NOTICE: October 2012: This group has relocated from New York to San Francisco. Prior meetings were held in NY but future meetings are being held now in SF. **** The purpose of this group is to read a philosophical text and then have some great, engaging, thought-provoking discussion about it in an appropriate public or private venue. Please also check out our sister group: SF Film & Philosophy, where we watch and discuss films in light of a text: http://www.meetup.com/cinephile/ **** "To philoso …

Meet other intellectually oriented gay men for spirited and intelligent discussion of current events, history, philosophy, politics, social trends, pop culture, etc.

Semantic Garage is at the cutting edge of semantic and natural language processing. It's where new web companies in the semantic space can showcase live demos and where open discussion and debate about the future and philosophy of semantic technologies emerge.

This group is an experiment, and partly a selfish one. I just finished grad school, moved out to the city, and finally have had some time to really explore what it is that I want out of life. And, shit! This stuff can be *difficult* to grapple with. For example, how do we achieve true happiness? What does "success" mean? What are the implications of mortality on daily life? Can we care more about the rest of the world than we currently do? Where the *hell* is Waldo? If you're in your twenties …

If you are interested in establishing an active Humanist organization in San Francisco and the East Bay, please join this Meetup.  As meetings and events are organized, you will be invited.  We envision discussions, speakers, social activities and events to work for a better world.  For those who may not be familiar with humanism, below is the Humanist Manifesto III, which describes what many Humanists believe. HUMANISM AND ITS ASPIRATIONS Humanist Manifesto II Humanism is a progressive philosop …

Poetry, short stories, plays, novels, history, philosophy, science, not necessarily in that order, classics that are worthy of discussion, current and past, western and non-western, these are the works we discuss. The discussion is what is most important. We discuss these works to enlarge our understanding of the ideas that shape our culture and gain a deeper appreciation for what it means to be human.

Poetry, short stories, plays, novels, history, philosophy, science, not necessarily in that order, classics that are worthy of discussion, current and past, western and non-western, these are the works we discuss. The discussion is what is most important. We discuss these works to enlarge our understanding of the ideas that shape our culture and gain a deeper appreciation for what it means to be human.

The Honorable Order of American Co-Masonry is a fraternity including men and women of every race, nationality and religion. Wishing to do away with all cause for division and strife, it continually seeks the means which to help all human beings to unite and work together for the perfection of Humanity. This discussion group meets monthly to discuss subjects important to humanity. From philosophy and religion to science, history and politics, this group ponders any subject which helps us to bett …

You thought I was going to say "Because the bible says so"... NOPE!!! What is science? Good science includes evidence that is testable, demonstrable, observable, measurable, repeatable, etc. So why do we insist on holding onto hypothesis like evolution when all we ever observe or demonstrate prove evolution is impossible. You won't find anybody saying "because the bible says so" in this discussion unless it comes from an evolutionist! lol No, here Young Earth Creationists pose hard facts already …

The purpose of this meet-up group is to take a step out of the modern world, our modern stresses and to get out in nature's finest. This could be backpacking, hiking, camping, and the occasional happy hours as well as other various random activities we can come up with. This is low pressure discussion based group, meaning the intent is chill and easy going, collaborative and will grow organically. Discussion topics could include anything of interest (from philosophy, literature, to the cosmos an …

This group is for people who love to read the New Yorker magazine. I love the New Yorker magazine. I generally love people who love the New Yorker magazine. So, I decided to have a meetup where likeminded people can get together once a month to talk about current events, life, and whatever else comes to mind. Whether you are one issue behind, three issues behind, or three months behind; whether you skip the fiction section or only read the fiction section, this Meetup is for you. By popular dema …

Does 19th-century French philosopher, Henri Bergson, haunt your dreams? If he were still alive (and ambulatory) would you be stalking him? If yes to either, check into a mental health facility immediately, or check out our group. Bergson rated immediate experience and intuition above rationalism and quantitative science. For this he won the Nobel Prize in 1924. Bergson was first and foremost a philosopher of Time and viewed time (motion) as something inherent to matter, not something added to it …

In the ongoing discussion regarding when to release an API, there is a growing consensus that the API should come early, if not first in the order of tasks to get from concept to fully functioning application. Some say that releasing the API immediately is like putting the cart before the horse, but the emerging popular view seems to say the opposite. Adopting what is now being called an "API-first" philosophy requires that we introspect more around the role of APIs What goals are we accomplis …

(1 minute video) This group is for people who value and enjoy deeper discussions with amazing people and who are also willing to rise to the occasion by joining us to help make these discussion opportunities an ongoing reality. The events held in this group are all about having fun nights of great people and 'deeper' discussions over dinner in a charming restaurant. This Meetup group was created by Glen Brauer as part of a non-profit global initiative using practical philosophy to bring togeth …

An informal conversational venue for those with an interest in Lacan that wish to be introduced to basic terms as well as those wishing to get a better grasp on Lacan through a variety of different disciplines. This meet up offers some structure in reviewing the actual writings of Lacan in order to ground these concepts in Lacan's project; a return to the Freudian nconscious. There is room to play with contemporary translations of Lacan to deal with our current political issues through Zizek and …

SFYD represents the interests of San Franciscans 35 and under. We are activists, legislative staff, students and young professionals that seek to promote and advance the ideals of Democracy. The San Francisco Young Democrats shall endeavor to stimulate in young people an active interest in governmental affairs, increase the efficiency of our government, maintain the viability of our free institutions, and contribute to the growth and influence of the ideals and philosophies of the Democratic Par …

Poetry, short stories, plays, novels, history, philosophy, science, not necessarily in that order, classics that are worthy of discussion, current and past, western and non-western, these are the works we discuss. The discussion is what is most important. We discuss these works to enlarge our understanding of the ideas that shape our culture and gain a deeper appreciation for what it means to be human.

For those of us who didn't go into academics in the humanities but wonder what it's like to teach a class, this Meetup is a chance to explore that road untraveled. Here's the idea: every month (or week?), one member makes up a syllabus for a class -- you know, like the ones we got in college, with the title of the course, a brief description, a reading list, an outline of the course's structure, maybe even the titles of individual lectures, etc. Print it out, make copies, distribute it at the me …

This is a group for anyone interested in talking about agape love (unconditional, pure, intense, universal love). Some discussions might involve the link between agape love and God, the tie between feeling love and being happy, the wisdom of different religions and spiritual traditions, the role of prayer and meditation in spurring internal change, etc. The group is just meant to be a forum for like minded and spirited individuals to get together and talk about things that interest them.