What we’re about
Welcome to the Toronto Philosophy Meetup! This is a community 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, 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 Twitter and join our Discord.
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: https://www.meetup.com/The-Toronto-Philosophy-Meetup/pages/30522966/Other_Philosophy_Groups_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.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- The Future of A.I. and Human CreativityLink visible for attendees
Artificial intelligence is advancing at breakneck speed (the above artwork was generated by A.I. in early 2024.) Is A.I. and its tools opening up new avenues of perception and exploration for humankind or, on the contrary, diminishing them? What are the effects of AI on artistic creation? Should we revisit the concept of the "author"? Is the future one of co-creation?
Join Pireeni Sundaralingam, Nicholas Halmi, and Audrey Borowski for a discussion and audience Q&A on the impacts and ramifications of A.I. on human creativity.
About the Speakers:
Nicholas Halmi is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Oxford and Margaret Candfield Fellow of University College, Oxford. His current research is concerned with historical consciousness and historicization in the aesthetic realm, and with cultural periodization. Among his publications is The Genealogy of the Romantic Symbol (2007). He is completing a book called Historization, Aesthetics, and the Past. Other projects include a book on Coleridge (contracted with Princeton University Press) and a collection of my essays on Romanticism.
Pireeni Sundaralingam is a cognitive neuroscientist and an artist. As a poet, Pireeni has held national fellowships in poetry and been published in over 30 literary journals. As a scientist, Pireeni has held research posts at MIT and UCLA, researching human decision-making and innovation, and led research at Silicon Valley’s Center for Humane Technology. She has served as Science Advisor to the Irish government's Minister of Art & Heritage, and as Principal Advisor on Human Potential for a leading UN initiative. As founder of Neuro-Resilience Consulting, she leads strategy for a range of global organizations, optimizing for human flourishing and radical innovation.
The Moderator:
Audrey Borowski is a Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge. Her monograph, Leibniz in his World: The Making of a Savant, was published by Princeton University Press in 2024. She was previously a postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Munich Centre for Mathematical Philosophy and she completed her doctorate (D.Phil) in the History of Ideas at the University of Oxford. Audrey’s current research, and second book project, focuses on the topic of data, algorithmic systems and ideology.
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This is an online conversation and audience Q&A presented by the UK-based journal The Philosopher. It is open to the public and held on Zoom.
About The Philosopher (https://www.thephilosopher1923.org/):
The Philosopher is the longest-running public philosophy journal in the UK (founded in 1923). It is published by the The Philosophical Society of England (http://www.philsoceng.uk/), a registered charity founded ten years earlier than the journal in 1913, and still running regular groups, workshops, and conferences around the UK. As of 2018, The Philosopher is edited by Newcastle-based philosopher Anthony Morgan and is published quarterly, both in print and digitally.
The journal aims to represent contemporary philosophy in all its many and constantly evolving forms, both within academia and beyond. Contributors over the years have ranged from John Dewey and G.K. Chesterton to contemporary thinkers like Christine Korsgaard, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Elizabeth Anderson, Martin Hägglund, Cary Wolfe, Avital Ronell, and Adam Kotsko.
- FTI: How Neurotypicals Can Better Understand and Communicate w/ NeurodivergentLink visible for attendees
Communication Differences: How Neurotypicals Can Better Understand and Communicate with the Neurodivergent.
Speaker: Benjamin Meyer, LCSW-R
Bilingual Psychotherapist/CoachHave you ever wondered how to identify and communicate with a neurodivergent person? Whether they are autistic, have ADHD, dyslexia, OCD, or a learning difference, understanding their communication needs will not only help you to support them, but could also create meaningful neurodiverse relationships. I will describe some common traits in neurodivergent communication and ways you can create an inclusive environment.
Format: Lecture and discussion
Note: social time for our community 15 minutes before the presentation.
To get familiar with our organization, feel free to learn more here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E16-qv-OZZoKh4HSyHCtQ_eZA-ko_n3Kd3SwxfLpk84/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.qsvmnmkadvaqTo 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.
- Kant: Fairness and JusticeLink visible for attendees
Come join us to discuss another topic in ethical philosophy. No book or previous experience is required.
The hosts will use a presentation to lead the discussion, in order to provide information and to elicit participation.
But we proceed as if we were in a conversation. Yet the focus is always on the topic at hand, say, Kantian ethical theory. We try to master the topic at hand under the motto, "wash, rinse and repeat."
We refer often to a well written book titled "The Fundamentals of Ethics" by Russ Shafer-Landau. (A pdf of the text is here.)
Chapter 11 of The Fundamentals of Ethics, titled "The Kantian Perspective: Fairness and Justice," introduces Immanuel Kant’s moral philosophy, focusing on the role of fairness, justice, and respect for persons.
Key points of the chapter include:
- The Principle of Universalizability: An action is morally right if its guiding maxim can be willed as a universal law without contradiction. This emphasizes consistency and fairness in moral reasoning.
- Respect for Persons: Kant’s second formulation of the categorical imperative insists that we treat humanity—whether in ourselves or others—as an end in itself, never merely as a means. This underlines the inherent dignity and moral worth of all rational beings.
- Moral Duties and Autonomy: Kant believed that moral duties are derived from reason, not consequences or emotions. Respecting others means recognizing their autonomy and capacity to make rational choices.
- Criticisms and Challenges: The chapter also discusses criticisms of Kantian ethics, such as difficulties in applying the principle of universalizability and potential conflicts between duties.
Overall, the chapter emphasizes that morality, from a Kantian perspective, is about acting from duty, guided by principles of fairness, justice, and respect for all individuals.
See you this Tuesday! - Experiments in Living Together: How Democracy Drives Social ProgressLink visible for attendees
Over the past 70 years, the United States has undergone major moral shifts surrounding gender, sexual orientation, and race. Although these changes have been incomplete and imperfect, they nonetheless represent stunning improvements in the human condition which have been supported by democracy. While on its face democratic governance embodies the promise of protest, free expression, and social change, the recent surge of populism has provoked some cynicism about democracy and the potential ignorance and irrationality of democratic citizens. This debate raises questions around the role of democracy in social progress, democracy's definitive principles and ideals, and the tension between democracy's characteristic aspirations and the disappointing realities of real-world politics.
In Experiments in Living Together (Oxford University Press, 2024) Michael Fuerstein addresses these questions, presenting a fresh philosophical account of social progress that focuses on democracy and delivering an innovative rebuttal to skeptics inspired by the recent populist wave. Following in the tradition of John Dewey, he argues that democracy enables progress through "experiments in living": innovations in social practice that transform social emotions and identities and cultivate moral learning.
Drawing on research in social psychology and several detailed historical case studies — same-sex marriage, women's integration into the workforce, and school desegregation — Fuerstein illuminates the critical role of novel experience in building community: linkages of emotion and identity across a democratic public, which enable diverse citizens to flourish together. Challenging technocratic views that imply that democracy is undermined by citizens' ignorance and incompetence, Fuerstein suggests that the remedy for democracy's contemporary malaise must target failures of community more than failures of knowledge or skill, a change which will require a new round of experimental innovations in social life.
Join us for a discussion of the book featuring Michael Fuerstein, Susan Dieleman and Alex Madva.
About the Speakers:
— Michael Fuerstein is Professor and Chair of Philosophy at Saint Olaf College. His research centers on democratic theory, social epistemology, and pragmatism, and has been published widely in scholarly venues such as The Journal of Political Philosophy, Social Theory and Practice, and a variety of anthologies with Oxford University Press. Most recently, he has developed an interest in the moral and social dimensions of business, and is an inaugural member of the Society for Progress. He is the author of the recently published book Experiments in Living Together: How Democracy Drives Social Progress.
— Susan Dieleman is Jarislowsky Chair in Trust and Political Leadership at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada. Her research is located in the areas of pragmatism (Richard Rorty), feminist philosophy (epistemic injustice), and political philosophy (deliberative democracy). She is co-editor of The Ethics of Richard Rorty: Moral Communities, Self-Transformation, and Imagination (Routledge, 2022) and Pragmatism and Justice (Oxford University Press, 2017) and co-author of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Richard Rorty.
— Alex Madva is Professor of Philosophy at Cal Poly Pomona, Director of the California Center for Ethics & Policy, and Co-Director of the Digital Humanities Consortium. His teaching and research explore the intersections between the cognitive and social sciences and topics in philosophy of race and feminism, applied ethics, and social and political philosophy. He is co-author of the forthcoming book from MIT Press Somebody Should Do Something on a novel and scientific approach to creating transformative social change and the ways that each of us can help make a real difference.
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This is an online conversation and audience Q&A presented by the US-based Public Philosophy Network. It is open to the public and held on Zoom.
About the Public Philosophy Network (https://www.publicphilosophynetwork.net/):
The Public Philosophy Network promotes philosophy that engages issues of public concern and works collaboratively with civic and professional communities.
Our mission is:
- to support philosophers who use their concepts and skills to serve communities outside of academia and to make positive changes in society
- to reflect on how philosophy is transformed by various types of public engagement
- to support institutional changes supportive of publicly engaged work
