Welcome to Philo Agora

A  regular monthly  exchange of ideas on the issues facing ourselves and our world within a philosophical format.

We meet at the Last Drop Cafe, 538 Marrickville Rd, Dulwich Hill, on the first Tuesday of every month.  Cafe opens at 6.30 pm for light meals beforehand.  

Our Name

Agora in Greek, both ancient and modern, means market place or civic centre. A place where people gathered to buy and sell all kinds of commodities. The Agora of Athens, however, was also a place where people assembled to discuss many topics: business, politics, current events, or the nature of the universe or the divine. Because of this, the term Agora, has come to mean also a forum, a place or a gathering, physical or intellectual, where people discuss or argue matters of concern.

We name our group of philosophical discourse, ‘Philo Agora’, the connection of the Greek word ’Agora’ to the Latin/English word ‘Forum’ and ‘philo’ - short for philosophy.

Our Format

A talk of 20 minutes relating to a philosopher, philosophy or philosophical theme. The Chairman will take a few specific questions on the talk, then there is a 10 minute break. The Chairman then invites responses to the talk to a maximum of 3 minutes. The meeting closes with the speaker having the last word.

Cover Charge

We charge each attendee $8. You are given a ticket to trade at the counter for a coffee or a tea. The rest of the money goes towards the low maintenance costs of running Philo Agora.

Our Program

The program for the coming months is available on this website, on the home page.

We trust you can join us whenever possible!

The Philo Agora Organising Committee  

Philoagora is run by Sam Alexander, Peter Bowden and Hazel Popp. 

Peter Bowden's background is in institutional strengthening. Formerly Professor of Administrative Studies at Manchester University, he has worked with several international agencies, including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the UN agencies. He uses  this background to teach and write on ethics. He is an honorary research associate in the Department of Philosophy.  

Sam Alexander is a technologist.  He started workas a PMG technician in the 60's, a large systems computer engineer in the 70's, a money market systems consultant in the 80's, an equipment manufacturer in the 90's, a retailer in the 00's, and self-opinionated in the teens. He also holds degrees in divinity and theology.

Hazel is a hospital scientist with a speciality of Transfusion Medicine.  Running a Blood Bank in a major teaching hospital is a far cry from Philosophy,  demonstrating how an interest in philosophy does not require formal education in the field, but merely an enquiring mind. 

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