What we’re about
[Note: This group is looking for a new owner! In the meantime, join the Toronto Philosophy Meetup to find many more online philosophy events and activities: https://www.meetup.com/the-toronto-philosophy-meetup/
The description below is from the previous organizer of the group.]
Welcome to the Calgary Philosophy Meetup! We're a local community for people interested in reading and discussing philosophy. We hold discussions and other events on a broad range of philosophical topics and problems. No previous experience is required for any of our meetups, only a willingness to engage with the works being discussed. The only basic ground-rule is to please, as with everywhere else in life, be polite and respectful during discussions.
Feel free to propose topics you would like to see (you can do this in the Discussions section), and please contact the organizers if you would like to host an event yourself, or organize events here on a regular basis.
James Joyce’s Dubliners, first published in 1914, stands as one of the greatest and most influential short story collections in the English language. Offering an unflinching yet deeply evocative portrait of “dear dirty Dublin” at the turn of the twentieth century, it serves as both a meditation on a city in stagnation and a moral history of a people whose “golden age” has passed. Joyce’s characters — at once profoundly Irish and universally resonant — linger in the reader’s mind, their inner lives rendered with striking psychological depth. Through prose that is at once mesmerizing and meticulously crafted, Joyce captures the rhythms of Dublin speech and the quiet struggles of its citizens with extraordinary realism. This collection of fifteen stories represents Joyce at his most accessible and, arguably, his most profound. (Penguin)
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This is a series of occasional meetups (hosted by the Toronto Philosophy Meetup) to discuss short stories by various authors. We started in 2023 and generally meet every other Sunday evening. Authors we have read include Haruki Murakami, Anton Chekhov, Alice Munro, James Baldwin, Feng Menglong, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
This time we will continue our discussion of James Joyce's Dubliners with the 7th and 8th stories in the collection. In "The Boarding House", a calculating mother orchestrates a marriage between her daughter and a reluctant suitor, and in "A Little Cloud", a timid man, envious of an old friend's success, faces the reality of his own life and choices.
Please read the stories in advance (~21 pages in total) and bring your thoughts, reactions, queries, and favourite passages to share with us at the discussion. A pdf of the text will be posted on the main event page.
Stories by Joyce we've previously discussed in this group:
Note: We'll be joined by many other participants from the Toronto Philosophy Meetup at this meeting – https://www.meetup.com/the-toronto-philosophy-meetup/events/307295904/
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- FTI: Educational Session: Residential Solar – What You Need to KnowLink visible for attendees
Speaker: Albie Delgado
Join us for an informative session on Residential Solar and how it can benefit homeowners. This non-sales educational event will cover essential topics to help you make informed decisions about solar energy and upcoming changes in utility costs.
Topics Covered:
> Utility Rate Increases (June 1st) – Understand how upcoming price hikes from utility companies may impact your energy bills.
> Benefits of Residential Solar – Learn how solar can reduce energy costs, increase home value, and provide energy independence.
> Solar + Roofing Solutions – Discover how a new roof can be seamlessly integrated with a solar installation.
> $0 Out-of-Pocket Options – Explore financing solutions that allow you to go green with no upfront costs.
> Donation Program – Find out how your switch to solar can contribute to a good cause.This session is designed to educate and empower homeowners—no sales pitch, just valuable insights! Whether you’re considering solar or simply want to understand your energy options, this is a great opportunity to learn.
Date & Time: April 29, 2025 6:45 pm to 9:00 pm EST
Reserve your spot today!
Format: Lecture and discussion
Note: social time for our community 15 minutes before the presentation.
To get familiar with our past events, feel free to check out our YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmixGB9GdrptyEWovEj80zgAfter registering via zoom, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
We publish our event recordings on our Youtube channel to offer our help to anyone who would like to but can’t attend the meeting, so we need to give this clause. If you don’t want to be recorded, just remain on mute and keep your video off.
Here’s our legal notice: For valuable consideration received, by joining this event I hereby grant Free Thinker Institute and its legal representatives and assigns, the irrevocable and unrestricted right to use and publish any and all Zoom recordings for trade, advertising and any other commercial purpose, and to alter the same without any restriction. I hereby release Free Thinker Institute and its legal representatives and assigns from all claims and liability related to said video recordings.
- Movie Discussion — Gertrud (1964) by Carl Theodor DreyerLink visible for attendees
“Gertrud is a film that I made with my heart” — the Danish master Carl Theodor Dreyer’s last film neatly crowns his career: a meditation on happiness, individual will, and the refusal to compromise. A woman leaves her unfulfilling marriage and embarks on a search for ideal love — but neither a passionate affair with a younger man nor the return of an old romance can provide the answer she seeks. Always the stylistic innovator, Dreyer employs intricate camera movements, long takes, and theatrical staging to concentrate on Nina Pens Rode’s sublime portrayal of the proud and courageous Gertrud.
"An enigmatically modern film with the deceptive air of a staidly old fashioned one." (The Spectator)
"As richly mysterious and inscrutable as it is earthy and wry." (Slant)
"I would imagine that many would find it unwatchable, or would incorrectly deem it uncinematic, but it understands the language of cinema better than nearly any film that I've seen. Every cut, every pan, every zoom matters." (Rotten Tomatoes)
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Join the Toronto Philosophy Meetup to discuss the 1964 film Gertrud directed and written by the great Danish filmmaker Carl Theodor Dreyer, recently voted the 136th greatest movie of all time in Sight & Sound's international survey of film critics and scholars, and the 140th greatest movie of all time in the related poll of filmmakers. The film opened to divided responses but is now considered one of Dreyer's best works.
We previously discussed Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), Ordet (1955), and Vampyr (1932) in this group.
Please watch the movie in advance and bring your thoughts, reactions, and queries to share with us at the meeting. You can stream it with a viewing link to be posted on the main event listing here.
We'll be joined by many other participants from the Toronto Philosophy Meetup at this meeting — https://www.meetup.com/the-toronto-philosophy-meetup/events/307471760/
Check out other film discussions in the group every Friday and occasionally other days.
