Sydney’s Philosophy in the Café - Philo Agora

Every Second Tuesday at 7:30 pm, Fair Trade Coffee Company, 33 Glebe Point Road, Glebe.

Tuesday, May 19, Derek Maitland - "Is Anything Really Real?"

Derek Maitland, journalist and author, is one of the founding members of Philo Agora. Derek has proven to be one of our most popular presenters with his talks always entertaining and thought provoking.

For centuries, one of philosophy's fundamental debates has swirled around what is real and what is unreal in our existence. Is our physical world real,or is it simply a manifestation of our unique perceptions? Indeed, can anything in our existence be proven to be an absolute reality?

Come early from 6pm and join the regulars in a meal before the presentation. Philo Agora's home is the Fair Trade Coffee Company at 33 Glebe Point Road.  This is a coffee house with its own particular ambience offering specialty fairtrade coffee and a relaxing spot to sit around and talk with new friends, both before and after the Philo Agora talks.  It is located close to the Parramatta Road and can be easily reached by public transport.  Take advantage of the free, three hour parking in the Broadway shopping complex.

Our format is a talk relating to a philosopher, philosophy or philosophical theme, for 20 minutes. The presenter then answers any questions of clarification from the floor. We then take a break of 10 minutes for more coffees and to mull over the talk and discuss it within small groups. The microphone is then passed around the audience in turn for comment, opinions, and often counter argument to a maximum of 3 minutes. The presenter is then given a 5 minute right of reply.

We have recently added both Mary Hendrick and Sam Alexander's talks to our website. We are also in the process of revamping our site with a view to adding a blog facility which should help in the interaction of members.

We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday.

Regards,

Peter, Sam, Hazel & Cara.