Immanuel Kant was a real pissant.... starting an Australian philosopher's club.

May 12, 2012 6:27 AM

I have quite a few very smart friends. One or two studied some philosophy at uni, I didn't. I was hoping to start some kind of casual philosophy in the pub discussion amongst the interested parties of mostly newbies. But how??

So.... I'm the ideas person in our group, but I'm usually a bit light on detail. My bright idea was to host a night every few months of smart and inquisitive friends talking about things philosophical. And beer.

We're all busy and exhausted parents, so large tomes of impenetrable esoterica are out... but a podcast or an article (or Sophie's World as a one off) should be doable.

I'm sure this kind of thing has been done before. If any of you have any ideas on how to do this, or can tell my your past experiences of this I'd be ever so grateful.

My, very sketchy, idea is to get everyone to listen to a podcast before, take any notes they want, or not, then come to the group with challenging thoughts.

As I only did five minutes of philosophy at an evening college long before most of you were born, my role wouldn't be able to add much to the "knowledge".... and there is the rub. I'd be the Philoso-host.

I'm in Sydney's inner west, so if any of you know of this actually happening somewhere else that we could just join for a few sessions to plagiarise/research, that would also be cool. The only thing closely resembling this that I could find was on a 7 year old website.

Any themed drinking and singing suggestions are totally appropriate. We're debauched and debased when we're not falling over from the lack of sleep of small kids.

So, throw all your thoughts at me- logistical, theoretical... I'm a big kid, I can take the good and the bad. Thank you, possums!

posted by taff to Religion & Philosophy (13 answers total)

I would recommend the Philosophy Bites podcast as a possible starting point. Each one runs 20 minutes or less and approaches a specific philosophical problem. There's an archive of topics if you don't want to risk your evening on whatever topic comes along currently, in case it happens to be something nobody has any interest in.
posted by zadcat at 6:50 AM on May 12, 2012 [4 favorites]

I organize a "cafe scientifique", which I knew is spawned by a "cafe philosophique" in France, which led me to a Wikipedia page, which led me to a directory, which led me to Sydney’s Philosophy in the Café - Philo Agora. Maybe that will serve your needs.
posted by cmiller at 6:51 AM on May 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

I would hope you're already aware of this, but for singing.... I mean, well. You pretty much HAVE to.

It's actually not a bad way to remember a good number of the really influential thinkers.
posted by WidgetAlley at 6:59 AM on May 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

I like the suggestions above, especially the idea of a podcast that runs at 20 minutes or less. I'm not a parent, but I was concerned at first that some people in your group might not have enough time to finish listening to the podcast or article. But, something like the Philosophy Bites podcast would be practical and enjoyable to listen to.

Also, read How To Host A Bar Trivia Contest because it might give you pointers on how to host a fun night for you and your friends. It might also give you some ideas about how to ensure these nights go smoothly.

From a personal standpoint, I think a philosophy bar trivia night would be more fun than a book/podcast discussion night. But, it really depends on what you and your friends prefer!
posted by livinglearning at 7:00 AM on May 12, 2012

While this might border on too academic, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy tends to kick a lot of ass. The articles are written by philosophers and are usually fantastic resources to get a broad overview of a given topic. I'd use it as a reference while listening to podcasts or something, but you could also use it as a standalone resource.
posted by papayaninja at 7:25 AM on May 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

And I linked to the US version, but Australia's mirror is here.
posted by papayaninja at 7:26 AM on May 12, 2012

There's a book called Socrates Cafe that you should check out, about a guy who travels the country doing this.
posted by softlord at 8:15 AM on May 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

They've been doing this exact thing in England for years now. Maybe contact one of the people who runs it for some tips? I've been to a couple of their meetings but it was a few years ago now so I wouldn't be much help I'm afraid. Philosophy in Pubs.
posted by triggerfinger at 8:35 AM on May 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Why, philosophical discussions of everyday life podcast

they're around an hour, and their goal is to make philosophy more accessible.

Philosophy bro summarizes stuff in accessible way.

Partially examined life I just found via Philosophy Bro, so I can't say much about them.
posted by 0bs01337 at 8:36 AM on May 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

Philosophy Talk might also be a good starting point -- you can listen to a chosen episode on your own, and then discuss over beer. Or even listen to it together on someone's iPad or laptop.
posted by kestrel251 at 9:03 AM on May 12, 2012 [2 favorites]

Singing and philosophy? I am compelled to mention The Kant Song. Hats off to you if you can sing this drunk.
posted by snorkmaiden at 9:07 AM on May 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

A friend of mine did something similar to this with a group of friends that included me, though it wasn't specific to philosophy - we usually ended up talking about social issues and politics.

The format was usually this: Two topics per session, separated by short break (people need to pee and stuff). The discussion topics were introduced by the first person to volunteer to do so in that section, usually in the form of 'here's this issue and here's what I think about it'. With six to eight people usually showing up, we didn't have a problem with two people volunteering a topic each time.

This avoids people having to do homework ahead of time, and the person who picks the homework setting the agenda. It would also allow the non-philosophers in your group to raise issues they've been thinking about and see what the people with philosophy backgrounds, and other people, think about them.
posted by nangar at 11:03 AM on May 12, 2012

Have you seen Philosophy TV? It's like bloggingheads, but devoted exclusively to philosophy.

Depending on the kind of person you are, the kind of philosophy you like, and the kind of drinking you do, you might try the following. Pick a philosopher you like and read one of his or her larger philosophical pieces very slowly, out loud, over drinks. Each person takes a paragraph or some other conveniently small bit, and you discuss each bit before moving on to the next bit. Some friends of mine and I did this with Wittgenstein and Scotch a few years back.
posted by Jonathan Livengood at 10:05 PM on May 12, 2012