Philosopher Showdown: A Knockout Tournament

Join us for a fun and experimental new format at this evening’s meetup! We’ll be hosting a knockout-style tournament, where philosophers go head-to-head in debate-style bouts.
Here’s how it works:

• We’ll start with 16 philosophers, paired into groups of two.
• For each match, we’ll have a short discussion on the merits of both philosophers.
• After the discussion, we’ll vote on who wins the bout.
• The winners move on to the next round, and the process repeats until we reach the Grand Final.

Just like a tennis tournament, we’ll progress through the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final until we crown the ultimate philosophical champion!
Come ready to debate, discuss, and decide—may the best thinker win!

Each round will be a discussion of around 20 minutes each, then a vote. This weeks bouts are:
Spinoza vs. Marx
Hegel vs. William James
Schopenhauer vs. Leibniz
Nietzsche vs. Aristotle

I have uploaded a short info page on the ideas of these philosophers here:
https://philosopher.org.uk/meetup/knockout.html

If our experiment proves a success the next meeting will feature:
Kierkegaard vs. JS Mill
Plato/Socrates vs. Locke
Kant vs. Seneca
Descartes vs. Hume

***

If you want to discuss some of these ideas and more please join our Discord, which allows us to keep the conversations going. Follow this link to join: https://discord.gg/teUPDKtUM5

***

NB: Please note we have limited space, which is why we have a wait-list. Please respect this. If people drop out then the next person on the wait-list will be given the slot.