u3a

South Solihull

Philosophy (Group 2)

Status:Active, open to new members
Coordinator:
When: Monthly on Tuesday mornings 10:00
2nd Tuesday morning of the month
Venue: (contact coordinator)

There are four philosophy groups and Group 2 looks at topics with a scientific theme.  (Group 1 discusses general topics in philosophy, Group 3 followed a "Crash course" to get into the subject, and now Group 4 is following the same path.)  New members are welcome to join the most appropriate group.  Contact one of the co-ordinators to just come and see what it's like, and if you might be interested. 

The image above is "The Philosophers" by Pietro della Vechia, showing Ptolemy and Euclid, Greek philosophers of science. The image is in the public domain via Wiki Commons, and the original hangs in the Christ Church Gallery, Oxford

In Group 2 we don't follow a formal training course and we are not led by a tutor. We have studied the Philosophy of Science and discussed various science oriented topics - The Mind, Time, a scientific approach to religion, and various issues in Bio-Ethics.  We revisited the basics of philosophy of science in "50 Philosophy of Science Ideas you really need to know" by Gareth Southwell.  We have read to Richard Dawkins' "The Selfish Gene".  We have studied the philosophy of maths and Time and Bioethics. We discussed the Reith Lectures on AI. We completed a course on the ​Philosophy of Cognitive Sciences.  We have read Jim Al-Khalili's "The Joy of Science" ​and followed Daniel Chamovitz' Coursera lectures on plant biology.  We went back to AI and looked again at consciousness, moving on via left- and right- brain thinking to Kahneman's System 1 and System 2 thinking.  We have been studying cosmology and wondering whether theories about the origins of the universe are science, or just another creation myth, and we followed that with a look at Religion and Science.  After a few different topics we returned to time. We then took a deep dive into AI and its implications and what constitutes life. We are looking further into genetics and epigenetics.

Forthcoming meetings

Tuesday 9th June 2026
10:00 - 12:00
Meeting
Why we have Emotions (continued)
We will explore the series of Gresham Lectures by Professor Robin May further
Venue: Member's home

Past meetings

  • Maurice Merleau-Ponty: Embodied Cognition.

    Merleau-Ponty was a psychologist, philosopher and educator who refuted the mind-body duality of Descartes and pointed out that we cannot stand outside the world but can only observe it as a part of it.

  • Should Science ever be stopped?

    Should science ever be stopped? And does AI mean the end of humanity or is it just the next evolutionary step?

  • Evil, and The Problem of Evil

    We examined Evil; what is it and why would God let it happen?

  • Religion and Science - their Interaction

    We discussed “Religion and Science” - their Interaction. Science is about how things work and religion is about how to live your life.

  • Philosophy Group 2 Blogs Archive

    Archive of Blog Posts through 2024 This is a work in progress to archive all past meetings

  • Philosophy of Religion and Science

    The Form, evolution and natural laws of our universe essential to life seem so unlikely - was there a designer? What has religion ever done for us?