2007
Topic | Month |
Addiction - Is it a failure of will power? | Dec |
The ethics of health care, eg should we operate on some-one who smokes or give a liver to some-one who drinks? Prolonging youth and life at all costs,eg, why do we have cosmetic surgery, use HRT or dye our hair? | Nov |
Is money the root of all evil? | Oct |
Can “helping” cross culture barriers? | Oct |
Why do we participate in the fashion industry? | Sep |
Denial and defensive behaviour - Do they feed each other? | Sep |
Can we do without leadership? | Aug |
Role Modelling. Do we choose our role models or are they chosen for us? | Aug |
What makes a person of good character? | Jul |
Is prejudice always bad? | Jul |
Is morality innate or learned? | Jun |
Anthropomorphism - Why? | Jun |
Is feminism necessary? | May |
How do we define an adult? | May |
In the pursuit of happiness which is better - anticipation or the experience? | Apr |
“The God Delusion.” A discussion of Richard Dawkins’ book | Mar |
Is morality innate or learned? (Where do we get our morals from anyway?) | Mar |
Do animals think? | Feb |
The politics and ethics of the drought effect eg, water usage and dobbing people in. | Feb |
2008
Is it morally wrong to tell children that Father Christmas exists? | Dec |
How do we know that modern science/maths is true/correct/reliable? | Dec |
Is it morally wrong to profit from other’s mistakes/stupidity? | Nov |
Is there such thing as nothing? | Nov |
Kants four central questions ”1.What can I know? 2. What ought I to know? 3. What may I hope? 4. What is man?” | Oct |
Meeting today - catchup and organise | Oct |
Individual vs. Community - pros and con’s of each view. | Sep |
Can the concept of the Christian God be realistically maintained in today’s world? | Aug |
What is the tension between freedom and constraint? How and where do we find | Aug |
the balance, if we can? | |
What is happiness? | Jul |
Global warming, the ethics of first and third world behaviour, how do we set emissions targets fairly? | Jul |
Philosophy of gender, what makes a man a man and a woman a woman? | Jun |
Is life sacred, if so, when? | Jun |
Is the human brain simply a highly sophisticated computer or is there a “ghost in the machine” that we think of as the soul? | May |
Are we innately good or innately evil? | May |
Do democratic governments fulfil their obligations as implied by their social contracts? | Apr |
Truth - Is there such thing as the absolute truth? | Apr |
When is enough enough? | Mar |
The need for jargon – why do we use it, what purpose does it serve? eg. professional jargon. | Mar |
Is free will a myth? | Feb |
Has humanity reached the pinnacle of it’s development? | Feb |
What if mankind stopped striving to make a difference? | Jan |
2009
Topic | Month |
The life, philosophy and influence of Rene Descartes (1596-1650) | Dec |
What is justice and do we ever achieve it? | Dec |
The life, philosophy and influence of Thomas Aquinas (1225- 1274) | Nov |
Is a life better lived unexamined? | Nov |
The life, philosophy and influence of Epicurus (341-270BC) | Oct |
Are we drowning in excess? | Oct |
The lives, philosophies and influences of Plato (428-348BC) and Aristotle (384-322BC) | Sep |
Is philosophy a kind of intellectual hedonism? | Sep |
Should vegetarians try to stop animals eating other animals? | Jul |
What constitutes a good human life? | Jul |
If it is possible to measure sorrow/happiness, can one person’s grief/joy be greater than another’s? | Jun |
If an unlawful act is anything decided on by those in power, where does morality come into legality? | Jun |
At what point does the end justify the means? | May |
Does good and bad luck exist? | May |
Do people need speech in order to think? | Apr |
Are all human acts based on ultimate self interest? | Apr |
Given absolute freedom to do whatever you wanted to do NOW, what would it be? | Feb |
Can guilt be carried across generations? | Feb |
In a war without uniformed soldiers, is everyone a participant? | Jan |
Do philosophers make good/better/successful personal decisions than the average individual? | Jan |