Philosophy

Welcome to the Philosophy Page

Date:  Tuesday 9th November (Note – usually the 1st Tuesday of the month).
Start time:  10.30 hr.    (please be in good time).
Place:  – Dorset Youth Association, Lubbecke Way, Dorchester DT1 1QL

As a consequence of Covid, there are a number of conditions and very serious requests as follows:We would like as many members as possible to come up to a cap of 30 per meeting.

Please take a minute to let me know if you are coming or not coming to the above meeting.  If you don’t let me know, you might not get in!  Also note you should have paid your annual U3A membership fees of £15.

David and myself will have spaced out the chairs and be waiting to “invite” you in one at a time for registration (for track and trace purposes).  Please kindly self-distance outside (weather permitting) until called in thus allowing a speedy safe-distanced flow to be upheld.

Hand sanitiser will be available on entry. Face masks are now ‘a personal choice’ but you are requested to wear one while waiting outside, during registration and until seated as a matter of courtesy to others.

The hall will be well-ventilated throughout the meeting.
Male and female toilets are open.

Please do not attend if you have not been double jabbed, have any Covid symptoms or been ‘pinged’ or have any flu/bad cold symptoms.

Proposed programme for Philosophy group, 2021-22
Colin has agreed to give a talk every other month, which was met with enthusiasm. For the other months we will alternate between a talk (which will promote discussion as much as possible) and a discussion session.
The discussion sessions should work something like this:

Sit in a circle
One person to facilitate
Someone to start the discussion on a topic – up to ten minutes to describe the topic and its boundaries
Facilitator to ensure that everyone has the chance to speak, giving their ideas and reaction. But no obligation for anyone to speak
Initial session to have two topics, with coffee break in between
Some disagreement as to whether it’s best to have everyone in one group or to split into two groups. We’ll try it all together to start with.
Reading material to be distributed beforehand. People are asked to prep and gather some thoughts – though that isn’t mandatory.

Programme for this year to July (there’s no meeting in January)
November Colin
December           Discussion. Led by Elaine. First topic to be around what philosophy is to us and the extent to which it is, or could be, useful in our lives. Roger to introduce the second topic (to be decided).
February             Colin
March David W, talk on altruism
April Colin
May   Discussion, topics and leaders to be decided
June Colin
July   David R, talk on the Marxist view of the human condition.

Our approach

It is interesting that Plato (c. 427 – 347 BCE) urged people not to get involved with philosophy until later in life, after 50. Before that they should just get on with work, family and general living, but after that it was time to stand back and reflect. So now is the perfect time to join your U3A philosophy group. All are very welcome, including those that would like to just sit and listen. Most meetings follow the format of looking at the philosopher in historical context. After a refreshment break we then examine their ideas in more detail. All of us have little experience and no formal education in philosophy, so it is a case of group learning and sharing of knowledge and ideas, in the spirit of the U3A.

We normally meet on the 1st.Tuesday of the month at 10.30 hrs. at the Dorset Youth Association. (See right-hand column for a location map) Currently there are spaces available for new members but please contact the Group Leader first.

The very general objective of the philosophy group is to build up our knowledge of the major philosophers in a systematic way, which will eventually enable us, together with our own thinking, to discuss issues of import to both us as individuals and to society.
So what is philosophy?
A few ideas taken from the literature are given below:

Love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline.
Investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods.
A system of thought based on or involving such inquiry
The critical analysis of fundamental assumptions or beliefs.
The discipline comprising logic, ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, and epistemology.
A system of values by which one lives

Although the above might seem somewhat profound, its relevance to us individuals as we get older in a rapidly changing world, could not be of greater importance.

Contact us if you want to get involved with the Philosophy group. This is open to U3A members only however. If you wish to become a U3A member please see 'HOW TO' from our main menu.
email: philosophy@dorchesteru3a.org.uk
telephone: 01305 213842

Change of format for our future sessions
In the light of recent events and much discussion, we would like to propose the following:

“DIY” sessions will alternate with seminars led by Colin
“DIY” sessions will explore, normally in the form of a presentation followed by a discussion of one of the topics from the Word document attached below. Other suggestions will be more than welcome. In the past there was often insufficient time to allow a proper discussion in “DIY”, hopefully by allowing a whole session per topic, there will be ample time for discussion.

The seminars led by Colin would focus on Descartes and Colin suggested the following:-. “modern philosophy (since the 17th century) has its roots in Descartes' thinking, it has been argued (by the influential 20th century philosopher Bernard Williams) that knowing what Descartes said and why he said it, enables an understanding of modern western philosophy in pretty well all its forms. Descartes' masterpiece is “The Meditations” and there are 6 of them. My suggestion is that we concentrate on them, using each as the starting points of 6 successive seminars. We would need six volunteers or six groups of volunteers. Leading up to each seminar the volunteer(s) would read the meditation in question and prepare a short talk (perhaps up to about 20 minutes long) to give at the start of the seminar. As many other people as possible would also have read the meditation to be discussed. After the talk we would aim at trying to understand what Descartes was trying to say, via questions, and a discussion that I would be happy to lead. For this to work everyone would need to obtain the same translation of The Meditations, I suggest the Penguin edition.”
The Penguin edition of Descartes’ Meditations can be easily bought on Amazon for about £5.

If anyone wants to access free online videos or podcasts in general philosophy, offered by Oxford University, please follow the link below.

General Philosophy with Oxford University

Dorset Youth Association, Lubbecke Way, Dorchester
DT1 1QL

Dorset Youth Association, Lubbecke Way, Dorchester DT1 1QL
It is just after the Ambulance HQ on Lubbecke Way. For a map, visit www.dorsetyouth.com and go to the bottom of their opening page, under “Contact us”, then “Find us”, you will find a map.
P.S. Please remember to turn mobile phones off.

Useful Websites (these will open in a new tab)
Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy
History of Western Philosophy
Critical Thinking 1_ Marianne Talbot
Notes from previous sessions are available to download here:
1. Medieval philosophers
2. Concept definitions
3. Descartes

Reading list
1. The Courtier and the Heretic: Leibniz, Spinoza, and the Fate of God in the Modern World: The Secret Encounter Between Leibniz and Spinoza That Defines the Modern World by Matthew Stewart.
2. The Great Philosophers: An Introduction to Western Philosophy by Bryan Magee.
3. Ancient Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) by Julia Annas.
4. Darwin for Beginners by Jonathan Miller.
5. Darwin's Ghosts: In Search of the First Evolutionists by Rebecca Stott.
6. Essays by Michel de Montaigne
7. 4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster.
8. Looking for Spinoza: Joy, Sorrow, and the Feeling Brain by Antonio Damasio.

Go To Timetable

This webpage is maintained by Kelvin Huff. Click here to email me.