Atheist Society
Free monthly public lectures (second Tuesday of the month) at 8pm. http://home.vicnet.net.au/~atheist/

Atheist Foundation of Australia INC Discussion Groups http://www.atheistfoundation.org.au/discussion.htm

Atheists_Australia Egroup http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Atheists_Australia/

Australian Catholic University
School of Philosophy Public Lectures are occasionally held, check http://www.acu.edu.au

The Simone Weil Lectures on Human Value 2008

The Australian Catholic University School of Philosophy presents

Professor Jonathan Glover

"Uprootedness, narratives and national conflict".

This lecture will try to apply Simone Weil’s idea of the need for roots to conflicts between nations or groups, such as the Israel-Palestine conflict. The rival narratives, in which each group interprets the history in terms of stereotypes of the other, make peacemaking harder. The Israeli and Palestinian narratives derive an emotional charge from the response of both groups to uprootedness and Diaspora. The hope is to use Simone Weil’s understanding of the human losses caused by uprootedness as part of the project of weakening the grip of the rival partisan narratives.

Tuesday 5 August 6.30pm

The Christ Lecture Theatre, ACU National, Melbourne Campus (St Patrick’s), 115 Victoria Parade Fitzroy.

Free but bookings advised. RSVP via email jasmin.chen@acu.edu.au or phone 9953 3160.

Jonathan Glover is one of the world’s most distinguished moral philosophers, and currently professor in the Centre of Medical Law and Ethics at King’s College London. He has written several influential and best-selling books on ethics, including Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth Century, Causing Death and Saving Lives and, with Martha Craven Nussbaum, Women, Culture, and Development: A Study of Human Capabilities. Professor Glover chaired a European Commission Working Party on Assisted Reproduction and is also a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics. He is currently interested in a number of issues in global ethics, in questions raised by the Human Genome Project and in ethical issues in psychiatry.

For further information contact 03 9953 3160 or email jasmin.chen@acu.edu.au

 

Australian Skeptics http://www.skeptics.com.au

Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE)
The Melbourne Division of the Centre conducts a series of public lectures. The speakers are all prominent in their fields and the topics are challenging and often confronting. Click here to view the 2002 program.

Existentialist Society
Lectures: First Tuesday of the month at 8 pm.
Royal Society Theatrette, 8 La Trobe Street, Melbourne.
(On triangle, corner Exhibition and Victoria Streets, Melway map 2B, ref G12)
Admission free, no prior booking necessary, all welcome.
A question-to-the-speaker period follows the lecture.
Website: http://home.vicnet.net.au/~exist/

Heart of Philosophy www.heartofphilosophy.com
Heart of Philosophy is a Philosophy Events company
“… We have a passion for creating philosophy events for the public, where everyone gets to learn about the history of ideas, understand how these ideas became part of the every day and debate the Big Questions in life. Our events include regular Philosophy Cafes, Symposium Dinners, Philosophy @ Movies, short philosophy courses and corporate packages. We have also collaborated on events with Melbourne University , Melbourne CAE and Mornington Peninsula Shire…” from www.heartofphilosophy.com
Heart of Philosophy Café meets the first Wednesday of every month at Red Rhythm Bar ( 10 Centre Place , CBD) see www.heartofphilosophy.com  for further details. The format is a Philosopher or Thinker gives a short informative talk on a topic from philosophy, literature, theology, art, cultural or critical studies. Then attendees are invited to ask questions and listen to the debate and general discussion.
Philosophy @ the Movies a fabulous cinematic series every month at Loop Bar ( 23 Meyers Place , CBD) see Events at www.heartofphilosophy.com for details.

Humanist Society of Victoria
Public Meetings held at Camberwell Theatrette, Inglesby Road, Camberwell for topics and times check: http://home.vicnet.net.au/~humanist/whatsnew/meetings/top.html

PIPS (Philosophy in Public Spaces)
...... expanding philosophical dialogue in the public realm
Click: ‘News’ for PIPS events

 

Philosophy Cafe at Thangs Cafe Melbourne's longest running Philosophy Café
Philosophy Cafe at Thangs Cafe, 502 Lygon Street, East Brunswick, (near Albion Street) on the first Thursday of each month (except January).
'Formal' activities generally begin around 8.00 PM but many participants start gathering from around 6.30 for meals and drinks. Meal service is difficult to provide once the Philosophy Cafe gets under way. If you want to buy a meal please try to arrive before 7.30 pm.

An issue, topic or question for discussion is usually identified at the previous café for the following café. However this seems to have little bearing on what is actually discussed at the following café.

Please read and abide by the draft norms for conducting the discourse at Thangs Philosophy Café.

There is no charge.

To join Thangstalk Yahoo group see homepage: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Thangstalk/ or simply enter your email address below and hit 'enter':

To subscribe to Thangstalk:

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Article on Philosophy cafes "Cafes give food for thought" in the Age of 20 February 2005: http://theage.com.au/articles/2005/02/19/1108709446409.html

 

Sydney Events
The Russellian Society is the philosophy society of the University of Sydney. The society's objective is to develop understanding of the issues and language of philosophy -- both by the students of Sydney University and by other interested persons. Check their site for events in Sydney: http://www.geocities.com/russellian_society/

Sea of Faith Network
Meets regularly with lectures followed by discussion what is happening on:
http://www.sof-in-australia.org

Reader's Feast Literary Events http://www.readersfeast.com.au/LiteraryEvent.cfm

Philosophy @ Melbourne Writers Festival
Hosted by Monash University as part of its Philosophy in Australasia project

Venue: ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Federation Square, Flinders Street, Melbourne), cinema 1

Saturday August 23, 4pm
Jeanette Kennett (Australian National University)
“Philosophers on Love”
Philosophers have held a variety of views about the nature, value, and phenomenology of love. Why do we love the people we love? Are there reasons for love as well as reasons of love? Is love a feeling? And can love lead us morally astray?

Sunday August 24, 4pm
Graham Priest (University of Melbourne)
“Why Asian Philosophy?”
Western philosophy has had little to do with the philosophical traditions of India and China. Indeed, a common view amongst Western philosophers was that all thought in the Asian traditions was not philosophy, but religion or mysticism. This attitude is now changing, as, slowly, Western philosophers are starting to engage with Asian thought. In this session Graham will talk about what these philosophers are finding there, and why this is often challenging for someone who knows only Western philosophy.

Saturday August 30, 4pm
Jack Reynolds (La Trobe University)
“Time and Politics”
In this talk, Jack will indicate the close relationship that obtains between ways of thinking about time and socio-political life. He will also suggest that many of the most obvious points of divergence between so-called ‘analytic’ and ‘Continental’ philosophy (such as their stylistic and methodological differences) are a consequence of their vastly different understandings of the temporal.

Sunday August 31, 10am
Andrew Brennan (La Trobe University)
“Philistines, Barbarians and the Death of Intellect”
The philistines, according to some, are running rampant throughout the academy. If radical challenges to the status quo are an essential component of a healthy culture and vibrant democracy, and if intellectuals have an important part to play in the generation and testing of new ideas, then the question arises: Is Australia running out of intellectual resources? If the Universities have become places in which there is no space for intellectual freedom, then where will the resources be found for building the culture of innovation that is needed if we are to face the challenges that lie ahead?

Any queries can be addressed to Dr. Nick Trakakis at Nick.Trakakis@arts.monash.edu.au or by phone on (03) 9902 0016.

Bookings can be made online through the Melbourne Writers Festival website: www.mwf.com.au, or by calling the Festival Box Office at 1300 722 211