What we’re about
Welcome to the Toronto Philosophy Meetup! This is a community (online and in-person) 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, poetry, 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 Facebook, Twitter or Bluesky and join our new Discord for extended discussion and to stay in touch with other members.
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.
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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.
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Featured event
The 25 Years of (German Idealist) Philosophy — Ch 5: From One Critique to Three
Kant declared that philosophy began in 1781 with his Critique of Pure Reason. In 1806 Hegel announced that philosophy had now been completed. Eckart Förster examines the reasons behind these claims and assesses the steps that led in such a short time from Kant’s “beginning” to Hegel’s “end.” He concludes that, in an unexpected yet significant sense, both Kant and Hegel were indeed right.
“Presents a novel interpretation of the development of German idealism that is rich in both historical depth and philosophical insight… Förster sets forth a historically nuanced and philosophically discerning interpretation of the central debates of the era.” ― Peter Yong, Philosophy in Review
“[Förster’s] book does not disappoint… The amount of material covered by Förster is impressive… Förster’s book is rich in specificity… Wherever the discussion goes, it is going to have to go on by taking Förster’s big picture and all his detailed accounts into account.” ― Terry Pinkard, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
“Förster’s command of the historical sources is most impressive. Moreover, this book is clearly written, and Bowman’s translation is commendable. Scholars and graduate students will welcome this masterpiece.” ―J. M. Fritzman, Choice
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Welcome everyone to this meetup series presented by Scott and Philip. Every second Friday we will get together to talk about this book: The Twenty-Five Years of Philosophy: A Systematic Reconstruction (2017, Harvard University Press) by Eckart Förster.
The format will be Philip's usual "accelerated live read" format. What this means is that each participant will be expected to read roughly 10-15 pages before each session. Each participant will have the option of picking a few paragraphs they especially want to focus on. We will then do a live read on the paragraphs that the participants found most interesting when they did the assigned reading.
People who have not done the reading are welcome to attend this meetup. However if you want to TALK during the meetup it is essential that you do the reading. We mean it! It is essential that the direction of the conversation be influenced only by people who have actually done the reading. You may think you are so brilliant and wonderful that you can come up with great points even if you do not do the reading. You probably are brilliant and wonderful – no argument there. But you still have to do the reading if you want to talk in this meetup. REALLY.
Please note that this is a "raise hands" meetup and has a highly structured format, not an anarchy-based one. This is partly for philosophical reasons: We want to discourage a simple-minded rapid fire "gotcha!" approach to philosophy. But our highly structured format is also for disability related reasons that Philip can explain if required.
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Here is THE READING SCHEDULE: (a pdf of the text is available here):
- Sept 12th, please read the Preface and Prologue (up to page 13)
- Sept 26th, please read up to page 31
- Oct 10th, please read up to page 40
- Oct 24th please read Ch 2 "Critique and Morals", pp. 41-56
- Nov. 7th please read Ch 3 "From A to B", pp. 57-74 [CANCELED]
- Nov. 21st please read Ch 3 "From A to B", pp. 57-74
- Dec. 5, [canceled]
- Dec.19, please read Ch 4 "How to Become a Spinozist", pp. 75-99
- Jan 2, please read Chapter 5 [Kant’s Critiques:] From One Make Three, pp. 100-124
- tba...
After that, the readings will be posted.
Upcoming events
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•OnlineLive Reading: Kierkegaard’s "The Expectancy of Faith"
OnlineToday (and for the 8th year), we will read Kierkegaard's upbuilding discourse "The Expectancy of Faith". This "discourse" (which reads like a sermon, but claims not to be) was written for New Year's Day and considers what one expects when they have faith: victory.
Maybe some of the thoughts in the discourse can help with our various New Year's resolutions.
PDF of the collection of discourses:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j3MqQ0eoPntZIA96-__KALuNob1gwTW6/view?usp=drive_link14 attendees
•OnlineHegel's Science of Logic (Book 1: The Doctrine of Being)
OnlineAt this meeting I think it would be a good idea to first do a quick review everything we have read so far. At the last meeting we were reading over Section (b), Determination, Constitution, and Limit, (page 122 in the Miller), and if the review doesn't take long, then we'll pick up where we left off, at Section 3, on page 126. We really should try to pick up the tempo a bit, and read up to C: Infinity, p,137. We will have still to talk about many things leading up to the Infinity section.
At the end of the meeting we'll be talking about Stephen Houlgate's On Being: Quality and the Birth of Quantity in Hegel's 'Science of Logic' , Vol. 1, but I don't know what part of we should look at.
A good essay which addresses the most important questions that arise in the first chapter of the Logic can be found here:
Another good essay, by Dieter Henrich, entitled Beginning and Method of (the) Logic, is available here.
During the meetings we'll be using the Miller translation. The pdf of the Miller can be found here (link).
Hegel's Science of Logic (1812–1816) is a landmark in German idealism and a radical rethinking of logic as the living structure of reality itself. Rather than treating logic as a neutral tool or set of rules, Hegel presents it as the dynamic structure of reality and self-consciousness. He develops a system of dialectical reasoning in which concepts evolve through contradictions and their resolutions. In contrast to his early collaborator and philosophical rival Friedrich Schelling, who emphasized the role of intuition and nature in the Absolute, Hegel insists that pure thought — developed immanently from itself — is the true foundation of metaphysics. The work is divided into three major parts: Being, Essence, and Concept (or Notion), each tracing the development of increasingly complex categories of thought. For Hegel, logic is not abstract or static; it is the unfolding of the Absolute, the rational core of existence.
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This is a discussion group for Hegel's Science of Logic. We have read several of Friedrich Schelling's works, including Philosophical Investigations into the Essence of Human Freedom (1809), Ages of the World (c. 1815), and the Historical-Critical Introduction to the Philosophy of Mythology (1845), Anyone with an interest in philosophy is free to join in the meetings.
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Past events
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