Philosophy

Are you hopeful for the future? Do you think AI can change the future for the best? Do you believe we are living in the most interesting time of humankind? If you want to meet and socialise with like minded people, this event is for you. The principle is simple: we walk for about one hour: parks, forest, mountain. It’s an opportunity to do your daily steps as well as meet interesting people. We welcome students, professionals, expats, entrepreneurs, learners and experts. Only requirements: you are optimistic. The event is in English, but feel free to bring another language with you. See you there! Jef

Time for our biweekly peer Satsang gathering! This is an open, equal and low-key gathering for spiritual seekers from all walks of life to get together, talk, feel connected and grow. The gathering will last for about two hours. Bring questions, thoughts, or just your presence. We'll see what unfolds once we're there. If you're interested but can't make the currently indicated time, the event is full or you have any other questions, get in touch with me at thijshugenholtz@gmail.com and we'll see what we can do! Location: Buurtcentrum Hart van Noord, Trumanlaan 60 Utrecht but the entrance is opposite Geallieerdenlaan 24

If you are living in The Netherlands, by now, you may well have noticed the amount of open water. If you enjoy cycling in the city, you may wish to feel safer as you navigate the bridges and canals. And you may also want to get ready for visiting the beach, pools or the many lakes this summer. Learning how to swim takes approx 1 year and it all starts with the very first lesson. New comers enroll via our website and pay € 30,50, this is the first lesson and a goody bag. After the class you agree with the personal swim coach how to continue to obtain your final objectives. Enrolling is only possible via [www.your-personal-swim-coach.nl ](https://www.your-personal-swim-coach.nl/)hence a rvsp via meetup is not enough.

A great ride along the Vecht and Gein rivers. You will love this route. Please ride single file along the winding river as there can be cars around each corner. **Route:** https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/441606271 GPX: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17-T_pT_GH3QKSFcH1WWgfArvxSdAkVzO/view?usp=sharing **Afterwards:** Drinks at Polder https://maps.app.goo.gl/tbt5DDG7YLU3uWvaA **Rules:** \- Download the route to your cycling computer so you can always find your way home \- Make sure to arrive on time \- Before you ride\, decide as a group how you want to ride: you can split up in a fast and a slow group or stay together\, but make sure to discuss what pace you are going to ride and whether you are going to wait if someone is slower than the group\, or not\.

Samen sporten, gewoon voor de fun, elke week een divers programma, met allerlei verschillende sporten. Je hoeft niet de beste te zijn, maar wel zin hebben om samen te spelen en te leren. Tijdens een training doen we verschillende spelletjes, basketbal, voetbal. volleybal, spikebal, honkbal. Kom je ook, de bal ligt bij jou!! Eerste keer meedoen is altijd gratis, daarna kan je beslissen of dit voor jou is, of niet!! Dus kom een keer proberen. Kan je niet op deze dag, we sporten ook op andere dagen nl Zondag om 9:30 of Maandag om 20:30 Stuur mij een berichtje als je op die dagen een keer wil proberen! The amount of people rsvp'd to this game doesn't match the real number of people at the event, as Meetup is only used for promotion purposes.

New Year, New Sport! 🏐 ​Whether you've never played volleyball before or it’s been many years since you last hit the court, you are very welcome to join our Beginner Group! ​We train every Monday at 9 PM at Gymnasium Bibian Mentel in Zeeburgereiland. ​Come learn the basics, get moving, and meet new people in a fun, relaxed environment. ​Get more info here: ​WhatsApp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/EnPEK1bHLiTGdpqz6Vtbm4 ​Instagram: @brazucavolley

**For this series you need to register via our website:** https://www.maitreya.nl/nl/programma/db-module-9-samsara-and-nirvana-4/2026-04-13. This is a module in the foundational Discovering Buddhism Series with Annelies van der Heijden (at our center and online). **Samsara & Nirvana** Investigate what “samsara” is and how we are stuck in it. Find out what “nirvana” is and how to achieve it. All living creatures know suffering—this is the Buddha’s first noble truth. And many of us also know how ordinary pain can grow into extraordinary suffering due to the power of our minds. In Buddhism, these negative states of mind that lead to suffering are called delusions. They are a primary cause for us being stuck in samsara—the cycle of endless rebirths that ordinarily propels one’s mind toward more suffering. The good news is that complete liberation from the suffering of an afflictive mind (nirvana) is entirely possible. Explore the meaning of samsara and nirvana with Annelies, and learn how to move out of a state of inevitable suffering to one of pure and irreversible peace. Find out how to develop your own determination to be completely free from suffering (renunciation) and its role on the spiritual path. Get empowered with practical tools for dealing with disturbing emotions up to the point of elimination, and reflect on the possibility of nirvana––and how that differs from enlightenment. [🎥 - ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ws04VqqiZY)[Click here for an introduction to the topic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_dQCFWtPxY)

For our next hike we'll be following a beautiful 9.5km route starting at Soest-Zuid train station and ending at Amersfoort Central Station. On the way we'll pass by the Soesterduinen dunes and the Birkhoven forest. Will you join? Utrecht Hiking Community aims to organise one hike per month in the Utrecht Region. Anyone is welcome to join, no matter whether you're a beginner or an experienced hiker, a local or an expat, a professional or a student, as long as you bring a good mood. We are not about fast hiking, but about social hiking: being active, exploring places, meeting like-minded people and just generally having a fun walk. We'll be starting from Soest-Zuid train station at 10.30AM. This time we won't be following a circular route, which means we won't end at our starting point, but we'll end at Amersfoort Central Station instead. Those who want to return to Soest-Zuid station afterwards to get back to their car, can take bus 70 from Amersfoort, which is going every 15 minutes. Please try to arrive to Soest-Zuid on time. We'll start our hike at 10.30AM and won't let the whole group wait for you in case you're arriving later. Only in case the train scheduled to arrive at 10.24AM has some delay, we'll wait for that train to arrive. If you're arriving after we have departed, you can send a message on WhatsApp to +31621177691, so we can share our location with you and you can try to catch up with us. Soest-Zuid station has a toilet, but please don't count on it to work. When checking the route, it was closed. On the way there are no public toilets, so please use a restroom before you arrive. The route is going over both paved and unpaved roads and we'll even be walking through the sand of the Soesterduinen dunes for a bit (not for long, as it's harder to walk through the sand than on the paths). Please wear good shoes, bring something to drink for on the way and use SPF if it'll be a sunny day Dogs are allowed on the route, but need to be kept on a leash on parts of the route. After the walk, those who want can join for lunch/drinks in the center of Amersfoort. This is not directly next to Amersfoort Central Station, but at a distance of another 15-20 minutes of walking. Since we do make some costs while organising our hikes (MeetUp subscription, travel expenses), a small donation would be very much appreciated. You can do so by following this link: https://www.ing.nl/payreq/m/?trxid=s9tT34cUyD97YuSHhIYbTIqN4LfxLAn9 If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. See you on Saturday 9th of May at Soest-Zuid train station!

ATTEND IN PERSON OR ON ZOOM (link upon registration) NB **This event will now take place at a different venue: the Café of [St. Hilda's East Community Centre](https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5244243,-0.0746385,17z?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MDkwNC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D), 18 Club Row, London E2 7EY. The nearest station (just a few minutes walk) is [Shoreditch High Street](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Shoreditch+High+Street/@51.5237626,-0.0741518,16.75z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x48761cb7237e45d3:0x832e68d6f5c3b9b0!8m2!3d51.5232573!4d-0.0754661!16s%2Fg%2F1hhvv83t7?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MDkwNC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D) (Overground). Apologies for any inconvenience.** This event takes place on Tuesday as Monday is a public holiday in the UK This talk will focus on a single question: ‘Where do you belong?’ The idea of ‘home’ reflects one of the deepest and most universal of human experiences. ‘Homes’ may be physical, emotional, intellectual or cultural – they reflect aspects of life with which we identify, where we feel comfortable (or challenged) and where we belong. They are a defiant response to our awareness of the vastness of space. From Diogenes and Buddha to Nietzsche and Heidegger, we’ll be looking at the experience of belonging, and exploring ways in which it shapes our thinking about the nature of self, ethics and politics. Over the last 50 years, **Mel Thompson** has written more than 40 books on philosophy and religion and is probably best known for the philosophy titles in the long-running ‘Teach Yourself’ series. His website is at [essexthinker.com](http://essexthinker.com/). Event video teaser: [https://youtu.be/CPiG1qCOyqM](https://youtu.be/CPiG1qCOyqM) For the full programme of events pls see [pfalondon.org](http://pfalondon.org) This event is supported by The Royal Institute of Philosophy's [Local Partners Programme](https://royalinstitutephilosophy.org/news/fund-your-event/)

**Zondag 10 mei presenteert OPA een boekpresentatie voor Dingen doen denken, het nieuwe boek van auteur Jeroen van den Eijnde en ontwerper Jannie Guo.** Dingen doen denken bevat teksten die Van den Eijnde schreef tussen 1994 en 2025, van persoonlijke observaties tot bijdragen aan vak en publieksboeken over design en ontwerpend onderzoek. Kunstenaar en ontwerper Jannie Guo heeft het boek vormgegeven. Beiden verzorgen een presentatie met aandacht voor de teksten van Jeroen en het ontwerp van Jannie. Walter Jansen van Het Colofon gaat met hen in gesprek. Graag aanmelden via info@hetcolofon.nl met de vermelding van het aantal personen.

In this format, we discuss a quote of a well-known philosopher. A summary is provided below. Please take the time to read. The Moderator will introduce the topic, we will have an open discussion, and a final round when everyone gives their conclusions. Quote of this Session: Arthur Schopenhauer "The knowledge of death is the beginning of philosophy, for only through death does man become aware that his existence is not self-sufficient or ultimate, but dependent and passing. Without death, life would never become a problem for reflection.” “Death is not an accident that befalls life from outside, nor is it something added to life at the end; rather, it belongs to life itself, and life is so deeply interwoven with death that both are inseparable conditions of each other. What we call death is only the dissolution of an individual phenomenon, while the inner nature of life itself remains untouched by it.” About the author Arthur Schopenhauer was a 19th-century German philosopher known for developing a deeply influential system of metaphysical pessimism centered on the idea that reality is driven by a blind, irrational force he called the “Will,” which manifests in constant human desire and suffering. In his major work The World as Will and Representation, he argued that the world we experience is only a mental representation shaped by our perception, while the underlying reality is an endless, non-rational drive that can never be fully satisfied. He is important because he radically shifted philosophy toward questions of desire, suffering, and the limits of reason, strongly influencing Nietzsche, Freud, existentialists, and indirectly shaping modern understanding of motivation, dissatisfaction and striving. RULES Please be on time! Make sure you take time for finding the location. If something happens, please cancel as soon as possible. There are people on the waiting list. If you repeatedly sign up and don’t show up, expect to be moved to the waitlist next time. You may disagree with others, but please do so respectfully without personal attacks. Please keep your attendance to one event per week to ensure everyone has an opportunity to attend. This is a Philosophy event and this event's PRIMARY function is NOT focused on Self Help, Psychology or Theology. Though those topics can be a point of discussion from time to time. Please take that into consideration when signing up!

In this format, the moderator picks a quote from a known philosopher (example; Voltaire, Kant, Aurelius, Hypatia of Alexandria, Rousseau, Machiavelli, Descartes, Plato and others). A summary is provided below. Please take the time to read. The Moderator will read the summary and give an introduction of the topic. Then, we will have an open discussion, and a final round when everyone will give their conclusions. Quote of this Session: Hannah Arendt “Power arises not from domination but from people acting together with shared purpose.” Arendt is saying that real power does not come from controlling or forcing people. It comes when people voluntarily come together and act toward a shared goal. Power exists only while that cooperation and shared purpose exists. About the author Hannah Arendt (1906–1975) was a German-American political philosopher known for her work on totalitarianism, authority, and the nature of power. She fled Nazi Germany as a Jewish intellectual and later wrote influential books like The Origins of Totalitarianism and The Human Condition. Her thinking focused on how political systems shape human freedom, and she made a key distinction between power, violence, and authority, arguing that genuine political power arises from collective human action, not coercion. RULES Please be on time! If you arrive late, please join quietly. If you are a first timer, make sure you take extra time for finding the location. If something unexpected happens, please cancel as soon as possible. There are people on the waiting list. If you repeatedly sign up and don’t show up, you can expect to be moved to the waitlist next time. You may disagree with others, but please do so respectfully without personal attacks. Please keep your attendance to one event per week to ensure everyone has an opportunity to attend. This is a Philosophy event to discuss Philosophy and this event's PRIMARY function is NOT focused on Self Help, Psychology or Theology. Though those topics can be a point of discussion from time to time. Please take that into consideration when signing up! See you soon!

This is a public event. https://www.mamalouise.nl/stemmen/#meer Location: Amsterdam https://share.google/cwDD8kYtynE6gveog Please WhatsApp your meetup organisor Mari for your confirmation!

**3D Workshop** * **Ontwerpen met Fusion360** * **Scannen in 3D** * **Het gebruik van 3D printers** **Je bent nu welkom in de nieuwe locatie NewTechPark** Je kunt ook online aan deze fysieke bijeenkomst deelnemen. De bijeenkomst is dan op de locatie te volgen. Als je [hier](w.j.put@hccnet.nl) vooraf een mailtje stuurt kun je dinsdagavond tussen 19.00 en 20.00 uur inloggen met Jitsi voor vragen, of ter kennismaking met hcc!3D. Online neem je deel aan de bijeenkomst met [https://wij.hcc.nl/3D](https://wij.hcc.nl/3D) [(Alleen toegang als je zichtbaar bent met voor- en achternaam. )](https://wij.hcc.nl/3d)

When judging morality, should we prioritize **intentions/duty** or **outcomes/results**? It introduces two influential philosophers as representatives of these approaches. * **Immanuel Kant (deontology):** An action is moral when it is done from **duty** and follows rational, universal principles (the **categorical imperative**). Certain acts—like lying—are wrong regardless of the consequences; you can’t do a wrong thing for a right reason. * **John Stuart Mill (utilitarian consequentialism):** The morality of an action is determined by its **effects**, specifically how much **happiness/well-being** it produces. Mill argues that some pleasures are “higher” than others, and that good intentions don’t redeem harmful outcomes. ## Discussion Questions 1. **The lying dilemma:** A murderer comes to your door and asks if your friend is hiding inside. Kant would say you must not lie. 2. **Can good intentions rescue a bad outcome?** 3. **The organ harvest problem:** A surgeon has five patients dying of organ failure and one healthy patient in for a checkup. Killing the one to harvest organs would save five lives, and the math works out for the utilitarian. Why does this feel so deeply wrong? Is that feeling a point in Kant's favor, or just a bias we should overcome? 4. **Do rules need exceptions?** Kant insists moral rules must be universal, with no exceptions. But most of us can imagine extreme scenarios where any rule seems like it should bend. Does the need for exceptions fatally undermine deontology, or is the strength of the system precisely that it refuses to bend? 5. **Who gets to calculate the consequences?** Utilitarianism asks us to maximize good outcomes, but we're notoriously bad at predicting consequences. If we can't reliably know the results of our actions, is it practical to base our entire moral system on outcomes? Does this uncertainty push us back toward rules and principles? 6. **Everyday morality:** Think about a real moral decision you've made recently, even a small one. Did you reason more like a Kantian (what's the right thing to do in principle?) or more like a utilitarian (what will produce the best result?)? Do most people naturally lean one way? 7. **Justice vs. the greater good:** A town can prevent a deadly plague by sacrificing one innocent person. The greater good is clearly served. But is it just? Can an action be morally right and deeply unjust at the same time? 8. **The big synthesis question:** Are these two systems actually opposed, or do they often arrive at the same answers by different paths? Is it possible that we need both: rules to guide us in the moment and consequences to evaluate systems and policies over time?

Main Library, Meeting Room 2B Join us for a welcoming evening of reflection, gentle music, and meaningful conversation. We’ll begin with a short grounding moment, followed by a brief reading from spiritual or philosophical traditions, and an open reflection circle where participants can share (or simply listen). Libera Animae is an interfaith community focused on inner growth, creativity, and authentic connection. All backgrounds are welcome.

This meeting will be a discussion about a proposed tour of the Ohio Theatre led by Mary Cecil, Tour Coordinator of the Ohio Theatre and Jane Ehrenfeld, Audio Describer. We will try to connect for a Conference Call option at (518) 263-8851.

Sleep in on Sundays. When you've had your fill of pajama-time, roll out and have some tasty brunch with your fellow Humanists!

Join me for a small, mindful photography walk in nature. (**NOTE Time is 9:00 AM EST(Meetup is having technical Issue))** This is a slow, intentional gathering — not focused on fitness or perfect photography — but on simply pausing, observing, and being present. We’ll walk at a gentle pace, with moments of quiet, and a few light prompts to help you notice details you might normally miss. 📷 You don’t need any photography experience — a phone camera is enough. This is also not a business networking event. It’s a calm space to connect with nature and, if it feels natural, with like-minded people. 🌿 What to expect: • A slow-paced, relaxed walk • Moments of silence and observation • Simple reflection prompts 📍 Location: [ Red Trabue Nature Preserve] ⏱ Duration: \~60 minutes This is a small, initial gathering as I begin creating this space through WellGratiVibes — a blend of mindfulness, nature, and quiet connection. If this resonates with you, you’re welcome to join.

We may pick a specific topic and post in advance or may discuss current events and various ad hoc topics . We would love to spend time hanging out and getting to know one another. Atheist, agnostics, other non-theists, and atheist-friendly people are welcome to join us. Note: COUNT operates a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/groups/COUNT.discussions (http://www.facebook.com/groups/COUNT.discussions/) to promote discussions among members and visitors.