Potential Discussion Topics

This is just a list of topics suggested by members and can be added to by any member at any time. Please don't delete or modify any topics on the list though. It doesn't matter if some of the topics are quite similar to one another.

  1. Is consciousness/mind just an activity of the brain or a completely separate thing? If it's separate then which controls which?
    1. Are animals conscious? Chimpanzees? What about amoebas? Algae? Is there a cut off for consciousness in the list of species or are there degrees of consciousness?Is genuine selflessness possible? Does it make any difference if it isn't?
  2. Where do the rules of logic we all use in reasoning and arguing come from? Are they universal or culturally relative? There's something called Indian logic that may be interesting to compare classical logic with.
  3. Is it conceivable that the universe (or multiverse) is infinitely old and/or infinite in extent? What consequences follow from such an idea?
  4. Is a person who possesses great talent obliged to use that talent to improve or influence the world (e.g. through their work, through politics or other avenues for change), or is it fine for them to live an unambitious, hedonistic life?
  5. To what extent should a politician be prepared to compromise some principles in order to achieve others? Are there some principles that should never be compromised?
  6. Why is there something rather than nothing? Is it possible that there could have been nothing instead? Does assuming the universe was created by something external to it help answer these questions?
  7. To what extent should parents sublimate/devote their lives to their children? Is parenting ‘the most important thing you’ll ever do’, as so many people say?
  8. Given that we can be experts on very few things, and we personally see hardly any of the evidence for things, what is a sensible way to decide what, and who, to believe?
  9. What is friendship for? Do we select our friends or do they just happen? If we do select them, what is a set of criteria?
  10. Plato's idea of a world of 'forms', containing mathematical objects, moral truths and prototypes like the 'perfect chair' and the 'perfect circle'.
  11. Is 'emergentism' (the idea that there may be some laws of nature that do not apply at all to elementary particles but only apply to assemblies of particles in certain configurations or with a certain size or complexity) just woo or could it be a perfectly rational explanation for some things?
  12. We know what philosophy is as a subject of inquiry but what is 'A philosophy'? People often say 'my philosophy is such and such' but what does that mean? Is a philosophy (of life?) something we should all have? What constitutes such a philosophy and what distinguishes it from a motley assemblage of likes, dislikes, prejudices, fears and beliefs?
  13. Logical positivism. The logical positivists of the 1920s and '30s claimed that the truths of logic and mathematics were tautologies, and those of science were verifiable empirical claims. These two constituted the entire universe of meaningful judgements; anything else was nonsense. Were they right?
  14. The role of intuition in making moral judgements. Most ethicists choose moral frameworks by 'calibrating' them to see whether their core principles are consistent with our intuitions. But sometimes logical development of moral frameworks can lead to conclusions that are contrary to our intuitions (eg some of Peter Singer's conclusions). How can such conflicts be resolved when both sides of the argument are based (directly in one case, indirectly in the other) on our intuitions?
  15. The ethics of reproductive technology. Issues like cloning, selection of sex and other characteristics of IVF embryos, use of embryos for stem cell research. How can and should we set the limits on such activities? Will unrestricted application lead to eugenics?
  16. The social contract as a basis for society. Review and comparison of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and maybe others. Is our society based on some form of social contract? What sort is it? What do we give up and what do we gain? How, if it all, should it be different?
  17. How important is privacy? Does it really matter if companies collect information about our shopping habits and send us tailored ads and free samples?
  18. Eastern philosophy. We could do sessions on aspects of Alan Watts, Krishnamurti, Daoism, Confucianism, Hinduism (have already done one on an aspect of Buddhism June 2014).
  19. Retribution. Should it have any role in our criminal justice system or should punishments be determined solely on traditional utilitarian considerations like deterrence, restitution, rehabilitation, emphasising community expectations regarding behaviour, and restraint? Retribution seems barbaric from one viewpoint but from a purely utilitarian perspective can the satisfaction sometimes experienced by victims at seeing a perpetrator suffer be weighed against the otherwise senseless infliction of suffering on the offender?
    1. Australian Indigenous spirituality. What is it, how can we better understand it and what can we learn from it? (AK)
    2. Comparison of different art forms, the differences between them and why people have preferences between them. (AK)
    3. The Kindness Project (GR)
    4. Derrida (GR)
    5. Humanism (GR)
    6. Medical Ethics (GW)
    7. Partly Politics vs Independents. Which is a better model and why? (??)
    8. Can patriotism ever be a force for good? How? (AK)
    9. Process metaphysics vs object metaphysics