2010 - 2012

2010


Topic

Month

The life, philosophy and influence of Peter Singer (1946- ) 

Nov

Is excellence achievable or desirable?

Nov

The lives, philosophies and influences of Jean-Paul Sartre (1905- 1980) and Simone de Beauvoir (1908 – 1986)

Oct

Do we love because something is loveable, or do we call loveable whatever we love?

Oct

The life, philosophy and influence of Joseph Campbell (1904-1987)

Sep

Is happiness really possible in our affluent western culture?

Sep

The life, philosophy and influence of Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)

Aug

How do we construct a moral framework without religion?

Aug

The life, philosophy and influence of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

Jul

How much of what we think and feel is determined by the physical flesh we inhabit?

Jul

The life, philosophy and influence of Friedrich Nietsche (1844-1900) 

Jun

Is there a collective consciousness apart from our own individual consciousness,  i.e. what is group think?

Jun

The life, philosophy and influence of John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)

May

Reason versus emotion, how do we strike a balance?

May

The life, philosophy and influence of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

Apr

Does good character have any relevance in modern society?

Apr

The life, philosophy and influence of Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)

Mar

Morally speaking, can we ever really enjoy life?

Mar

The life, philosophy and influence of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712- 1778)

Feb

Is being a product of thinking?

Feb

The life, philosophy and influence of John Locke (1632-1704)

Jan

Is it philosophically defensible to genetically engineer children?

Jan


2011


Topic

Month

Are patience and grace philosophical imperatives?

Dec

The life, philosophy and influence of John Searle (1932 - ) Freedom of speech - what is it and how far should it go 

Nov

(e.g. internet censorship, wikileaks.)

Nov

The life, philosophy and influence of Noam Chomsky ( 1928 - )

Oct

The cycle of service - where does it begin and where does it end?

Oct

The life, philosophy and influence of Michel Foucault (1926 - 1984)

Sep

Fundamentalism and extremism, religious and otherwise. What drives it, how does it relate to epistemology and how should we respond to it?

Sep

The life, philosophy and influence of John Rawls (1921 - 2002)

Aug

Does free market capitalism deliver what it promises?

Aug

The life, philosophy and influence of Alan Turing (1912 - 1954)

Jul

What is the true nature of knowledge and how does it differ from wisdom?

Jul

The life, philosophy and influence of John Dewey (1859-1952)

Jun

What are the differences between multiculturalism and cultural relativism?

Jun

The life, philosophy and influence of George Hegel (1770-1831)

May

What good are we to each other?

May

The life, philosophy and influence of Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797)

Apr

What is love and where does it begin?

Apr

The lives, philosophies and influences of Voltaire (1694-1778) and 


Thomas Paine (1737-1809)

Mar

How important is belief in creating a happy and fulfilling life?

Mar

The life, philosophy and influence of John Locke (1632-1704)

Feb

Scepticism as a philosophy - what do sceptics believe?

Feb




2012


Topic

Month

The lives, philosophies and influences of Thales (624-546 BC) and his contemporaries

Jan

Should we use performance enhancing drugs?

Feb

Is Confucianism relevant today?

Feb

What is an ideal education?

Mar

The life, philosophy and influence of Maimonides (1135-1204

Mar

When is a fact a fact?

Apr

The life, philosophy and influence of Alfred Darski (1902-1983).

Apr

Are there objective moral truths or merely varying customs?

May

Margaret Thatcher (1925- ) and her influence on economics, feminism and the social fabric of Britain.

May

Is philosophy on the threshold of the spiritual life?

Jun

The human condition and Michel de Montaigne's (1533-1592) contribution to our understanding of it.

Jun

If the mind is not separate from the body, what are the implications for psychology and neurology?

Jul

Pragmatism - did William James (1842-1910) get it right or wrong?

Jul

Tools for thinking - Mathew Lipman, Phil Cam and Edward de Bono.

Aug

Henry Thoreau (1817-1862) and Alain de Botton (1969- ) - philosophy and architecture.

Aug

Should people be allowed to have whatever drugs and medical treatments they want, e.g. experimental drugs and treatments.

Sep

Jacques Derrida (1930-2004) - friendship, fear and otherness.

Sep

Is wisdom undervalued and if so, why?

Oct

The life, philosophy and influence of Karl Marx (1818-1883)

Oct

The life, philosophy and influence of Ayn Rand (1905-1982)

Nov

The life and works of Leonard Cohen (1934- ).

Dec