What we’re about
Welcome to the Toronto Philosophy Meetup! This is a community (online and in-person) for anyone interested in philosophy, including newcomers to the subject. We host discussions, talks, reading groups, pub nights, debates, and other events on an inclusive range of topics and perspectives in philosophy, drawing from an array of materials (e.g. philosophical writings, for the most part, but also movies, literature, history, science, art, podcasts, poetry, current events, ethnographies, and whatever else seems good.)
Anyone is welcomed to host philosophy-related events here. We also welcome speakers and collaborations with other groups.
Join us at an event soon for friendship, cooperative discourse, and mental exercise!
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Bluesky and join our new Discord for extended discussion and to stay in touch with other members.
Feel free to propose meetup topics (you can do this on the Message Boards), and please contact us if you would like to be a speaker or host an event.
(NOTE: Most of our events are currently online because of the pandemic.)
"Philosophy is not a theory but an activity."
— from "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus", Wittgenstein
"Discourse cheers us to companionable
reflection. Such reflection neither
parades polemical opinions nor does it
tolerate complaisant agreement. The sail
of thinking keeps trimmed hard to the
wind of the matter."
— from "On the Experience of Thinking", Heidegger
See here for an extensive list of podcasts and resources on the internet about philosophy.
See here for the standards of conduct that our members are expected to abide by. Members should also familiarize themselves with Meetup's Terms of Service Agreement, especially the section on Usage and Content Policies.
See here for a list of other philosophy-related groups to check out in the Toronto area.
Please note that no advertising of external events, products, businesses, or organizations is allowed on this site without permission from the main organizer.
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Make a Donation
Since 2016, the Toronto Philosophy Meetup has been holding regular events that are free, open to the public, and help to foster community and a culture of philosophy in Toronto and beyond. To help us continue to do so into the future, please consider supporting us with a donation! Any amount is most welcome.
You can make a donation here.
See here for more information and to meet our donors.
Supporters will be listed on our donors page unless they wish to remain anonymous. We thank them for their generosity!
If you would like to help out or support us in other ways (such as with any skills or expertise you may have), please contact us.
Note: You can also use the donation link to tip individual hosts. Let us know who you want to tip in the notes section. You can also contact hosts directly for ways to tip them.
Featured event
Plato’s Symposium, on Love (Live Reading)
The Symposium is a heavily fictionalised account of a convivial gathering supposedly taking place sometime around 416 BC and given by the young poet Agathon to celebrate his recent victory in a poetic contest. The guest roster reads like a who is who of late 5th century Athenian society. Symposium’s influence has defied the confines of philosophical discourse throughout the history of thought. It consists of series of speeches on Love (Eros) and offers an exploration of its variety from its most mundane to its most divine forms.
Love, however, is no mere code-name for the attraction between human beings but rather a primordial cosmic force that manifests itself in that attraction. Hence the use of myth is utterly justified in this context. Performativity plays an unusually substantial role in the unfolding of the dialogue. For a Platonic dialogue, there are many light-hearted moments that occasionally culminate in peaks of intensity.
Reference will be made to Xenophon’s Symposium, Ficino's Commentary on the Symposium as well variety of modern works such as Leo Strauss's seminal work bearing the same title.
This is a relatively early work by Plato probably composed, according to what the indications you can find in the work between 385 and 378 BC and thus belonging to his late early or early middle period.
The Symposium, along with the Republic and Timaeus is a major influence on the development of European thought.
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This is a live reading of Plato's Symposium. No previous knowledge of the Platonic corpus is required but a general understanding of the questions of philosophy in general and of ancient philosophy in particular is to some extent desirable but not presupposed. This Plato group meets on Saturdays and has previously read the Phaedo, the Apology, Philebus, Gorgias, Critias, Laches, Timaeus, Euthyphro, Crito and other works, including ancient commentaries and texts for contextualisation such as Gorgias’ Praise of Helen. The reading is intended for well-informed generalists even though specialists are obviously welcome. It is our aspiration to read the Platonic corpus over a long period of time.
The host is Constantine Lerounis, a distinguished Greek philologist and poet, author of Four Access Points to Shakespeare’s Works (in Greek) and Former Advisor to the President of the Hellenic Republic. November 8 is the introductory session for the Symposium and hence an ideal opportunity to join the group without having to do any catching up.
The translation we are using is by Alexander Nehamas and Paul Woodruff and can be found here.
Upcoming events
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Probability Talk and the Wrongs of Discrimination
Larkin Building, Room 200, 15 Devonshire Place, University of Toronto, Toronto, on, CAIn this presentation, I argue that when probability claims are used in decision contexts involving persons, they often undergo a systematic shift in how they are interpreted — from reports of population frequencies to ascriptions of individual or kind-level dispositions. This shift offers a more general explanation than existing accounts provide for why the use of accurate statistical information can nonetheless wrong or demean people in ways amounting to discrimination.
Steven Coyne
https://philosophy.utoronto.ca/directory/steven-coyne/
Assistant Professor
Department of Philosophy
University of Toronto
About the Speaker:
Steven Coyne, who is cross-appointed with the Department of Computer Science, teaches courses in moral and political philosophy, as well as the philosophy of law. He also prepares and delivers ethics modules in computer science classes for the Embedded Ethics Education Initiative in collaboration with instructors from the Department of Computer Science. His research is in moral and political philosophy, with a particular eye on issues connecting to reasons and rationality.
His main projects concern how people can affect the reasons of other people, particularly through their speech acts, and particularly in political contexts. Can the state give new reasons to its subjects by commanding them? In order to properly obey the law, do people need to exclude some of their existing reasons for action? Do members of liberal democracies have any moral powers over one another? He is also interested in the reason-giving force of civil disobedience, the powers possessed by persistent minorities under majority rule, and the legitimacy of embedded ethics in higher education. He is also working on some projects in the ethics of technology concerning autonomy and bias and discrimination in algorithmic decision-making.
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This is a talk with audience Q&A presented by the University of Toronto's Centre for Ethics that is free to attend and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided at the event. The talk will also be streamed online with live chat here.
About the Centre for Ethics (http://ethics.utoronto.ca):
The Centre for Ethics is an interdisciplinary centre aimed at advancing research and teaching in the field of ethics, broadly defined. The Centre seeks to bring together the theoretical and practical knowledge of diverse scholars, students, public servants and social leaders in order to increase understanding of the ethical dimensions of individual, social, and political life.
In pursuit of its interdisciplinary mission, the Centre fosters lines of inquiry such as (1) foundations of ethics, which encompasses the history of ethics and core concepts in the philosophical study of ethics; (2) ethics in action, which relates theory to practice in key domains of social life, including bioethics, business ethics, and ethics in the public sphere; and (3) ethics in translation, which draws upon the rich multiculturalism of the City of Toronto and addresses the ethics of multicultural societies, ethical discourse across religious and cultural boundaries, and the ethics of international society.
The Ethics of A.I. Lab at the Centre For Ethics recently appeared on a list of 10 organizations leading the way in ethical A.I.: https://ocean.sagepub.com/blog/10-organizations-leading-the-way-in-ethical-ai20 attendees![Nietzsche: The Gay Science [Session 66]](https://secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/b/e/b/a/highres_521988826.jpeg)
Nietzsche: The Gay Science [Session 66]
·OnlineOnlineWhile the Walter Kaufmann translation is preferred, a link to the free Cambridge translation is here. For this Meetup, we will read aphorisms 261-275, and discuss them one at a time and get as far as we get, carrying forward any undiscussed aphorisms to the following week.
It’s 1882, and a friend has just given you a copy and recommendation of a book by a former professor of philology named Friedrich Nietzsche. Your friend says that he seems to be a philosopher of some sort, even though he doesn’t write like one, and in this book he argues, among a lot of other provocative things, that God Is dead!
This Is the beginner’s mind that this Meetup will take with this book. You may know his contemporaries and antecedents, but you’re here to share YOUR thoughts, not those of subsequent critics.
Recordings and AI summaries of previous sessions are available here.
Suggested texts: The Portable Neitzsche, edited by Walter Kaufmann and The Basic Writings of Nietzsche, edited by Walter Kaufmann
Syllabus (titles are linked to free PDF’s, most of which require a free academia.edu account)
The Gay Science (academia.edu)
Beyond Good and Evil (academia.edu)*
On The Genealogy of Morals (academia.edu)*
The Case of Wagner*
Twilight of the Idols** (academia.edu)
The Antichrist**
Ecce Homo*
Nietzsche Contra Wagner**
*The Basic Writings of Nietzsche, edited by Walter Kaufmann
**Walter Kaufmann’s, The Portable Nietzsche17 attendees
Kant: Critique of Pure Reason (Week 1 – Prefaces)
·OnlineOnlineYou're in luck if you're looking for a New Year's resolution.
The tentative schedule for this year's reading of Kant's works is as follows: we will read the Critique of Pure Reason (20 weeks), the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (4 weeks), the Critique of Practical Reason (5 weeks), The Metaphysics of Morals (8 weeks), and the Critique of the Power of Judgment (11 weeks).
Note: Meetings focus on developing a common language and friendship through studying Kant. The host will provide an interpretation of Kant; other interpretations will not be discussed until later in the meeting. Additional interpretations, topics, and questions can be addressed through the Jitsi chat feature.
In this session, we will be covering the Preface (A and B editions).
(links to text at bottom)
Schedule for Critique of Pure Reason:
Week 1 (2):
Preface (A and B editions; ~25 pages)
pp Avii - xxii, Bvii - xliv
pp 99 - 124 (Guyer/Wood)
pp 5 - 40 (Pluhar)
Week 2 (3):
Introduction (A and B editions; ~25 pages)
pp A1 - 16, B1 - 30
pp 127 - 152 (Guyer/Wood)
pp 43 - 68 (Pluhar)
Week 3 (4):
Transcendental Aesthetic (A and B editions; **~37 pages**)
pp A19 - 49, B33 - 73
pp 155 - 192 (Guyer/Wood)
pp 71 - 104 (Pluhar)
Week 4 (5):
Transcendental Logic Introduction, Book I Chapter I (~25 pages)
pp A50 - 83, B74 - 116
pp 193 - 218 (Guyer/Wood)
pp 105 - 140 (Pluhar)
Week 5 (6):
Transcendental Logic Chapter II 'Deduction' (A and B edition; **~47 pages**)
pp A84 - 130, B116 - 169
pp 219 - 266 (Guyer/Wood)
pp 141 - 203 (Pluhar)
Week 6 (7):
Transcendental Logic Book II Introduction and Chapter I on the Schematism (~10 pages)
pp A130 - 147, B169 - 187
pp 267 - 277 (Guyer/Wood)
pp 204 - 219 (Pluhar)
Week 7 (8):
Transcendental Logic Book II Chapter II (~17 pages)
pp A148 - 176, B187 - 218
pp 278 - 295 (Guyer/Wood)
pp 220 - 247 (Pluhar)
Week 8 (9):
Analogies of Experience up to Transcendental Logic Book II Chapter III 'Phenomena and Noumena' (**~42 pages**)
pp A176 - 235, B218 - 294
pp 295 - 337 (Guyer/Wood)
pp 247 - 302 (Pluhar)
Week 9 (10):
Transcendental Logic Book II Chapter III 'Phenomena and Noumena' (A and/or B editions) (~27 pages)
pp A235 - 260, B294 - 315
pp 338 - 365 (Guyer/Wood)
pp 303 - 322 (Pluhar)
Week 10 (11):
Transcendental Logic Appendix 'Amphiboly' (~17 pages)
pp A260 - 292, B316 - 349
pp 366 - 383 (Guyer/Wood)
pp 323 - 345 (Pluhar)
Week 11 (12):
Transcendental Dialectic Introduction, Book I (~26 pages)
pp A293 - 340, B349 - 398
pp 384 - 410 (Guyer/Wood)
pp 346 - 381 (Pluhar)
Week 12 (13):
Transcendental Dialectic Paralogisms (A and B editions; **~47 pages**)
pp A341 - 405, B399 - 332
pp 411 - 458 (Guyer/Wood)
pp 382 - 441 (Pluhar)
Week 13 (14):
Transcendental Dialectic Antinomies Section I - IV (**~48 pages**)
pp A405 - 484, B432 - 512
pp 459 - 507 (Guyer/Wood)
pp 442 - 501 (Pluhar)
Week 14 (15):
Transcendental Dialectic Antinomies Section V - IX (**~42 pages**)
pp A485 - 567, B513 - 595
pp 508 - 550 (Guyer/Wood)
pp 502 - 559 (Pluhar)
Week 15 (16):
Transcendental Dialectic Ideal of Pure Reason (**~38 pages**)
pp A567 - 642, B513 - 670
pp 551 - 589 (Guyer/Wood)
pp 560 - 616 (Pluhar)
Week 16 (17):
Appendix to Transcendental Dialectic (**~33 pages**)
pp A642 - 704, B670 - 732
pp 590 - 623 (Guyer/Wood)
pp 617 - 662 (Pluhar)
Week 17 (18):
Doctrine of Method Introduction, Chapter I (**~43 pages**)
pp A705 - 794, B733 - 822
pp 627 - 671 (Guyer/Wood)
pp 663 - 727 (Pluhar)
Week 18 (19):
Doctrine of Method Chapter II (~18 pages)
pp A795 - 830, B823 - 858
pp 672 - 690 (Guyer/Wood)
pp 728 - 755 (Pluhar)
Week 19 (20):
Doctrine of Method Chapter III and IV (~13 pages)
pp A832 - 856, B860 - 884
pp 691 - 704 (Guyer/Wood)
pp 755 - 774 (Pluhar)
Two different translations are recommended - both are good:
- Preserves original sentence structure: Guyer/Wood
- Updates for readability: Pluhar
Links to the text:
PDF of Guyer/Wood translation:
https://libgen.li/edition.php?id=136607414
EPUB of Guyer/Wood translation:
https://libgen.li/edition.php?id=137975974
PDF of Pluhar translation:
https://libgen.li/edition.php?id=136394041
Buy the book on Amazon (or find it someplace else if you don't like Amazon):
Guyer/Wood:
https://www.amazon.com/Critique-Reason-Cambridge-Works-Immanuel/dp/0521657296/ref=sr_1_3
Pluhar (All three Critiques):
https://www.amazon.com/Three-Critiques-3-Set-Practical/dp/0872206297/ref=sr_1_3
Pluhar hardcovers recommended (if available): https://www.amazon.com/Three-Critiques-3-Set-Practical/dp/0872206300/ref=sr_1_226 attendees
Kant FTΦ: Schiller’s Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Man (Live Reading)
·OnlineOnlineIn Kant's Critique of the Power of Judgment, we see vague suggestions on how aesthetic judgments contribute to culture. In Friedrich Schiller's letters, we can see a more developed argument on how aesthetic education is required to promote the freedom of the individual as well as transition us between a state of nature and a state ruled by reason.
Hopefully, this reading provides an opportunity to compare Kant's interest in how aesthetic judgments (and moral judgments themselves) contribute to culture with Schiller and expand our interpretation of both.
I've linked the Penguin edition of the book here, but please feel free to use whatever edition you have or want.
We will be starting at Letter VI, paragraph 10 at this meetup.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Aesthetic-Education-Man-Friedrich-Schiller/dp/0141396962?sr=8-1
PDF: https://annas-archive.org/md5/22dcd586440cfd2d7ada034ca119db79
PDF (with facing German): https://annas-archive.org/md5/005de78cf1a714cc2c155ce569f670cf
Note: Kant FTΦ (Friends Through Philosophy) is a group of individuals who have connected over reading Kant (and other philosophers).
This meeting will focus on the interests of regular attendees. We will frequently reference Kant and other philosophers. Discussions may involve shared notions that have developed over time. If you are not a regular attendee and feel lost in the conversation, it may be a byproduct of being newer to the meetings: don't hesitate to ask for clarification.7 attendees
Past events
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