as we get, carrying forward any undiscussed aphorisms to the following week.
It’s 1882, and a friend has just given you a copy and recommendation of a book by a former professor of philology named Friedrich Nietzsche. Your friend says that he seems to be a philosopher of some sort, even though he doesn’t write like one, and in this book he argues, among a lot of other provocative things, that God Is dead!
This Is the beginner’s mind that this Meetup will take with this book. You may know his contemporaries and antecedents, but you’re here to share YOUR thoughts, not those of subsequent critics.
Recordings and AI summaries of previous sessions are available here.
Suggested texts: The Portable Neitzsche, edited by Walter Kaufmann and The Basic Writings of Nietzsche, edited by Walter KaufmannSyllabus (titles are linked to free PDF’s, most of which require a free academia.edu account)
The Gay Science (academia.edu)
Beyond Good and Evil (academia.edu)*
On The Genealogy of Morals (academia.edu)*
The Case of Wagner*
Twilight of the Idols** (academia.edu)
The Antichrist**
Ecce Homo*
Nietzsche Contra Wagner***The Basic Writings of Nietzsche, edited by Walter Kaufmann
**Walter Kaufmann’s, The Portable Nietzsche - Kant: Critique of Practical Reason (Week 5 – Doctrine of Method)Link visible for attendees
What does 'morality' mean, and what does it mean that we are moral? Kant's classic of meta-ethics, the Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, tries to address these questions while working towards inaugurating a new approach to metaphysics. Kant's ethical project is broad, covering problems of personal responsibility, virtue, rights, cosmopolitanism, world peace, and religion.
No prior experience with Kant is necessary.
Our Kant reading continues with the Critique of Practical Reason. We'll be covering Doctrine of Method at this meetup.
pp 261 - 271 (Gregor, Cambridge Practical Philosophy)
pp 189 - 205 (Pluhar)
pp 5:151 - 163 (Complete Works)Note: Meetings focus on developing a common language and friendship through studying Kant. The host will provide an interpretation of Kant; other interpretations will not be discussed until later in the meeting. Additional interpretations, topics, and questions can be addressed through the Jitsi chat feature.
Reading Schedule:
Week 1:
Preface and Introduction
pp 139 - 149 (Gregor, Cambridge Practical Philosophy)
pp 3 - 25 (Pluhar)
pp 5:3 - 16 (Complete Works)Week 2:
Book I (Analytic) - Chapter I
pp 153 - 186 (Gregor, Cambridge Practical Philosophy)
pp 29 - 77 (Pluhar)
pp 5:19 - 57 (Complete Works)Week 3:
Book I (Analytic) - Chapters II and III
pp 186 - 225 (Gregor, Cambridge Practical Philosophy)
pp 77 - 135 (Pluhar)
pp 5:57 - 106 (Complete Works)Week 4:
Book II (Dialectic)
pp 226 - 258 (Gregor, Cambridge Practical Philosophy)
pp 137 - 186 (Pluhar)
pp 5:107 - 148 (Complete Works)Week 5:
Doctrine of Method
pp 261 - 271 (Gregor, Cambridge Practical Philosophy)
pp 189 - 205 (Pluhar)
pp 5:151 - 163 (Complete Works)There are numerous editions (and free translations available online if you search), but this collection contains all of Kant's Practical Philosophy in translation:
https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Philosophy-Cambridge-Works-Immanuel/dp/0521654084/
PDF: https://antilogicalism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/kant-practical-philosophy.pdf
![Nietzsche: The Gay Science [Session 49] cover photo](https://secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/b/e/b/a/event_521988826.webp "Nietzsche: The Gay Science [Session 49]")
