Morality and Ethics
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Check out morality and ethics events happening today here. These are in-person gatherings where you can meet fellow enthusiasts and participate in activities right now.
Discover all the morality and ethics events taking place this week here. Plan ahead and join exciting meetups throughout the week.
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Morality and Ethics Events Today
Join in-person Morality and Ethics events happening right now
Intuitive Thinkers Go Dark
Join us for a night of fun at Dark Arts Night
A night of dark art, live experimental music, tarot, workshops, DJs, food, and chaotic creative energy. Featuring Das Fluff, Zero Sun: Kurātaka, corpse-paint life drawing, and immersive gothic-inspired spaces.
Free entry.
Come relax, meet interesting people, and discover hidden sides of your personality under purple lights and synth music. Basically self-development, but more fun and slightly haunted.
RSVP if interested.
Existential courage
Please read this
1. Arrival + grounding question like:
“What did this week ask of you?”
or
“What are you arriving with today?”
1. The stimulus
A short poem, article extract, podcast clip, essay, quote, or image. This week: https://www.themarginalian.org/2026/05/10/zadie-smith-cultural-appropriation/
1. Reflection round
Not “what do we think this means?” but:
“What did this make you notice about yourself?”
“What resisted this idea?”
“What line/image/idea stayed with you and why?”
1. Honest conversation
This is where people speak more freely. Perhaps prompting next session’s discussion.
1. Accountability close
Everyone answers:
“This week I’m practising…”
“One thing I’m avoiding but willing to face is…”
“One small proof I’ll give myself is…”
If you want to follow the group on instagram the account is: existential.courage
🎭 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
£25 tickets. A culture-based meet-up around the new London adaptation of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, featuring Aaron Pierre & Giles Terera
The play explores themes of authority, conformity, freedom of thought, and resistance to imposed systems. It raises questions about who gets to define “normal,” and what happens when you challenge dominant narratives.
There are only 4 tickets as the play is now sold out. We can also grab a drink or food nearby before or after.
Europe Today
We have a chance to talk about today´s realities and express our views about some topics of great importance about events that are shaping and affecting our daily existence. The speed of change is acelerating on a daily basis and many of the things we thought could not happen are actually happening. The only certainty is uncertainty.
FREE English lessons happening today at 1.50pm in Central London
Free English lessons in London taught by our trainee teachers!
**[Register Here](https://www.dcteachertraining.com/london-free-english-lessons)**
Location: St Giles London Central, 154 Southampton Row, WC1B 5JX
(Nearest Tube: Russell Square)
Afternoons
* Monday to Friday (each weekday)
* 1:50pm to 4:00pm
Levels available: Pre-Intermediate (A2),
Upper Intermediate (B2)
(Lessons for adults only - 18 years+)
We can't wait to welcome you to the English lessons!
Morality and Ethics Events This Week
Discover what is happening in the next few days
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius - Book 4: Part 2
* **read event description before signing up**
* **register on Meetup to attend**
* **update RSVP if plans change**
* **arrive at 2.50pm**
* **read the Book before session**
* **review the Questions**
[Book 4 - Part 2 - verses 25-51](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Thoughts_of_the_Emperor_Marcus_Aurelius_Antoninus/Book_IV)
*Reading Time - 16 minutes*
*Prior knowledge is not required*
[Gregory Hays translation used in session](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meditations-Translation-Modern-Library-Classics/dp/0812968255/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1DYZJGWO42PUG&keywords=meditations+gregory+hays&qid=1656706450&s=books&sprefix=Meditations+Gregory%2Cstripbooks%2C91&sr=1-1)
Meditations is one of the greatest works of spiritual and ethical reflection ever written. With a profound understanding of human behaviour, Marcus provides insights, wisdom, and practical guidance on everything from living in the world to coping with adversity to interacting with others.
Explore this timeless collection that has been consulted and admired by leaders, readers and thinkers throughout the centuries.
**Questions we'll explore**
1\. A philosopher without clothes and one without books\.
“I have nothing to eat,” says he, as he stands there half-naked, “but I subsist on the logos.”
And with nothing to read, I subsist on it too. (30)
*What do you make of this?*
2\. Then what should we work for?
Only this: proper understanding; unselfish action; truthful speech.
A resolve to accept whatever happens as necessary and familiar, flowing like
water from that same source and spring. (33)
*What are the implications?*
3\. To pass through this brief life as nature demands\.
To give it up without complaint.
Like an olive that ripens and falls.
Praising its mother, thanking the tree it grew on. (48)
*How do you feel about this?*
4\. So remember this principle when something threatens to cause you
pain: the thing itself was no misfortune at all;
to endure it and prevail is great good fortune. (49a)
*Do you agree or disagree?*
5\. Take the shortest route\, the one that nature planned—to speak and act in the healthiest way\.
Do that, and be free of pain and stress, free of all calculation and pretension. (51)
*How would you go about this?*
**To fund the costs of** [room hire](https://bunhillquakers.org.uk/files/2025_bunhill_booking_info_trifold.pdf) **and** [Meetup subscription](https://www.meetup.com/blog/new-organizer-pricing-key-improvements/) **£15 is payable**
To minimise admin there are no refunds/credits unless the meeting is cancelled. Refunds exclude Meetup/PayPal fees.
**If you sign up and can no longer attend, please Edit RSVP asap to "Not going" so someone else can take your spot.**
There is no waiting list if the event is full. Please check this Meetup page on the day of the event, as a spot may become available if there is a late cancellation.
**If you sign up, and do not Edit RSVP to "Not going", and are a no show, you will be removed from the Group and can rejoin after 3 months.**
Philosophy in the Park 139 (outside St Giles Cripplegate)
Philosophy in the Park is a philosophical discussion group. Open to all. No previous philosophical experience necessary.
We will meet outside St Giles Cripplegate.
Here's how it works:
* At the start of each hour vote on which questions to discuss. You can vote for more than one question if you'd like. The questions with the most votes are the questions we discuss.
* We then break up into groups and each group does a different question. The question is just a starting point and it's cool if you go on tangents and up end talking about different things. You're welcome to join in and participate or if you'd prefer you're welcome to sit back and enjoy the conversation.
After an hour we all come back together, take a quick break and then repeat all over again. So in 3 hours we go around 3 times.
The aim is to have fun, meet new people, generate interesting and thought-provoking conversations, have your horizons expanded, challenge your preconceptions and who knows - you might even learn something?
In order to make the conversations as fun, interesting and productive for everyone as possible please follow these simple guidelines:
1. Keep it Philosophical
(No Science, no History, no Sociology, no Evolutionary Psychology, no contestable facts, personal anecdotes etc).
2. Think for Yourself
(No phones, no looking up definitions, no name dropping Philosophers / books you've read).
3. Tangents are Cool
(Don't worry too much if the subject drifts and you don't answer the question).
4. Keep it Succinct
(Like this).
5. Be Excellent to Each Other
(But of course).
Philosophy is about conceptual analysis. It's thinking about thinking. It's not about empiricism or the real world. It's about abstractions, concepts and ideas.
To terms of the right attitude: It's not about debating and trying to win - it's about listening to people and working collaboratively to increase our collective understanding.
No homework or prior knowledge or reading is necessary - simply come and enjoy the discussions.
After the event finishes we have an area reserved in The Shakespeare pub which is just around the corner from the Barbican. You are very welcome to join us if you'd like.
If you would like to submit a question please join the Whatsapp group. Question submissions take place on the Thursday before the meeting.
We hope to see you there.
Nice one.
...
To join the Philosophy in the Park WhatsApp Group please click here: [https://chat.whatsapp.com/CdFaxJHbeOw9UOfuk7spiK](https://chat.whatsapp.com/CdFaxJHbeOw9UOfuk7spiK) (in order to stop spam bots this will take you to a Waiting Room. Once in please write your name, answer the joining question and we will add you to the main chat).
If the link doesn't work then please send me a message with your phone number and I can add you directly.
Meetup charges subscription fees. If you would like to make a donation please click here: [https://paypal.me/philosophycollective](https://paypal.me/philosophycollective)
Sunday Morning Doubles Badminton - Intermediate and above @Euston_SomersTown
**\*Please note we had to increase the session fees to £14 due to increase in court hire and shuttles.**
Sunday Morning Badminton
Date: 17 May 2026
Time: 10 am to 12 Noon
Courts: 4 courts available
Shuttles: Feather (quality feathers)
Session Fee: £14 per person.
TWO HOURS OF BADMINTON - £14,
Venue: Somers Town Community Sports Centre
134 Chalton Street, London NW1 1RX
Free Street Parking Available.
This session is for those that are intermediate and above (strictly no beginners/ improvers/ Low Intermediates). We want to ensure the quality of play while controlling the standard of the club, this means that players who are not quite up to the standard may be asked politely to leave.
PLEASE PAY BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE SESSION EITHER VIA BANK TRANSFER/ PAYPAL.
IMPORTANT: OUR TERMS!
Coronavirus: Stay Safe, Play Safe
https://www.meetup.com/Central-London-Badminton-Club/boards/thread/52704882
Badminton Tactics:
https://www.meetup.com/Central-London-Badminton-Club/messages/boards/thread/52043613
\*PLEASE NOTE: LATE CANCELLATIONS (AFTER 8PM ON SATURDAY) OR NO-SHOWS WILL INCUR A PENALTY CHARGE OF £14. YOU WILL NEED TO PAY THE PENALTY CHARGE BEFORE BEING ALLOWED TO RSVP AT THE NEXT AVAILABLE SESSION.
• You are responsible for your own well-being and we and the sports facility representatives will not be responsible for any injury, stolen or damaged property or any other occurrences during our sessions.
• Organisers: Mohammed (mr. nice guy), Vin (the merciless) and Moynul (the dark side of badminton)
Practical Philosophy Club Meetup - London 🇬🇧
**🏛️ WHAT'S PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY ABOUT?**
Practical Philosophy is a weekly meet-up that brings critical thinkers together for an opportunity to dive deep on a topic, practice communicating, and building a community. All with no ‘official’ philosophy knowledge required! 😎
Practical Philosophy is based on the idea that philosophy should be accessible to all, and not something reserved only for academics. Each week we choose a topic, and the goal is to use the conversation to develop our critical thinking and communication as we explore that topic.
The goal is to help develop our Critical Thinking, Communication, and Community 🙌
📓 **HOW DOES IT WORK?**
Each week, we pick one topic and discuss it. The topic for the week is shared, generally in the [Whatsapp group](https://chat.whatsapp.com/B6fqS6HGujq8gb3a0kl5pS), along with jump-off points to get the conversation going.
When groups get bigger than 7-8 people, it’s important that we break into smaller groups. This way we are able to maintain a conversational flow as opposed to having our meetups feel like a discourse or lecture.
**General Meeting Agenda**
Each Practical Philosophy meet-up follows this general timeline:
* 13:45-14:00 - People arrive and chat, get to know each other before the ‘official' start.
* 14:00-14:05 - Meeting introduction, explanation of Practical Philosophy and the topic for the week, read the guidelines and the overview so attendees know what to expect in terms of timelines.
* 14:05-14:45 - Break into small groups - introduce yourselves and general thoughts on the topic, open discussion afterwards. At this point the group can review the ‘jump-off’ questions as needed, but they are just there to help guide the conversation. It’s not obligatory to answer them.
* 14:45 - We do a group conclusion of the things we discussed, and then we typically take a photo and go on our way :) If you don't want to be in the group photo, there's no pressure, it's just a way to close out the meeting. We occasionally have an unofficial social so the different groups can mingle afterwards too!
**🧧PRICING?**
Practical Philosophy Club is FREE to attend, and we operate on donations.
If you'd like to donate to support our running costs, that helps keep our group self-sustaining. Donations are 100% voluntary, but your contribution is appreciated! QR codes to donate will be present.
Tea’s and coffees and are paid by the individual should they wish to have them.
**💛 WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY**
🗣 “I feel like Philosophy Club helps someone build their own belief system through a series of perspectives while not promoting what’s right and wrong” - Ekam
🗣 “I got hooked from day 1 (the topic was authority) and felt it was the right place for me. I feel it is a place where people can go to learn and discuss new perspectives and increase critical thinking and community by interacting with people who might challenge your point of views but at the same time encourage you to have openness and mind flexibility.” - Daniel
**🤓 FAQ**
* What will we talk about? What's the topic?
The topic for the week is shared every week in the Whatsapp group before the session. We try to add the topic to the comment section on this event page as well but if you don’t see it, the topic and the jump-off points will be in our [Whatsapp](https://chat.whatsapp.com/B6fqS6HGujq8gb3a0kl5pS).
* Do I need to study or read anything to attend?
No preparation is necessary. This isn’t a study of other thinkers. We want to know what YOU think about the topic, not what an old philosopher thought. If you have a perspective from a religion or a school of thought to share, throw it on the table and we’ll discuss it, but it's not required.
* Is there a specific philosophy that Practical Philosophy is focused on?
The goal of our meet-ups is to not have dogmatic discussions, and flex our critical thinking muscles. Because of this, we want to hear from every realm of thought, and don't study a particular school.
* Is it mostly men that attend?
Surprisingly, no! Although philosophy is seen as a Candelabra affair in a dark room with a bunch of guys, our Practical Philosophy meetups are generally 50/50 between genders, and we don’t meet in any dark rooms.
* Can I come alone?
Of course you can, we encourage it :)
* Can I be late?
Please don't be! We do have a 15 minute grace period where we allow people to funnel in while we hang out, but after that if you arrive too late, it disrupts the flow of the conversation.
* Where do you meet?
The location is posted in Meetup and our [Whatsapp](https://chat.whatsapp.com/B6fqS6HGujq8gb3a0kl5pS) group for this location. It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you join the Whatsapp group! If you want to know what other cities have a Practical Philosophy Club, you can see our chapters on our [website](https://www.practicalphilosophy.club/practical-philosophy-locations/).
🤝**POLICY**
To respect our members privacy, we ask that no one privately message a member without first getting explicit consent. (This looks like speaking in person and being asked to message privately.) Contacting or texting other participants without prior consent is not permitted and may result in removal from the group. Practical Philosophy reserves the right to enforce this policy at its discretion to maintain a safe and respectful environment.
**PRACTICAL PHILOSOPHY - Making Philosophy Available To All.** ✨
Practical Philosophy hosts weekly, in-person meetups in 25+ countries, including Canada, Spain, Japan, Mexico and many more! 🗺️
\*\*\*
Join our [Whatsapp group](https://chat.whatsapp.com/B6fqS6HGujq8gb3a0kl5pS) 👈
Follow us on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/practicalphilosophyclub/?hl=en) 👈
Our [website](https://www.practicalphilosophy.club) 👈
Sunday Morning Singles Badminton - Intermediate and above @Euston_SomersTown
**\*Please note we had to increase the session fees to £15 due to increase in court hire and shuttles.**
Sunday Singles Badminton
Date: 17 May 2026
Time: 10 am to 12 Noon
Courts: 2 courts available
Shuttles: Feather (quality feathers)
Session Fee: £15 per person.
TWO HOURS OF BADMINTON - £15,
Venue: Somers Town Community Sports Centre
134 Chalton Street, London NW1 1RX
Free Street Parking Available.
This session is for those that are intermediate and above (strictly no beginners/ improvers/ Low Intermediates).
PLEASE PAY BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE SESSION EITHER VIA BANK TRANSFER/ PAYPAL.
IMPORTANT: OUR TERMS!
Coronavirus: Stay Safe, Play Safe
https://www.meetup.com/Central-London-Badminton-Club/boards/thread/52704882
Badminton Tactics:
https://www.meetup.com/Central-London-Badminton-Club/messages/boards/thread/52043613
\*PLEASE NOTE: LATE CANCELLATIONS (AFTER 8PM ON SATURDAY) OR NO-SHOWS WILL INCUR A PENALTY CHARGE OF £15. YOU WILL NEED TO PAY THE PENALTY CHARGE BEFORE BEING ALLOWED TO RSVP AT THE NEXT AVAILABLE SESSION.
• You are responsible for your own well-being and we and the sports facility representatives will not be responsible for any injury, stolen or damaged property or any other occurrences during our sessions.
• Organisers: Mohammed (mr. nice guy), Vin (the merciless) and Moynul (the dark side of badminton)
Guilty or Not Guilty? Beyond Reasonable Doubt
Beyond Reasonable Doubt is our most experiential social yet and tickets are officially live!
We have partnered with a former Detective of 24 years to bring you a **[guided interactive day](https://www.thisisdumo.com/16-05)** where you will step inside the case from the moment the 999 call drops - evaluating evidence, taking on roles as detectives, CSIs, pathologists, barristers and jury members - all the way to a live crown court trial where one of your group stands accused.
Part live investigation.
Part courtroom drama.
Except you're not in the audience, you're the cast.
**Could you solve a real murder case?**
**[Find out more here and grab your spot](https://www.thisisdumo.com/16-05)**
London Bridge – poor health, bad debts but a Grade I pub at the end
**London Bridge – poor health, bad debts but a Grade I pub at the end**
This walk is presented by Central London Humanists and led by volunteer Robert Hall. Humanists believe we have just one life to be lived rationally and well, with compassion for others.
This event is a guided walk of +/- 2.25 hours pointing out places of interest. We will be walking 3.5 Km / 2.2 miles.
This walk is a companion to the walk we did from Borough station almost exactly a year ago and there is a slight overlap. Amongst highlights we see a former church that is now being put to better use, view a building containing an operating theatre dating from 1822, a rather more modern hospital, the site of a debtors prison and a rather puzzling statue of Alfred the Great. We’ll also meet Henry (no – not the vacuum cleaner!).
**Date:** Saturday 16th May 2026
**Time:** 2 pm with a prompt departure at 2.15 pm
**Place:** Toilets at London Bridge Mainline station. The toilets are not well signposted so leave plenty of time to find them!
**Finishes:** About 4.30 pm at The George, 75 Borough High St, Southwark SE1 1NH
The walk is led by Robert – 07981963681. He can be contacted for further information but please note he won’t be able to respond to messages or calls after the walk has started.
**The formal bit:**
These walks are not suitable for dogs, sorry.
CLH events are 18+ unless accompanied by a parent or guardian. The maximum group size is 40 people. If you have signed up but find you can't attend, **please change your RSVP** on Meetup (it’s very easy to do) as soon as possible so others can join.
You are responsible for your own actions and safety; there is no liability on the walk leader or CLH for anything that may happen on the walk.
You must be able to keep up with the walk leader at 4 Km/h (2.5 mph) for 5 Km (3 miles). It is participants' responsibility to safely cross roads.
Where appropriate, pedestrian controlled lights will be used and obeyed unless it is obvious that the whole group can cross safely.
When the group stops at a point of interest, please be mindful not to block pavements so members of the public can pass by safely.
Don’t forget this is the UK and it may rain at any time! The walk will go ahead whatever the weather unless conditions are dangerous so please bring clothing for all seasons.
**A donation of £3 to Central London Humanists would be appreciated.**
The majority of Central London Humanists events are free, but we welcome a £3 contribution per head. This helps towards the running and organising of events, as well as various admin expenses. If you can't attend and would still like to contribute, or would prefer to pay online, please **[click here](https://checkout.square.site/merchant/ML71XMH66FX5E/checkout/ALWCDLQ3S7AVPLFZ62PZGXLU)**.
We encourage anyone who is interested in Humanism and Central London Humanists to consider becoming a member:
* If you wish to register as a full member of CLH (no membership fee) please register on our website: [https://centrallondonhumanists.org.uk/signup](https://centrallondonhumanists.org.uk/signup)
* If you wish to join Humanists UK and support its work to promote humanism in British life, please go to: [Humanists UK – Think for yourself, act for everyone](https://humanists.uk/)
We encourage dialogue, debate, and sharing of information, but ask people to keep their comments cordial. Any individual's views expressed (most definitely including the walk leader!) do not necessarily reflect the views of the group at large.
Morality and Ethics Events Near You
Connect with your local Morality and Ethics community
Meaningful Conversation and Coffee. At Caffe Amouri in Vienna
Join us for conversations that go beyond small talk, diving into topics like the shifting nature of spirituality, the challenges and joys of midlife transitions, the impact of culture and capitalism, and the search for meaning in art, travel, and daily life. Our gatherings are about genuine, thought-provoking dialogue, with no set leader or strict agenda—just an open space to share ideas, perspectives, and experiences that matter to us. The direction of the discussion is shaped by everyone who shows up, making each event unique and enriching.
Come ready to share, reflect, and connect with others who are also seeking deeper conversations. Let the conversation flow from topic to topic. Optional questions are listed below.
Optional Questions: Life Stages & Transitions
1. What did you think you'd have figured out by now that you're still completely winging?
2. When did you realize your parents' advice was for a world that no longer exists?
3. What are you finally old enough to stop pretending to care about?
Optional Questions: Identity After the Roles
4. Who are you when nobody needs anything from you?
5. What dream keeps resurfacing even though the "practical" time has passed?
6. How do you handle having the freedom you always said you wanted?
Optional Questions: AI & Being Human
7. What human experiences will AI never truly understand?
8. If machines handled all your have-to's, what would you actually do?
9. What becomes more precious as everything becomes automated?
Optional Questions: Belief & Meaning
10. What certainties have you given up, and what rushed in to fill that space?
11. How has knowing someone who died changed how you live?
12. What do you believe now that would shock your younger self?
Optional Questions: The Modern Psyche
13. What anxiety do you carry that previous generations didn't have?
14. Which of your survival strategies are you ready to retire?
15. What uncomfortable truth about happiness did it take you years to accept?
Optional Questions: Work & Purpose
16. When did you stop believing that your job would complete you?
17. What would you do for work if money and status weren't factors?
18. How has your definition of "making it" changed over the years?
Optional Questions: Relationships & Connection
19. What relationship dynamic do you keep recreating, and why?
20. When did you realize your parents were just people trying their best?
21. What kind of loneliness doesn't go away even when you're with others?
Optional Questions: Time & Mortality
22. What are you running out of time to say or do?
23. How differently do you spend your time knowing it's finite?
24. What will you regret not trying, even if you fail?
Optional Questions: Society & Culture
25. What social convention do you follow even though it makes no sense?
26. Which generation do you understand least, and what might you be missing?
27. What aspect of how we live now will seem insane in 20 years?
Optional Questions: Personal Philosophy
28. What rule for life did you create after learning something the hard way?
29. When did you stop believing that everyone else had it figured out
30. What paradox about life have you learned to live with?
Hutcheson's Aesthetics and Moral Philosophy
Francis Hutcheson (1694-1746) was a pivotal early figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, a movement which strongly embraced empiricism and concentrated on the study of human nature and the relationship of individuals and society. Born in Ireland to a line of Scottish Presbyterian ministers, Hutcheson was educated by dissenting Irish Presbyterians in Ulster before matriculating at the University of Glasgow, where he studied philosophy and theology. In 1719 he was licensed to preach in Ireland, but rather than adopting the more traditional views of his forefathers, he gravitated toward the tolerant and liberal “New Light” Presbyterianism. Instead of further pursuing the ministry for which he had trained, he put his efforts into founding a dissenting academy in Dublin—a successful venture that occupied him for the next ten years. While teaching in Dublin, he moved in intellectual circles, and it was there that he wrote the four early treatises—collected into two books, the *Inquiry* of 1725 and the *Essay* of 1728—that quickly established his reputation as a philosopher. On being appointed chair of moral philosophy at his alma mater, he left Ireland for Glasgow in 1729.
Contemporaries described Hutcheson as a popular and animated professor—the first at Glasgow to deliver lectures in English rather than exclusively in Latin. His most famous student was Adam Smith (enrolled 1737-40).
Hutcheson's influence on Scottish thinkers was considerable. With his emphasis on the primacy of feeling over reason in our moral perceptions, he inspired David Hume’s moral sentimentalism. His analysis of natural rights and property in the *Inquiry* (Treat. II Sect. VII) as well as in his later works directly influenced Smith. The Scottish school of common sense realism derived partly from Hutcheson's explication of moral sense theory. His influence also made its way to colonial America, where his works were included in college curricula beginning in the mid-1700s. John Adams and other signers of the Declaration of Independence are known to have read Hutcheson.
In the *Inquiry*, he takes up Locke’s epistemology of sense perception and broadens it into a theory of the “internal senses”—faculties of perception as powerful as the commonly designated five external senses. Elaborating Lord Shaftesbury’s notion of a “moral sense” and the earl's analogy between beauty and virtue, Hutcheson divided his *Inquiry* into a discussion of the sense of beauty and of the paramount moral sense—both being internal senses which operate without depending on mediation by the will or reason.
Like Shaftesbury and the philosopher Richard Cumberland, Hutcheson held a strong distaste for the Hobbesian worldview. In the vein of the former two, he promoted a vision of humans as naturally benevolent and innately interested in the welfare of others, maintaining that others’ good brings us no less pleasure than our own good.
Notably, he also sowed the seeds of utilitarian thought with his phrase “the greatest happiness for the greatest numbers” (Treat. II Sect. III).
**Main Reading**
The reading below is available at the Online Library of Liberty:
* The [Inquiry](https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/leidhold-an-inquiry-into-the-original-of-our-ideas-of-beauty-and-virtue-1726-2004), comprising the first two of Hutcheson's four early treatises (we are reading the 1726, or 2nd edition, of the book): read the [Preface](https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/leidhold-an-inquiry-into-the-original-of-our-ideas-of-beauty-and-virtue-1726-2004#lf1458_head_019) and Treat. I: Sections [I](https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/leidhold-an-inquiry-into-the-original-of-our-ideas-of-beauty-and-virtue-1726-2004#lf1458_label_051), [II](https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/leidhold-an-inquiry-into-the-original-of-our-ideas-of-beauty-and-virtue-1726-2004#lf1458_label_071), [III](https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/leidhold-an-inquiry-into-the-original-of-our-ideas-of-beauty-and-virtue-1726-2004#lf1458_label_088) (Art. [IV](https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/leidhold-an-inquiry-into-the-original-of-our-ideas-of-beauty-and-virtue-1726-2004#lf1458_label_101) is optional), ([V](https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/leidhold-an-inquiry-into-the-original-of-our-ideas-of-beauty-and-virtue-1726-2004#lf1458_label_109) is optional), [VI](https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/leidhold-an-inquiry-into-the-original-of-our-ideas-of-beauty-and-virtue-1726-2004#lf1458_label_137), [VII](https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/leidhold-an-inquiry-into-the-original-of-our-ideas-of-beauty-and-virtue-1726-2004#lf1458_label_158), [VIII](https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/leidhold-an-inquiry-into-the-original-of-our-ideas-of-beauty-and-virtue-1726-2004#lf1458_label_165); and Treat. II: [Intro](https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/leidhold-an-inquiry-into-the-original-of-our-ideas-of-beauty-and-virtue-1726-2004#lf1458_head_032) and Sect. [I](https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/leidhold-an-inquiry-into-the-original-of-our-ideas-of-beauty-and-virtue-1726-2004#lf1458_label_181), [II](https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/leidhold-an-inquiry-into-the-original-of-our-ideas-of-beauty-and-virtue-1726-2004#lf1458_label_205), [III](https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/leidhold-an-inquiry-into-the-original-of-our-ideas-of-beauty-and-virtue-1726-2004#lf1458_label_228) (Art. XI, XII until “Intention, foresight” optional), [IV](https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/leidhold-an-inquiry-into-the-original-of-our-ideas-of-beauty-and-virtue-1726-2004#lf1458_label_258), [V](https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/leidhold-an-inquiry-into-the-original-of-our-ideas-of-beauty-and-virtue-1726-2004#lf1458_label_275), [VI](https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/leidhold-an-inquiry-into-the-original-of-our-ideas-of-beauty-and-virtue-1726-2004#lf1458_label_296), and especially [VII](https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/leidhold-an-inquiry-into-the-original-of-our-ideas-of-beauty-and-virtue-1726-2004#lf1458_label_324).
* Hutcheson's lecture upon his appointment at Glasgow, “[On the Natural Sociability of Mankind](https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/hutcheson-logic-metaphysics-and-the-natural-sociability-of-mankind#lfHutcheson_head_238)." The first 3 paragraphs, until footnote 10, are optional.
* The beginning of the fourth treatise [Illustrations](https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/garrett-an-essay-on-the-nature-and-conduct-of-the-passions-and-affections-1742-2002#lf0150_label_230), Sect. [I](https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/garrett-an-essay-on-the-nature-and-conduct-of-the-passions-and-affections-1742-2002#lf0150_head_019), and Sect. [IV](https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/garrett-an-essay-on-the-nature-and-conduct-of-the-passions-and-affections-1742-2002#lf0150_label_296).
Note that the ebook page on OLL can take a few moments to load.
**Secondary resources**
[IEP - Hutcheson](https://iep.utm.edu/hutcheso/)
[SEP - Hutcheson](https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hutcheson/)
Liberty Fund: Editor’s [Intro to Inquiry](https://oll.libertyfund.org/pages/hutcheson-on-liberty-and-happiness).
[SEP - Scottish 18th C. Philosophy](https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/scottish-18th/)
[Wiki - Scottish Enlightenment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Enlightenment)
[Hutcheson and private property](https://www.adamsmithworks.org/documents/matson-hutcheson-property-virtue-march-2022)
Routledge: [1](https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/biographical/hutcheson-francis-1694-1746/v-1/sections/life-and-works-43333), [2](https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/biographical/hutcheson-francis-1694-1746/v-1/sections/the-foundations-of-morality-and-the-moral-sense), [3](https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/biographical/hutcheson-francis-1694-1746/v-1/sections/practical-ethics-and-influence)
Profs & Pints Northern Virginia: Popes and Politics
[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Popes and Politics,”** on the history of clashes between pontiffs and world leaders, with Vanessa Corcoran, medieval historian at Georgetown University and scholar of the history of the Roman Catholic church.
[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/northern-virginia-popes-politics](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/northern-virginia-popes-politics) .]
President Trump recently shocked many by unleashing personal attacks on Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pope, in a post on the Truth Social platform. Trump has been widely criticized by religious leaders for these remarks, made in response to the pontiff’s advocacy of peace with the U.S and Israel at war with Iran, and for his separate posts of AI-generated images depicting himself as a pope and as Jesus. For his part, Pope Leo has told journalists, “I am not afraid of the Trump administration,” and has found himself at the center of a heated debate over the proper role of any pope when it comes to commenting on global politics.
As unsettling as such developments might be to Roman Catholics, they’re hardly unprecedented. Disagreements between popes and world leaders go back to the Middle Ages, and have played a significant role in shaping the Church and its role in the world.
Explore the long history of popes’ conflicts with politicians with Vanessa Corcoran, a historian of the Roman Catholic Church who previously has given excellent talks on papal conclaves and the evolution of nativity scenes.
She’ll discuss fascinating developments such as the fourteenth century Avignon Papacy, when Philip IV of France got the upper hand in a feud with the Church by pressuring a papal conclave to select a French pope and then getting the church’s leadership relocated from Rome to Avignon for nearly 70 years.
In drawing parallels between recent events and medieval attacks on the Church’s authority she’ll describe how today’s anti-Church memes echo the anti-pope and anti-Catholic images that Martin Luther disseminated in large numbers with the help of woodcut printing.
We’ll look at tensions between past presidents and past popes over not just wars, but issues such as abortion, stem-cell research, and abortion access. The talk will leave you with a deeper appreciation of the inherent tensions between politics and matters of faith. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)
Image: From an 1866 Nicolò Barabino painting of the death of Pope Boniface VIII after he was kidnapped and held captive for three days at the behest of King Philip IV of France (Usher Gallery / Wikimedia Commons).
Let's Draw and Craft Together!
Come sketch, draw, crochet, paint minis, or work on any other creative project! This is very casual—whether you are an experienced artist or just starting out, feel free to come and socialize. Bring your sketchbook, tablet, paints, yarn, crochet, or anything else you are working on!
Please bring your own supplies and make sure to leave the area clean when we leave. See you there!
BreadBreakers Community Dinner: Dialogue Over Divisions
**In a time of division and isolation, come be part of the community that's rebuilding the town square, one table at a time.**
In BreadBreakers, we use the common space of the dining table to have conversations where neighbors can **hear, be heard, and know one another.** If you're hungry for good conversation and deeper community, join us for a Community Dinner in Reston and help blaze the trail to a healthier, more connected society and democracy.
Here’s how it works: For just two hours, multiple tables of people set aside the need to "win" and instead focus on sharing, listening, and connecting. Guided by experienced table hosts, we'll tell our stories, try to understand each other, and practice being in community with those with different views or backgrounds.
**At this dinner, participants will get to choose between three different topics, including some current events.** Topics range from the political, to the "slice of life", to the spiritual, to the philosophical, to the off-the-wall - but no matter which table you choose to sit at, you can be sure it'll be like no dinner conversation you've had before! You can also **suggest a topic** by emailing us at BreadBreakersInfo@gmail.com.
Food will be provided for free. For those who wish to provide a donation to help fund BreadBreakers, you can [give here](https://pushpay.com/g/restorationrestonumc?fnd=pO6G-N7oO7FH7Mp1u-x6mA&fndv=Lock&r=No&lang=en&src=pcgl) or at the event.
We'll have vegetarian and gluten-free options available. If you have any additional dietary restrictions (Celiac Disease, vegan, etc.) please let us know at BreadBreakersInfo@gmail.com so that we can implement the appropriate food handling procedures.
**Join us, invite a friend, and be a part of the movement to mend our fractured society and normalize a better way of talking with one another.**
BreadBreakers, an initiative by [Restoration United Methodist Church](https://restorationreston.org/breadbreakers) in Reston, VA, is a religiously inclusive community. We are a collaboration between people of all faiths and stripes. Our leadership, volunteer team, and community include people who attend Restoration and people who don't.
Bethesda Saturday Morning Soccer
Right off of I-270, easily accessible. Join us for a fun and friendly pickup soccer game. Games will be held at Walter Johnson High School turf field every Saturday.
Look for a red tote bag. When coming to the field. If the field is closed for the day. Backup location will be Stratton Local Park, a 5 min drive from the HS.
We will group up and split into two teams to play. Preferably bring a light and dark shirt. To make organizing teams easier.
No harsh language
No harsh fouls
Come to play for fun
Aristotle's Café
Come join us for in-depth discussions on topics relating to moral and political philosophy. This is a group for members who are comfortable discussing topics that are often anxiety producing and controversial.
*"Aristotle was a realist who believed that reality and knowledge are found in the physical world, accessible through sensory experience and logic. This led to contrasting views on ethics, politics, and the nature of reality itself. Plato emphasized abstract, ideal concepts, while Aristotle prioritized empirical observation and the study of the natural world."*
\- Google Gemini
Following Aristotle's lead, this group will lean heavily on empirical data to make arguments. The Socratic method is still the preferred way to engage in conversation, and Platonic Idealism is still relevant to the conversation as points of reference.






















