No reading this time--just a video to watch here.

Key concepts:

Moral standing (moral status, moral patienthood) — mattering for one's own sake, such that one is owed consideration directly rather than via someone else's interests.

Candidate bases of standing — sentience (felt pleasure and suffering), bare consciousness, agency (setting and pursuing one's own goals), or mere life. Sebo notes we disagree about which is necessary or sufficient.

Welfare subject — a being whose life can go better or worse for it. The video-game character isn't one; the roommate may be.

Speciesism and substratism — prejudice by species, and its projected successor: prejudice against beings made of the wrong material.

Precautionary principle — under doubt, treat the being as though it matters, on the grounds that mistaking a subject for an object is worse than the reverse.

Expected moral value — multiply the probability a being matters by how much it would matter if it did, and treat the product as its actual weight.

Anthropomorphism / anthropodenial — the paired errors of attributing human pleasures and pains where there are none, and denying them where there are.

Human exceptionalism — the assumption that humanity always takes priority, individually and collectively.

Rebugnant conclusion — The idea that enough small beings can outweigh the interests a few large ones.

These sessions are participant-driven discussions focused on philosophical essays, facilitated by a trained CU Boulder philosopher. Our goal at each discussion is to build a philosophical dialogue by investigating as a community of thinkers. Each session focuses on a philosophical text, but we do not regard the authors we read as unquestionable authorities. Rather, we consider each author to be another voice in our shared dialogue. 

To prepare, please read the selected text to the best of your ability. Most months you'll find a reading guide linked above. If you are unable to read ahead, please come anyway. We recommend bring a copy of the reading with you - digital or printed out.

At the discussion, after brief introductions and a review of the discussion policies, the facilitator will ask participants to share questions and ideas for group discussion.  The facilitator will then guide the group in working through as many of their questions as possible before recapping and wrapping up the discussion.

No background in philosophy is expected or required. We are excited to discuss the ideas raised by your interaction with the text!

Click here for our discussion guidelines.

Boulder Public Library "Classics of Philosophy" reading group:

We used to have a group just like this group, but meeting on the 2nd Monday of each month. This group has closed, but you can still brows the list of past sessions for ideas on things to read!

Great philosophy podcasts

The History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps - Over 350 episodes covering various philosophers and topics. Includes episode series on Indian philosophy and Africana philosophy.

Hi-Phi Nation - approximately 40 episodes (as of 2020) that discuss philosophical ideas in contemporary contexts.  The most recent seasons have focused on issues of justice and politics.

Discussion groups

Grey Havens Philosophy - A Longmont, CO based nonprofit running weekly and monthly philosophical discussion groups for all ages.

Your local philosophers!

Philosophy Department at the University of Colorado - Boulder