[In-person] Curiosity Café: Promises (Ticketed Event)

Promising is one of our most familiar and deeply embedded social practices. It is also, like many social practices, widely regarded as having a morally significant dimension: Indeed, most people would agree that, barring certain morally exceptional circumstances, we are obligated to follow through on our promises to other people — that, as the saying goes, “a promise made is a promise kept.” Moreover, the act (or at least the language) of promising often extends beyond the context of interpersonal relationships, as when we speak of promises between countries or promises to ourselves (which may include the New Year’s resolutions you’ve already begun to break). But despite — or perhaps, because of — its commonplace nature, the practice of promising continues to raise a variety of intriguing and philosophically puzzling questions.

At our upcoming Curiosity Café, moderated by Sofia Panasiuk and Adrian Ma, we will explore some of these questions and their broader implications for morality, including:

• Is it ever okay to break a promise? If so, under what conditions?
• What roles do promises play in our lives? What would the world look like if nobody made — or kept — promises?
• Do promises ever expire? (Think about the promises you’ve made to a friend from whom you have drifted apart). If so, when?
• Must all promises be made explicitly, such as by signing a contract or uttering a pledge? Or can they sometimes be made implicitly?
• To what extent are promises tied to the identity of the promiser or the promisee? Can promises I’ve made in the past be dissolved because I am no longer the person who made them?
• Is promising confined to interpersonal relationships? Can we be morally bound by promises to ourselves?
• And others!

Does that sound promising? ;) If so, join us on Tuesday, January 7th, and pledge your attendance by reserving a ticket below!

Space is limited! You must obtain a “Pay-What-You-Can” ticket from Curiosity Café here to attend this event. Please visit the ticketing page for more information about tickets and other options including a limited number of free tickets.

Hope to see you there!

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This event is brought to you by Being and Becoming, a Toronto based non-profit. We aim to create community around exploring everyday concepts and experiences so that we may live more intentional, thoughtful, and meaningful lives. We use philosophy as a tool with which we can come to a richer understanding of the world around us.

By offering activities, spaces, and other opportunities for conversation and co-exploration, we hope to enable the meeting and fusion of individuals and their ideas. Everyone is welcome, regardless of background: indeed, we believe the journey is best undertaken alongside explorers from a variety of disciplines, cultures, backgrounds, and experiences.

Find out more about Being and Becoming here.

About the Curiosity Café Series:

For those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to join us at our Curiosity Cafés and are wondering what they’re all about: every two weeks, we invite members of our community to come out to the Madison Avenue Pub to engage in a collaborative exploration of our chosen topic. Through these events, we aim to build our community of people who like to think deeply about life’s big questions, and provide each other with some philosophical tools to dig deeper into whatever it is we are most curious about.