virtual philosopher

Machiavelli to Mill course starting 4th Sept. 2014 Conway Hall, London

A six-session introductory course led by Nigel Warburton

Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL (a short walk from Holborn tube station)

maximum class size 35

teaching style: a mixture of lectures and discussion

No prior knowledge of philosophy assumed

This course runs for 6 consecutiveThursday evenings beginning 4th September 2014 (4th, 11th, 18th, 25th Sept, 2nd and 9th Oct)

The course will run from 8.10pm - 9.40pm  in the Bertrand Russell room for the first 4 sessions, and in the Library for the last 2. 

A mixture of short lectures and group discussion focussed on classic works of political philosophy exploring questions of continuing relevance that emerge from them. No prior knowledge of philosophy assumed. 

Topic covered include: Must political leaders have 'dirty hands'? What is the justification for having a state? What is property? Must a legitimate state have the consent of the people? Can you remain free while being part of a democray? What is alienation? What are the limits of individual  freedom of expression in a civilised society?

Week 1. Niccolò Machiavelli The Prince

Week 2. Thomas Hobbes Leviathan

Week 3. John Locke Second Treatise on Civil Government

Week 4. Jean-Jacques Rousseau The Social Contract

Week 5. Marx - The German Ideology Part One

Week 6. J.S. Mill On Liberty and The Subjection of Women

Full price for the course (6 sessions) is £100 payable in advance via the Paypal button below. Concessions (students, unemployed, OAPs, those who have already signed up for or completed the Philosophy: the Basics course) £80 using the drop down menu on the button.

Full Price/Concession

Full price £100.00 GBP Concession £80.00 GBP Option 3 £100.00 GBP

Suggested Background Reading (optional)

Jonathan Wolff An Introduction to Political Philosophy (an excellent readable topic-based introduction to the area).

Books covered in Machiavelli to Mill (suggested editions - optional. I'm not expecting you to read these books, but will suggest selections from them during the course)

 

 

Philosophy the Basics evening course

Philosophy: the Basics

A six-session introductory course led by Nigel Warburton

Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL (a short walk from Holborn tube station)

maximum class size 35

teaching style: a mixture of lectures and discussion

No prior knowledge of philosophy assumed

For further details of the content, see this Course Outline and Suggested Reading

This course runs for 6 consecutive Thursday evenings beginning 4th September 2014 (4th, 11th, 18th, 25th Sept, 2nd and 9th Oct)

The course will run from 6.30p.m. -  8 p.m. (doors open from 6.15pm) in the Bertrand Russell room for the first 4 sessions, and in the Library for the last 2.

The price for the 6-session course is £100 payable in advance via Paypal using the buttons below.  (concessions - full time students and unemployed - £80 use drop down menu on Paypal button)

Book now for Philosophy: The Basics course at Conway Hall

Full Price/Concession

Full price £100.00 GBP Concession £80.00 GBP

Street Philosophy - a one-day workshop led by Nigel Warburton, 21st June 2014

Walk along any city street and you'll be confronted by philosophical topics, whether you realise it or not. This one-day course/workshop in central London is a chance to learn about and discuss a range of philosophical topics that arise quite naturally from everyday life.

The event is led by Nigel Warburton (interviewer for the popular Philosophy Bites podcast and author of A Little History of Philosophy, Philosophy: the Basics, Thinking from A to Z, and many other books...including a forthcoming book Street Philosophy).

No prior knowledge of philosophy assumed. Small group discussions. Maximum class size 20.

Saturday 21st June 10-30am - 4.15 pm (doors open from 10 am).

Venue: 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW (a short walk from Great Portland Street and Oxford Circus tube stations). 

Comments on a previous workshop: 

'Absolutely superb day. I can't recommend it highly enough. Fantastic!'

'Thank you for a thought-provoking day. We loved it and can't stop talking about it"

'Thanks to @philosophybites for putting on such an engaging day' 

'What a great way to spend my Saturday.'

'Thanks Nigel for a very enjoyable and informative day'

 

Programme

10am doors open

10.30 am - 11.30 am Driving and Moral Luck. If a drunk driver through good fortune manages to get home without knocking a cyclist over we judge him or her differently from a reckless driver who kills a cyclist. But should we? It may be luck whether or not the driver hits a cyclist, and then whether or not the cyclist survives the collision. What does this show about our concepts of blame and responsibility? 

11.45am - 12.45 pm Street Art. What makes a Banksy a work of art? What does it mean to call it 'art'? Is the artworld right to charge such high prices for a genuine Banksy? If someone makes a copy of Banksy's stencil and sprays a few more copies of the work, are they art too? Can any mark on any wall be art?

12.45 - 2pm lunch (not provided, but there are numerous excellent cafés and restaurants nearby)

2pm - 3pm Rich and Poor. Rich and poor pass each other daily on city streets, but is it right that such significant wealth inequalities exist? Would they exist in a just society?

3.15 - 4.15pm Street Surveillance. Street surveillance is the norm in the UK, whether by the state using CCTV or by our fellow citizens with cameraphones, and soon with Googleglass. Should we care that we are being recorded? 

Booking. 

Price for Street Philosophy one-day workshop 21/6/14 = £60 (concessions: students, OAPs, unemployed £50).

NB All tickets booked in advance use concession price of £50

Street Philosophy

Full price £60.00 GBP Concession £50.00 GBP

You can also come to single sessions of Street Philosophy @ £15 each or 2 sessions @£25

1 or 2 sessions

1 session £15.00 GBP 2 sessions £25.00 GBP

Machiavelli to Mill 6 session course starts 29th April, London

 

Machiavelli to Mill - key works in political philosophy led by Nigel Warburton

Tuesday evenings 29th April - 3rd June 8.10pm - 9.40pm

The Cellar, The Betsey Trotwood (pub), 56 Farringdon Road, Clerkenwell, EC1R 3BL (a short walk from Farringdon tube station).

Class size 24 maximum

A mixture of short lectures and group discussion focussed on 7 classic works of political philosophy exploring questions of continuing relevance that emerge from them. No prior knowledge of philosophy assumed. 

Topic covered include: Must political leaders have 'dirty hands'? What is the justification for having a state? What is property? Must a legitimate state have the consent of the people? Can you remain free while being part of a democray? What is alienation? What are the limits of individual  freedom of expression in a civilised society?

Week 1. Niccolò Machiavelli The Prince

Week 2. Thomas Hobbes Leviathan

Week 3. John Locke Second Treatise on Civil Government

Week 4. Jean-Jacques Rousseau The Social Contract

Week 5. Marx - The German Ideology Part One

Week 6. J.S. Mill On Liberty and The Subjection of Women

Full price for the course (6 sessions) is £100 payable in advance via the Paypal button below. Concessions (students, unemployed, OAPs, those who have taken Philosophy: the Basics course) £80 using the drop down menu on the button.

Price/Concession

Full price £100.00 GBP Concessions £80.00 GBP

 

Suggested Background Reading (optional)

Jonathan Wolff An Introduction to Political Philosophy (an excellent readable topic-based introduction to the area).

 

Books covered in Machiavelli to Mill (suggested editions - optional)

Philosophy: the Basics course starts 29th April, London

Philosophy: the Basics course - Tuesday evenings 29th April - 3rd June 

A six-session introduction to Philosophy led by Nigel Warburton, author of A Little History of Philosophy, Philosophy: the Basics, Thinking from A to Z, Philosophy: the Classics, Free Speech: A Very Short Introduction, The Art Question etc., and interviewer for the Philosophy Bites podcast series.

A chance to think (and drink):

Where: The Cellar, The Betsey Trotwood, 56 Farringdon Road, Clerkenwell, EC1R 3BL (a short walk from Farringdon tube station).

When: Tuesday evenings 6.30pm - 8pm 29th April - 3rd June 2014

Style: A mixture of short lectures and discussion. Class maximum size 20. No prior knowledge of philosophy assumed.

How much? £100 payable in advance using Paypal links below (concessions - full time students, OAPs and unemployed - £80 use drop down menu on Paypal button)

Price/Concession

Full price £100.00 GBP Concession £80.00 GBP

Topics Covered in the Course

Week 1

What is Philosophy?

God Design and Evil

David Hume's Critique of the Argument from Design

 

Week 2

Three types of Ethical Theory

Aristotle's Virtue Ethics

Kant's Deontological Theory

J.S. Mill's Utilitarianism

 

Week Three

Practical Ethics

Sacrificing one to save many - The Trolley Problem

Peter Singer and the Life You Can Save

 

Week Four

Mind and Body

Descartes' Dualism

John Searle's Chinese Room Thought Experiment

 

Week Five

Science

Karl Popper's Falsificationism

Thomas Kuhn on Scientific Revolutions

 

Week Six

Art

Plato on Censorship

The Aesthetic Status of Forgeries

 

Background Reading

There is no compulsory reading for this course. You might find some of the books below useful. 

Thomas Nagel What Does It All Mean? (Oxford University Press)

Nigel Warburton Philosophy: The Basics 5th edn (Routledge)

Nigel Warburton A Little History of Philosophy (Yale University Press)

Julian Baggini The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten, and 99 Other Thought Experiments (Granta)

Stephen Law The Philosophy Gym (Headline)

David Edmonds and Nigel Warburton (ed) Philosophy Bites (Oxford University Press)

David Edmonds and Nigel Warburton (eds) Philosophy Bites Back (Oxford University Press).

For more detailed suggestions about introductory reading in Philosophy, see this interview for Five Books

 

Two New Courses: 'Philosophy Through Films', and 'Machiavelli to Mill'

Two new courses NB special price of £100 for those taking both courses - see below 

Philosophy Through Films - a 4-session course

To be held at 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1w 6UW

6.30pm - 8pm on Thursday evenings 3rd, 10th, 17th, and 24th of April 2014.

A 4-session course involving short lectures and discussion, led by Nigel Warburton. Students will be expected to view films on DVD before each session (Amazon links to DVDs below). Topics covered will include crime, punishmnent, free will and responsibility, amoralism, truth and perspective, and personal identity and memory. No prior knowledge of philosophy will be assumed. The four films we'll be focusing on are:

 1. Minority Report

2. Rope

3. Rashomon

4. Bladerunner (director's cut)

Price for course: £75 (£60 concessions)

Full Price/Concession

Full price £75.00 GBP Concessions £60.00 GBP

 OR Take both Philosophy Through Films and Machiavelli to Mill for combined price of only £100 (£80 concessions):

Full Price/Concession

Full price £100.00 GBP Concession £80.00 GBP

 

Machiavelli to Mill - a 4-session course

To be held at 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1w 6UW

8.15pm - 9.45pm on Thursday evenings 3rd, 10th, 17th, and 24th of April 2014.

A 4-session course involving short lectures and discussion, led by Nigel Warburton. We will be examing ideas from 5 key works of political philosophy. No prior knowledge of philosophy will be assumed.

1. Machiavelli's The Prince

2. Hobbes' Leviathan

3. Marx - The German Ideology

4. J.S. Mill On Liberty and The Subjection of Women

Price for course: £75 (£60 concessions)

Full Price/Concession

Full price £75.00 GBP Concession £60.00 GBP

OR take both Philosophy Through Films and Machiavelli to Mill for combined price of only £100 (£80 concessions):

Full Price/Concession

Full price £100.00 GBP Concession £80.00 GBP

 

Places are also still available on the Philosophy: the Basics course starting March 11th 

Philosophy Bites - audio player

You can listen to any Philosophy Bites podcast using the player below. To go back through episodes, click on the Menu button and select More Episodes

Philosophy Bites crossword puzzle - all answers are surnames of PB contributors

1                             2               3       4                                                           5                       6                                   7                   8                                                 9               10                 11                         12                                   13                         14             15     16                                                           17                         18                                                               19

 

ACROSS 4. A protestor grabbed his glasses when he spoke in Germany 5. Wittgenstein asked him where the milk was 7. He changed his mind about Mary 8. He's responsible for the themed lists of interviews 9. Bill Clinton was a fan of one of his co-written books 12. Roman Polanski based 'Bitter Moon' on his novel 14. This Knight used to discuss Descartes with Derrida 15. Virtual philosopher 17. Oenophile 18. She's appeared on the Colbert Report 19. Top blogger

DOWN 1. Mr Burns from The Simpsons? 2. Often to be heard on 'In Our Time' 3. John Rawls supervised this Baroness' doctorate 4. He was a member of the Cambridge Apostles 6. She was a headmistress in the 1960s 10. Chair of the Man Booker Prize panel 11. He advised the Spanish Government 13. Sceptical feminist 16. Winner of the National Books Critic Circle Award for biography

Philosophy, Death, and What Matters - a one-day workshop 22nd Feb. London

'Philosophy, Death, and What Matters' is a one-day philosopy event led by Nigel Warburton with a guest lecture on Montaigne and death by Sarah Bakewell (author of How to Live: Or a Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer) to be held on Saturday 22nd Feb in room C2.14 at 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW. 10.30am - 4.30pm

Programme:

1oam Doors open 

10.30 - 11.30 Death, Fear, Mortality (Nigel Warburton)

Epicurus on Fear of Death

David Hume's death, and his 'On Suicide'

11.30 - 11.45 break

11.45 - 12.45  My Own Death (Nigel Warburton)

Bernard Williams on Immortality

Jean-Paul Sartre on My Death and becoming Prey to the Other

12.45 - 1pm Recap of the day so far

1pm - 2pm lunch break (there are many excellent local cafés and restaurants)

2pm - 3pm Guest lecture by Sarah Bakewell on Montaigne and Death

Sarah is author of the superb How to Live: A Life of Montaigne

3pm - 3.20pm Break

3.20pm - 4.20pm  Death and the 'Afterlife' Samuel Scheffler's approach to death and what he calls 'the afterlife' (Nigel Warburton)

4.30 ends

 

Booking for the day is now open. The cost for the day is £50 payable in advance (£40 for full time students, OAPs, and unemployed).  

Full Price/Concession

Full price £50.00 GBP Concession £40.00 GBP

Some comments  on Twitter from participants on a previous one-day event ('Philosophy in a Day'):

 

'Thank you for thought provoking day. We loved it and can't stop talking about it.'

'Thanks to @philosophybites for putting on such an engaging day of philosophy. Will keep an eye on your future events '

'Absolutely superb day. I can't recommend this highly enough. Fantastic!'

'a really good day '

'What a great way to spend my Saturday! Nigel Warburton's Philosophy in a Day' 

'Thanks Nigel for a very enjoyable and informative day.'

You might also be interested in 'Philosophy: the Basics' a 6-session course led by Nigel Warburton. Further details here.

 

Philosophy: the Basics course - booking now open for course starting in March

Booking is now open for Philosophy: The Basics, a six-session introductory course led by Nigel Warburton starting on March 11th, 2014. Further details here.