Sorted from most recent to ancient.
| Wed 20 Aug 2008 | A dialogue on scepticism. (Matthew Hammerton) | ||
| Roughly, philosophical scepticism is the view that knowledge is unattainable. This talk will consist of a dialogue where two fictional characters discuss scepticism. | |||
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| Wed 06 Aug 2008 | Open Forum | ||
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| Wed 16 Jul 2008 | The theory and practice of the Inquisition and the Crusades. (Joffre Balce) | ||
| This is a study on two epochs: the Crusades & the Inquisition. The discussion endeavours to understand them in their respective context. From the perspective of philosophy, it will seek to draw lessons of their importance, relevance & impact on human history & society. The talk is open to all people of religion, ideology, inclination in or even the absence of a belief system & endeavours to make no discrimination for or against any individual, institution or culture. | |||
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| Wed 02 Jul 2008 | Raoul Vanigen V The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.(Edward Neylan) | ||
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| Wed 18 Jun 2008 | Open Forum | ||
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John Bentley |
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| Wed 04 Jun 2008 | Reflections on the Bill Henson controversy (Adrian Tan) | ||
| Note: images of naked children may be displayed. | |||
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John Bentley |
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| Wed 21 May 2008 | Value judgements and mental illness. (Tim) | ||
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Aya Ryn |
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| Wed 07 May 2008 | It happens without effort, it happens without restraint. (Kathryn Pryor) | ||
| ... Once upon a time, my brother used to dump his dirty clothes on the bathroom floor. A simple fix to this problem was to place the dirty clothes basket in the way of the floor so that instead of landing on the floor, his dirty clothes land straight in the dirty clothes basket. ... Once upon a time there was grass and weeds growing between the cracks in the path in an old lady's back yard. Every week she wasted time weeding these plants until she had a bright idea. Instead of continuing to weed the cracks to get rid of plants, she planted some parsley seeds in the cracks to take the place of the grass and weeds! Obviously cracks in pavements are a good environment for plants to grow, otherwise the weeds wouldn't grow there - it's warm (because the pavers heat up in the sun), the rain runs off the pavers into the cracks giving the plants in the cracks plenty of moisture. Needless to say, parsley thrived in the cracks and the old lady was able to pick it to use in her meals. Whatsmore, she didn't have to waste any more time weeding the path. This philorum talk is about exploiting existing habits and trends in both people and the environment to create systems that work, are efficient and survive. Another appropriate title may be "The evolution of effective systems". | |||
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Daniel Coorey |
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| Wed 16 Apr 2008 | The Sands of Gallipoli: Secular Religion in Australia. (Peter Farleigh) | ||
| What counts as a religion? Consider certain practices or attitudes - like nationalism and the fanatical following of sport. Though 'secular' can they be regarded in any way as 'religious' activities? With the decline of traditional forms of religion do other things take their place? In other words, is the religious attitude a basic human attribute? Over the last 10 years at least (let's call it the Howard decade) we have seen the Gallipoli legend steadily gain in prominence and stature with pilgrimages to Turkey as almost a rite of passage. What are we to make of this and what will it become in the future? And what about a highly secular endeavour -- science -- is it sometimes promoted and practiced with the same fanatical attitudes as that of the religious fundamentalist? | |||
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| Wed 02 Apr 2008 | Why you should always kill the kid. (Alex) | ||
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| Wed 19 Mar 2008 | Why I'm right and you're wrong. (Daniel Coorey) | ||
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| Wed 05 Mar 2008 | The Manipulated Man, Ester Vilar and Love. (Ansgar Fehnker) | ||
| Ester Vilar wrote at the height of the second feminist wave in 1971 "The Manilputated Man", a book on the gender relations that takes the uncommon view that it is not the men who oppress the women, but the women who exploit the men. The cover explains: "The Manipulated Man is modern man, grinding away in a lucrative job, so that as a person he is not more exciting than a robot. His intelligence has been numbed down into believing that his sole function is to provide for his parasites, one wife and one or more infants." | |||
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| Wed 20 Feb 2008 | Why letting go of emotion and attachment is the first principle in reason. (Alex) | ||
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| Wed 06 Feb 2008 | Leibniz's metaphysics is right after all. (Jurgen Lawrenz) | ||
| The philosophy of Leibniz is often considered to be the archetype of all stuffy metaphysical doctrines, out of touch with real life and an attempt to portray the world as a panpsychism. By the same token, his science is still well-appreciated. But how can the two be separated when they spring from the same mind? Strange to relate, several prominent physicists of our time found his metaphysics extremely relevant to fundamental issues of their own researches - and discovered in his metaphysical papers propositions of such startling originality and novelty that (as one of them wrote) 'Leibniz's conception of the universe appears to come closer to its true reality than any other known account.' In this presentation I will highlight some aspects of the Monadology which bear on these issues and are apt to close the gap between metaphysics and 'reality'. | |||
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| Wed 16 Jan 2008 | Kabril Gibran's book, "The Prophet". (Prudence Allan) | ||
| A special guest will recite some of the poetry within the book. | |||
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| Wed 02 Jan 2008 | Is the Golden Rule Really Auriferous? (Matthew Hammerton) | ||
| The Golden Rule tells us that we ought to treat others as we would want others to treat us. It is perhaps the most widely accepted moral principle in the world. Versions of the Golden Rule can be found in most of the world's major religious creeds and it has also been popular with non-religious groups such as secular humanists. But what exactly does the Golden Rule prescribe? If one were to live by the Golden Rule what sort of morality would they be committing themselves to? In this talk I will attempt to answer these questions and in doing so, I will proffer that the Golden Rule is a fool's gold - something that promises much on first appearances, buts fails to deliver following a close inspection. | |||
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| Wed 19 Dec 2007 | For one night only a Philorum super christmas extravaganza (Edward Neylan) | ||
| For the last Philorum of the year, we will be having, for "One Night Only" a Super Philorum Xmas (or Festivus) extravaganza. Edward Neylan will not just be presenting on one topic, but up to 20 different topics, reviewing many of the talks that have been given this year at Philorum. So if you have missed out on one, a few, or even all talks so far this year, don't despair, you can catch up this wednesday with the Philorum Super Xmas Extravaganza year in review ! | |||
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| Wed 05 Dec 2007 | Egoism and Altruism (Ben Felden) | ||
| There exists two distinct models for how one should concern life; both of which have their advocates. A concern for others through a compassionate, altruistic life is described by many as virtuous. At the same time a concern for oneself through a selfish, egoistic life is described by many others as virtuous. This issue is explored from three angles; 1. psychological/mathematical, 2. personal/philosophical, and 3. social/political. A resolution is proposed drawing reference to reciprocal altruism, enlightened self interest, and secular buddhism. | |||
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| Wed 21 Nov 2007 | Every now and Zen (Joffre Balce) | ||
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| Wed 07 Nov 2007 | Why you should vote invalid this election. (John Bentley) | ||
| Simon Longstaff has argued that "A valid vote is, in my opinion, the most fundamental expression of popular sovereignty." (The ethics of informal voting, September 2007, http://www.ethics.org.au/about-ethics/ethics-centre-articles/ethics-subjects/politics/article-0490.html). He qualifies this with "there may be at least one situation when an informal vote could be preferable. In circumstances where the field of candidates is, in your opinion, uniformly feeble, then anything other than an informal [invalid] vote may be misleading." This circumstance applies this election. No party stands for: An increase of Australia's Foreign Aid to 1% of Gross National Product to stop death from poverty; Democratising the United Nations and giving it a military force more powerful than the United States; An Economic System that aims at increased material power for each, and not growth in total production and consumption; Global Population Shrink; Full Unemployment http://www.philorum.org/speech/20051207JohnBentley.html; The right for every sane individual to harm themselves, and to get social assistance (whether free market or universal health care) to harm themselves; http://www.geocities.com/russellian_society/onliberty.pdf The right to fuck in public http://www.philorum.org/speech/20060301JohnBentleyPublicFucking.html. There are more. Come to philorum and discuss, raise, and rail against policies that are important to you. | |||
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| Wed 17 Oct 2007 | The Nature of Philosophical Analysis (Ellen Watson) | ||
| What are we doing when we do philosophy? What are philosophers doing when they discuss terms that are also used in everyday language, like "knowledge", "reason", "truth", or "consciousness"? Should philosophers even be allowed to talk about these terms? Do philosophers have anything interesting to say to speakers of everyday language, or do the terms just become jargon? I will look at a variety of answers to these questions from philosophers such as Socrates, G.E. Moore, Wittgenstein, and Quine. | |||
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Quick Issues |
Edward Neylan: Should you be allowed to advocate rape at Philorum? |
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| Wed 03 Oct 2007 | Property Rights (John August) | ||
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Ellen Watson |
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| Wed 19 Sep 2007 | Nietzsche and Love (Skye Nettleton) | ||
| Nietzsche recommended that when a man goes to a woman, he should take a whip. Is it for the man to beat the woman with or vice versa? Is the whip for punishment or pleasure? One can only speculate as to whether Nietzsche was into S&M, and what his philosophy of power could mean for romantic love relationships. | |||
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John Bentley |
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| Wed 05 Sep 2007 | Anti Theism (Ian Woolf) | ||
| Whether Gods exist or not is merely an empirical question to be answered by science. Atheism is the trivial case. Assuming empiricial proof, if we are responsible for our own actions, then why should the existence of Gods effect our moral decisions in any way? Is it in our self-interest to form adult relationships of unequal power? If They force us to behave immorally, should we not rebel against Them? Anti-Theism proposes that if the Gods exist, it is wrong to abide Them | |||
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Ellen Watson |
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| Wed 15 Aug 2007 | Phenomenology of Love in the Kama Sutra (Joffre Balce) | ||
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| Wed 01 Aug 2007 | Why didn't you free David Hicks? Collective guilt and individual responsibility. (Ansgar Fehnker) | ||
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| Wed 18 Jul 2007 | Unexplicated Russell (Prem) | ||
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| Wed 04 Jul 2007 | Error Theory in Metaethics. (Matthew Hammerton) | ||
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| Wed 20 Jun 2007 | What are Values? (John Bacon) | ||
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| Wed 06 Jun 2007 | The Serpent in the Mediterranean Paradise of Clarity: Russell and Whitehead on relations. (Peter Farleigh) | ||
| In a memoir published in the 1950s, Bertrand Russell wrote about his life almost half a century before. It is a wonderful and simply written piece packed with a host of interesting ideas, some of which I will outline for our discussion. Among them: the nature of relations, internal and external; the difference between mechanism and organism, between pluralism and monism; and some interesting aspects in the nature of perception. I will also show how his development of logical atomism in some ways contributed to the philosophical foundations of computation and information theory. Tackling these issues represented a pivotal change in Russell's thinking and consequently contributed to the birth of modern analytical philosophy. But, we should ask; has it been the paradise of clear thinking he had hoped? | |||
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| Wed 16 May 2007 | "Consciousness Explained" Explained (Ellen Watson) | ||
| Fundamental to the Western philosophical tradition is the idea that we have direct, undoubtable knowledge of our own internal mental states. In fact some treat this knowledge as the foundation for all other knowledge of ourselves and the world. However, recently a number of philosophers have been moved by a scientific understanding of the human brain to doubt this philosophical axiom, and some have gone so far as to deny that consciousness even exists. How could someone be moved to make this claim? In my presentation I will present the basic arguments that lead to a denial of consciousness, and the removal of the primacy of experience as a foundation for knowledge. I'll focus mainly on Daniel Dennett's book "Consciousness Explained" and Paul Churchland's book "Matter and Consciousness". | |||
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| Wed 02 May 2007 | Moral Intuitions (Adrian Tan) | ||
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Quick Issues |
Adrian Tan |
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Edward Neylan |
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| Wed 18 Apr 2007 | Anti Theism (Open Forum) | ||
| Whether Gods exist or not is merely an empirical question to be answered by science. Atheism is the trivial case. Assuming empiricial proof, if we are responsible for our own actions, then why should the existence of Gods effect our moral decisions in any way? Is it in our self-interest to form adult relationships of unequal power? If They force us to behave immorally, should we not rebel against Them? Anti-Theism proposes that if the Gods exist, it is wrong to abide Them. | |||
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Edward Neylan |
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| Wed 04 Apr 2007 | Are we morally obliged to fuck'n swear? (John Bentley) | ||
| Specifically, are we morally obliged to swear when speaking to strangers or to those who would rather we did not? Using the flagship swear word "cunt" we'll go through the arguments usually given to show that swearing, in these situations, is not morally permissible. They don't work and therefore the moral orthodoxy that swearing, in these situations, is not morally permissible, is false. A separate but related moral orthodoxy is what could be called "offencivism": that we ought to be free to speak so long as we do not offend another. There exists a moral obligation to defend an adequate freedom for speech by overturning offencivism. Swearing, for the time being, is required for this and is therefore a moral fuck'n obligation. | |||
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Thea Kremser |
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| Wed 21 Mar 2007 | Tantra : Dissolving the Masks - Finding the Heart (Garry K) | ||
| In the process of socialization that we undergo to become part of a given society we disown parts of ourselves that society or family find unacceptable in an effort to fit in - during this subtle process and over time various psychological defences begin to operate habitually and act to separate ourselves from our true nature - Tantra is a very powerful set of techniques for dissolving these defences and honouring that true nature. | |||
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Quick Issues |
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John Bentley |
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| Wed 07 Mar 2007 | Buddhism and Science (Ben Felden) | ||
| Open to all. Philorum welcomes those with The Sydney Humanism Meetup Group. http://humanism.meetup.com/165/calendar/5514552/?a=mu_qvmrbdl6e1 Are Buddhism and Science conflicting or complementary enterprises? This talk covers a range of topics including; the views of famous mathematicians and scientists on Buddhism; the evidence for the maharishi effect, sub-atomic 'kalapas', and re-incarnation; the latest in mindfulness-based meditation, positive psychology, buddhist psychology, and the 'Shamatha Project'. Finally an 'overlapping magisteria' model is presented to understand how Buddhism and Science should co-exist. | |||
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Skye Nettleton |
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| Wed 28 Feb 2007 | Philorum Annex At the Fair Trade Coffe Company: Consciousness (John August) | ||
| An Ad hoc meeting, extra to the usual 1st and 3rd Wed meetings. Where: 33 Glebe Point Road, Glebe 2037. http://www.fairtradecoffeecompany.com.au/. Map: http://www.palms.org.au/fairtradecoffeecompany/images/map1.jpg Cost: Free (Patronise the cafe). When: Speech 19:00 - 22:00 (End time dependent on how busy the cafe is). For those that wish, Dinner in the cafe at 18:00 ish. David Chalmers first defined the "easy problem" as the search for the neural correlates of consciousness. I plan to review some of the insights which are mostly derived from empirical research, including how our consciousness (or whatever we might label as "goes on") is in fact a cooperation between disparate modules. Equally, we can learn a lot from brain injuries and neurological deficits. There are many interesting aspects to review; an important one is the "synfire theory", which is the most tantalising approach for bridging the gap between firing neurons and the memory in the brain. The second part of my presentation will details the the "hard problem", the question of why consciousness awareness exists at all, and why the information processing does not go on "in the dark". As a part of this review, I'll consider some contemporary issues such as Searle's Chinese Room, the Cartesian Theatre, the worth of introspection, intentionality and zombies and zimboes. My explanation for consciousness has much in common with Dennett's "Zimbo" approach - that for a sufficiently complicated information processing machine, able to analyse its own experience, the experience of consciousness will naturally arise. | |||
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John Bentley |
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| Wed 21 Feb 2007 | Loving Egoistically (Skye Nettleton) | ||
| Max Stirner's "The Ego and His Own" (1844) is regarded as the seminal work in nihilistic egoism and ranks him a progenitor of atheistic existentialism. Stirner's pre-existential philosophy is widely regarded as anarchistic and manipulative. However, setting aside conservative moral judgements, Stirner provides refreshing and liberating insights into how a philosophy of romantic love relationships might work. | |||
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Skye Nettleton |
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Speech
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John Bentley |
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| Wed 07 Feb 2007 | Naming and Necessity (Ellen Watson) | ||
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John Bentley |
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| Wed 17 Jan 2007 | Insights through Vipassana meditation (Thea Kremser) | ||
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Thea Kremser |
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Vipassana Meditation Centre at Blackheath
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John August |
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| Wed 03 Jan 2007 | The Meaning of Life (Ellen Watson) | ||
| In order to address the question of the meaning of life, I'm going to break it down into two different questions, and then evaluate some candidate answers. The two questions are, first, what constitutes a self, and then, given the answer the first question, what should one do to live the best life? And the candidate answers I'll be looking at fall into these five groups: I am my body (physical self, bloodline, ancestors); I am my mind (ideas, values, experiences, personality); I am what I do (career, achievements, history, biography); I am my relationships (family, culture, children); I am my stuff (possessions, collections, prostheses, scaffolding); | |||
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Ellen Watson |
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Speech
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Ben Felden |
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| Wed 20 Dec 2006 | End of the World (Ansgar Fehnker) | ||
| The idea that at some point in the near future the world, or even time itself, will cease to exist is a central concept in many religious traditions. Modern secular society typically shrugs when confronted with end-of-time prophecies. However, even the secular society cherishes its own doomsdays scenarios: from climate change and y2k bug to nuclear winter and bird flu. Why is the idea of an impending end-of-the world so attractive? To what extent does it determine our view on the world? What does it tell us about our idea of our position in the world, and what about our concept of time? | |||
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Speaker ( - mins) |
Ansgar Fehnker |
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Ansgar's End of the World Blog
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John Bentley |
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| Wed 06 Dec 2006 | Existential Love (Skye Nettleton) | ||
| Simone de Beauvoir's and Jean-Paul Sartre's life-long experiment for a new philosophy that could really be lived is a fascinating, inspiring, liberating and outrageously intense love story. In Hazel Rowley's recent book Tete-a-Tete, regarding Simone de Beauvoir's and Jean-Paul Sartre's relationships, she asks: Why settle for monogamy when you can have freedom and stability, love affairs and commitment? Why keep secrets when you have a best friend and lover to whom you can tell anything and everything? (Yes, everything - including every sordid detail of other sexual encounters!) We will discuss what loving existentially means through a fresh analysis of the lives and existential philosophies of the lovers Beauvoir and Sartre. | |||
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Speaker ( - mins) |
Skye Nettleton |
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Speech
Cogito Journal of Philosophy 2006. Including "Loving Existentially: Liaisons Dangereuses and Romantic Love Philosophies of Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre" by Skye (.pdf) |
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Quick Issues |
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Ben Felden |
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| Wed 15 Nov 2006 | Meditation, European Philosophy and Secular Humanism (Ben Felden) | ||
| The presentation will begin with a basic conceptual and practical framework of meditation practice. There will then be an exploration of meditation in relation to philosophy: What philosophies are associated with meditation practices and by what criteria can we assess them? What does science have to say about meditation and vice versa? should we adopt a wholly Buddhist philosophy of meditation? Or are there western philosophies, such as Existentialism, that provide a better framework? Should meditation be adopted as an important element of western philosophies? Could it serve as a vital spark for secular Humanism? | |||
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Speaker ( - mins) |
Ben Felden |
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Speech
Ben Feldon's Personal site Amura The Sydney Meditation Meetup Group The Sydney Humanism Meetup Group |
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John Bentley |
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| Wed 01 Nov 2006 | The word "Om" (Adrian Tan) | ||
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John Bentley |
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| Wed 18 Oct 2006 | How to successfully predict human behaviour (Allan McCay) | ||
| In this paper I will attempt to create an exhaustive list of the ways in which one person could successfully predict the behaviour of another. I will attempt to identify a number of different explanations for these predictive successes. I then go on to look at behavioural genetics to see which of the explanations could explain the success of the predictions of behavioural geneticists. Finally I will briefly consider the implications for the free will debate. | |||
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John Bentley |
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| Wed 04 Oct 2006 | The Humanist Philosophy (John August) | ||
| Humanism is a philosophical life stance which is a development from atheism. Its positions include : - A naturalistic, non-supernatural view of the world. - A unity between mind and body, with humans an evolutionary by-product - Faith in humans being able to solve challenges by their own means without the need for supernatural agencies. - Endorsement of free will and a rejection of fatalism originating in determinism - though it is compatible with an "emotionally positive" determinism. - Holding a valid ethical framework can be derived from tangible experience without the need for supernatural agencies. - Life satisfaction is obtained through a combination of personally. satisfying activities along with productive endeavours which benefit the community. - The appreciation of nature and the aesthetic experience are valid and worthwhile without any need for the supernatural. - World democracy, peace and a flourishing economic order are worthwhile and achievable goals. - The application of reason to democratic government combined with full civil liberties and freedom of expression. I'll be outlining elements of the humanist life stance above along with some further consequences of the position, including consideration of contemporary atheistic movements and comparisons of humans to animals, aliens and post-human civilisation. | |||
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Ansgar Fehnker |
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| Wed 20 Sep 2006 | Even if free will existed, you wouldn't want it. (Ellen Watson) | ||
| The idea that human beings have free will forms the foundation of many people's very conception of human nature. It also forms the grounds of many moral systems, those that rely on the principle that people can be held responsible for their actions because they freely chose to do them. This conception of human free will is threatened by a deterministic understanding of the physical world. If human beings are part of nature and nature is determined by the laws of physics (or of other sciences), then doesn't it follow that our actions are not free, and that choice is an illusion? I'm going to present a way out of this problem. It turns out that when you actually try to define what free will would be, the very concept appears flawed and nonsensical. I will argue that if you get something free enough, it no longer looks anything like will, and vice versa. I will try to convince you to stop wanting free will, and therefore you will no longer be troubled by determinism. I will also explore two alternative views that might offer other ways out of the problem - one a different conception of causation in the natural world, and the other a consideration of free will at a different level of explanation. | |||
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Even if free will existed, you wouldn't want it. |
Ellen Watson |
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John Bentley |
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| Wed 06 Sep 2006 | Utopias (Edward Neylan) | ||
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Ansgar Fehnker |
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| Wed 16 Aug 2006 | The Israel Lebanon conflict. (John August) | ||
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The Israel Lebanon conflict. (John August) |
John August |
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Speech
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John Bentley |
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| Wed 02 Aug 2006 | Civil Disobedience. (Adrian Tan) | ||
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Edward Neylan |
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| Wed 19 Jul 2006 | Should drugs be legalised or decriminalized? (Oliver Ledoux) | ||
| If so what model should be used? And who should be responsible for the application and regulation of the policy? | |||
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Edward Neylan |
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| Wed 05 Jul 2006 | Public Health and Individual Responsibility. | ||
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Public Health and Individual Responsibility. |
Ivette Mendoza q |
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Andrew Crooks' Quick Issue: The Nature and Cause of Racism.
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| Wed 21 Jun 2006 | Madness. (Catherine Jones) | ||
| Although madness is difficult to define precisely some forms entail marked flights from reality. Hallucinations can involve a world of demons, monsters, and absurdities, which make for an experience akin to a horror movie. An experience which can challenge allegiance to life itself. This is why so many mad people commit suicide - they've been scared to death. | |||
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Adrian Tan |
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| Wed 07 Jun 2006 | Why Schooling is bad for you.(Edward Neylan) | ||
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Speaker (5 - 25 mins) |
Why Schooling is bad for you.(Edward Neylan) |
Edward Neylan |
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Quick Issues |
More pain V more life. (Ian Woolf) |
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Adrian Tan |
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| Wed 17 May 2006 | Abortions: Beyond Access. (John August) | ||
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Abortions: Beyond Access. (John August) |
John August |
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Speech
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John Bentley |
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| Wed 03 May 2006 | Shouldn't we exorcise spirituality from our lives? (5-7 min Intro by John Bentley) | ||
| Some atheists and agnostics claim a wish for, or success at, living spiritually. Is this mere religious residue that will lead them to waste their time? Is a "spiritual life" vague nonsense? If we don't live spiritually what might be an alternative? Shopping? Happiness? Meaning, authenticity, the sublime, being productive, enlightenment, being ethical, art, peace of mind, improving the world, it's-all-for-the-music, striving to be your best, becoming part of something larger than yourself, or cricket? Are some of these alternatives vague nonsense too or otherwise troubling? | |||
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Ian Woolf |
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| Wed 19 Apr 2006 | Does more material wealth make you better off? (5-7 min Introduction by John Bentley) | ||
| Siddhartha Gautama, Christ, and Francis of Assisi renounced material wealth to some extent. Were they wrong? To be charged with "materialism" can mean spending too much time seeking or getting satisfaction from material wealth. Yet many economies, if not all, are directed toward increasing material wealth without bound. Assuming no environmental or distribution issues shouldn't increases in material wealth improve our lives? | |||
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John Bentley |
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| Wed 05 Apr 2006 | Freedom of Speech and the Danish Cartoons. (Ansgar Fehnker) | ||
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Speaker (5 - 10 mins) |
Freedom of Speech and the Danish Cartoons. (Ansgar Fehnker) |
Ansgar Fehnker |
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Speech Blog
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MC |
Ian Woolf |
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| Wed 15 Mar 2006 | Laws Against Terror. (Ian Woolf) | ||
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Laws Against Terror. (Ian Woolf) |
Ian Woolf |
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Speech
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John Bentley |
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| Wed 01 Mar 2006 | Should fucking in public be legalised? (John Bentley) | ||
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Speaker (5 - 25 mins) |
Should fucking in public be legalised? (John Bentley) |
John Bentley |
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Speech
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| Wed 15 Feb 2006 | At the Botanic Gardens. How can we stop the United States from being an immoral dictatorship? (Open Forum) | ||
| Philorum is open to all political views so you could challenge that the US is this. Is Global Justice desirable? If so, what form should it take and how do we get there? | |||
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Adrian Tan |
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| Wed 01 Feb 2006 | At Bondi.Your offensive idea (Open Forum). | ||
| Bring along your offensive idea or criticise the offensive ideas of others. | |||
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MC |
John August |
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| Wed 18 Jan 2006 | Torture and photography (Adrian Tan) | ||
| We will meet in the open, on the steps in front of Bondi Pavilion, 18:15 for 18:30 start. We will break for an hour for dinner at a local eatery. Finish 21:30. | |||
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| Wed 04 Jan 2006 | What significance does death have for our life? (Open Forum) | ||
| Would you choose to be immortal if you could? If you discovered you had X time period to live is the extent to which you would change your life the extent of its failure? If you are in your prime is it necessarily counter to self interest to kill yourself on whim? | |||
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Adrian Tan |
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| Wed 21 Dec 2005 | Light Pollution (John August) | ||
| Light pollution takes away the stars from our sky and narrows the life experience we have in the city, taking us away from the spectacular starscape our ancestors took for granted. Unlike other forms of pollution, there is no excuse, and little amelioration - we cannot say so easily that with improved technology and wealth we will reduce light pollution, as we did with air pollution and photochemical smog. Light pollution is always with us as our economy "progresses" - and tells us something important about economic development, and the cost of progress. | |||
| Wed 07 Dec 2005 | Workplace Reform: We should aim for full unemployment. (John Bentley) | ||
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Speaker (5 - 25 mins) |
Workplace Reform: We should aim for full unemployment. (John Bentley) |
John Bentley |
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Speech
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| Wed 16 Nov 2005 | Prediction and Free Will (Allan McCay) | ||
| Scientific developments in areas such as behavioural genetics have raised the possibility of better predictions of how people will behave than are currently available. For example, there is some suggestion that it may be possible to more accurately predict who may commit criminal offences. What might better predictions about behaviour mean for free will?. It will be argued that slightly better predictions would undermine free will a little and excellent predictions would undermine it a lot. The focus will be on the libertarian position with regard free will rather than the compatibilist position. | |||
| Wed 02 Nov 2005 | Objectifying | ||
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Speaker (5 - 10 mins) |
Objectifying |
Adrian Tan |
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Speech
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| Wed 19 Oct 2005 | Open Forum | ||
| Several 2-3 minute slots to talk about whatever you like. | |||
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MC |
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| Wed 05 Oct 2005 | Open Forum | ||
| Note "Illusions and Delusions of Happiness", Caroline West now on Wed 12 Oct 2005. Russoc guest lecture. 19.15. Holme Common Room, Holme Building, Science Road, University of Sydney. http://www.geocities.com/russellian_society/ | |||
| Wed 21 Sep 2005 | Open Forum. | ||
| You should get at least one 2-3 minute space to express anything on your mind. | |||
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MC |
John Bentley |
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| Wed 07 Sep 2005 | Is the use of force ever justified? (Open Forum) | ||
| Can a world be created where personal or military force is never needed? If so, how? If the use of force is sometimes justified what are the conditions? | |||
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MC |
Adrian Tan |
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| Wed 17 Aug 2005 | What should be the limits to Free Speech? | ||
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Speaker (5 - 10 mins) |
What should be the limits to Free Speech? |
John Bentley |
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MC |
Adrian Tan |
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| Wed 03 Aug 2005 | The Ritzian alternative to the theory of relativity. (John August) | ||
| Einstein's special theory of relativity is said to be well supported, the only possible way of explaining the universe. However, Ritzian theory represents an important alternative. Many situations which relativity explains can also be explained by Ritzian theory - and the evidence for the postulates of relativity is patchy at best. There will be an outline of Einstein's theory, and how it first arose from problems with Maxwell's theory and early attempts to explain the propagtion of light together with electric and magnetic fields. It will be argued Ritzian theory provides alternative explanations for mass increase, time dilation and other phenomena. If you wish to read up: http://arachnid.apana.org.au/johna/ritz.html | |||
| Wed 20 Jul 2005 | What is Love? | ||
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Speaker (5 - 15 mins) |
What is Love? |
Pedro Nunes |
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Speech
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MC |
John Bentley |
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| Wed 06 Jul 2005 | Happiness? (Open Forum) | ||
| What is it? How do you get it? Should something else besides it be pursued? | |||
| Wed 15 Jun 2005 | A first principles approach to drugs, crime, capital punishment, terrorism, nuclear proliferation and other social issues. | ||
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Speaker (15 - 20 mins) |
A first principles approach to drugs, crime, capital punishment, terrorism, nuclear proliferation and other social issues. |
Phil Wong |
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MC |
John Bentley |
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| Wed 01 Jun 2005 | Is Time Travel Possible? | ||
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Speaker (15 - 25 mins) |
Is Time Travel Possible? |
Mark Virtue |
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Speech
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MC |
John Bentley |
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| Wed 18 May 2005 | Free Will and Determinism. | ||
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Speaker (5 - 25 mins) |
Free Will and Determinism. |
Karen Crighton |
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Speech
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MC |
John Bentley |
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| Wed 04 May 2005 | The rights of non-human animals. (Open Forum) | ||
| Should non-human animals have some rights? Are there morally significant differences between humans and non-human animals? Is being a vegan a silly new age notion like healing crystals and iridology? | |||
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MC |
John Bentley |
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| Wed 20 Apr 2005 | Prejudice, generalisations, and judging individuals. (Open Forum) | ||
| "I am quietly judging you." defensively slurs Frank TJ Mackey, Tom Cruise in Magnolia (1999), against the reporter exposing fraudulent credentials. Even if we can remove our own: prejudice about an individual and/or; false generalisations about groups an individual might belong to; Are all other types of judgement about individuals wrong? Is it possible not to judge an individual? | |||
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MC |
John Bentley |
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| Wed 06 Apr 2005 | Truth Subjectivism. (Open Forum) | ||
| Is what is true for an individual or group whatever that individual or group believes to be true? Related issues: Does it make any sense to say there is truth? | |||
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MC |
John Bentley |
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| Wed 16 Mar 2005 | Moral Relativism. (Open Forum) | ||
| Is what is morally right for a group to do whatever a group believes it is right to do? Related issue: Are there moral truths? | |||
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MC |
John Bentley |
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| Wed 02 Mar 2005 | What is Art? (Open Forum) | ||
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MC |
John Bentley |
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| Wed 16 Feb 2005 | Political Correctness. (Open Forum) | ||
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MC |
John Bentley |
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| Wed 02 Feb 2005 | Reflections on the Tsunami | ||
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Speaker (5 - 15 mins) |
Reflections on the Tsunami |
Adrian Tan |
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Speech
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MC |
John Bentley |
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| Wed 01 Dec 2004 | Values. (Open Forum) | ||
| Does valuing somethings over others lead to a better life? Are they arbitrary? Are moral beliefs values? What do you value? | |||
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MC |
John Bentley |
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| Wed 03 Nov 2004 | Pacifism (Open Forum) | ||
| Issues related to Pacifism. Is military force or war necessary? Is it sometimes right to kill noncombatants? Future meetings may deal more squarely with "Was the Iraq war just"? And "What kind of World Order ought we have?" | |||
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MC |
John Bentley |
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| Wed 06 Oct 2004 | What is the meaning of life? (Open Forum) | ||
| Quick Issuers speak on anything they like for about 2 minutes. Then the floor responds. About 2 minutes each also. | |||
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MC |
John Bentley |
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| Wed 15 Sep 2004 | Freedom - Aboriginal Sovereignty and Peace | ||
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Speaker (5 - 10 mins) |
Freedom - Aboriginal Sovereignty and Peace |
Pat Lavilles |
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MC |
John Bentley |
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| Wed 01 Sep 2004 | (Open Forum) | ||
| Quick Issuers speak on anything they like for about 2 minutes. Then the floor responds. About 2 minutes each also. | |||
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MC |
John Bentley |
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| Wed 18 Aug 2004 | (Open Forum) | ||
| Quick Issuers speak on anything they like for about 2 minutes. Then the floor responds. About 2 minutes each also. | |||
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Quick Issues |
Luca Searle |
Adrian Tan |
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MC |
John Bentley |
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| Wed 04 Aug 2004 | (Open Forum) | ||
| Quick Issuers speak on anything they like for about 2 minutes. Then the floor responds. About 2 minutes each also. | |||
| Wed 21 Jul 2004 | Championing The Individual | ||
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Speaker (5 - 10 mins) |
Championing The Individual |
Steve Dick |
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Speech
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Quick Issues |
Luca Searle |
George Endacott |
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MC |
John Bentley |
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| Wed 07 Jul 2004 | Philorum was suspended. James Franklin's "Corrupting Youth" at GleeBooks | ||
| Philorum was suspended for this day. Instead At Gleebooks there was. The Responsibility of Philosophers. Raimond Gaita in conversation with James Franklin & Jean Curthoys about Franklin's new book 'Corrupting the Youth' - an "opinionated" history of Australian Philosophy. | |||
| Wed 16 Jun 2004 | Is there anything wrong with a big ego? | ||
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Speaker (10 - 20 mins) |
Is there anything wrong with a big ego? |
John Bentley |
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Speech
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MC |
John Bentley |
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| Wed 02 Jun 2004 | Is there anything wrong with pornography? Is there anything wrong with pornography? | ||
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Speaker (10 - 15 mins) |
Is there anything wrong with pornography? |
Patricia Petersen |
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Pornography's legitimate place in society, by Patricia Petersen, Aug 98
Patricia Petersen, Speech 28 May 1999, Brisbane |
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Speaker (10 - 15 mins) |
Is there anything wrong with pornography? |
James Franklin |
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Speech
James Franklin's Home Page |
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MC |
John Bentley |
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