The first text can be found here. The second text can be found here. 

What Moore Argues

Moore follows John Locke in claiming that words are intrinsically meaningless — just sounds and squiggles. The real action happens inside our minds, where we "filter public words through little-understood private processes." On this view, meaning is unavoidably private: you and I might use the same word but attach entirely different inner experiences to it, and we'd have no way of knowing.

What Law Argues in Response

Law draws on Wittgenstein to push back. If meaning were really a private inner object — like an image of "red" filed away in your mental storehouse — then you'd need to already know what "red" means to find the right image, which gets you nowhere. Wittgenstein's alternative: meaning isn't hidden inside us. It's out on the surface, in the use we make of our words. What makes you different from a parrot saying "it's hot today" isn't a secret mental accompaniment — it's that you can explain what you mean, use the phrase in new sentences, and respond appropriately.

Questions for Discussion

1) If meaning is private, could two people use the same word with completely different meanings and never realize it?

2) Could your experience of "red" be completely inverted compared to mine — and would there be any way to find out? Would it even matter?

3) What makes you saying "it's hot today" meaningful while a parrot saying the same thing is not?

4) When you misunderstand someone, is that a failure of words or a failure of minds?

5) Do emojis, gestures, or music "mean" things the same way words do?

6) If an AI chatbot produces perfectly coherent sentences, does it mean anything by them?

7) If meaning is hidden and private, how do children ever learn language in the first place?

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