Seattle Philosophy Club

At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft, adapted by I.N.J. Culbard

Symptom-free people with the capacity to listen considerately to diverse viewpoints are invited to attend after successfully RSVPing.

We begin the discussion at 7:30 pm sharp in the mezzanine lobby of the Graduate Seattle hotel. Feel free to come up to 30 minutes early and hang out with us beforehand. When you enter the hotel from the front door go between the elevators on your left and the main lobby bookshelves on your right until you find the stairwell to your left. Go up one flight of stairs and open the first door you come upon to the mezzanine lobby.

Ubuntu (meaning humanity in some Bantu languages, such as Zulu) describes a set of closely related Bantu African-origin value systems that emphasize the interconnectedness of individuals with their surrounding societal and physical worlds. "Ubuntu" is sometimes translated as "I am because we are" (also "I am because you are"), or "humanity towards others" (Zulu umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu). In Xhosa, the latter term is used, but is often meant in a more philosophical sense to mean "the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity"

"All for one, and one for all" Alexandre Dumas

What we can learn from the African philosophy of Ubuntu - BBC REEL
9-minute YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UojwMiRpNM

AMAZON FORMAT (AZF):
We will begin the meeting by watching together the video above on a laptop.

AUDIO RECORDED (AR):
This meeting will be audio recorded for analysis and testing purposes. This recording will not be made publically available without prior permission

OPENING ROUNDTABLE FORMAT (ORF):

1. The topic presenter begins the discussion by explaining why they are interested in the topic and some introductory thoughts on it.
2. Each participant in turn going clockwise from the presenter describes their general thoughts on the topic.
3. If one is not ready to speak they can just say “pass” and the next person speaks.
4. After we've gone around once anyone who passed will get a second chance to comment.
5. Once everyone has given opening remarks or passed twice, Opening Roundtable is completed and the meeting shifts into its main format.

TIMED DIRECTION FORMAT (TDRF>5):
If there are more than 5 people present we will use the format below.

1. We will divide up the timed direction discussion time by the number of participants plus one (for a buffer). A timer will be set for this amount of time.
2. Each participant in turn will become a Discussion Director and lead the group discussion.
3. Anyone who arrives after step 1 (above), may participate but will not get a turn as Discussion Director.
4. The Discussion Director can make statements or ask questions, or interrupt or redirect the discussion at their discretion.
5. The discussion participants can state their own opinions only when asked by the Discussion Director, not Interrupt others and accede to the Discussion Director’s interrumptions or redirections.
6. When the timer goes off the person speaking finishes their thought and then the next participant clockwise becomes the next Discussion Director.
7. If one is not ready to direct they dimply say “pass” and the next person becomes the Discussion Director.
8. After we've gone around once anyone who passed will get a second chance to direct.

At the end of the meeting, participants will have an opportunity to vote on the topic and format for the following meeting.

Another great meeting into the early hours of last Sunday after Melbourne Existentialists Society meeting - Existentialists meetup =
https://4142298.xyz/existentialist-society/?eventOrigin=event_home_page
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Some of the many topics discussed after the Existentialists, in the subsequent "Street Philosophy" meeting were Idealism v Realism - ABSOLUTE TRUTH - What does that mean ? does it exist ?
Things we may discuss = Ontology, how equiped are we to fathom the nature of things? HARD PROBLEM OF CONSCIOUSNESS: WHERE DOES CONSCIOUSNESS ARISE?: DOES DNA TRANSLATE TO BEHAVIOUR?, IF SO HOW - definition of rationality - origins of "value" - precision of mathematics - concept of infinity.
Have been having some great flowing discussion as topics arise following conclusion of existentialists meeting, Melbourne, Australia. Thanks to all attendees.
General chat for the philosophically inclined about whatever comes up,
suggest topics as suits you or -
- possible topics
Information
- where is the information in an un opened book, does it exist when unobserved?
Reason
- what is the definition of reason
does it exist in physical laws, i.e if we can we say "the rock fell because of gravity" how is this different to "what is the reason she chose pepsi max instead of coke zero?
Validity of evolutionary physchology
- what evidence is there for evolutionarily selected behaviour, given that we cannot observe the history of the emergence of neurological structures as we can observe evolutionarily selected anatomical changes?