East London Philosophy Meetup on the Meaning of Words 22 October 2014

http://www.meetup.com/Philosophy-Off-Brick-Lane/events/213674282

The Meaning of Words

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  Wednesday, October 22, 2014

  7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
• 16 Padbury Court

  Shoreditch, London E2 7EH (map)
• "We are small finite creatures, but meaning enables us with the help of sounds or marks on paper to grasp the whole world and many things in it, and even to invert things that do not exist and perhaps never will. The problem is to explain how this is possible: How does anything we say or write mean anything – including all the words in this book?" 

  – Thomas Nagel, What Does It All Mean? A Very Short Introduction To Philosophy, p. 46 

  
  

  Materials for the session 

  This session is based on a chapter of Thomas Nagel's What Does It All Mean? A Very Short Introduction To Philosophy, which you can download along with a reading activity from the Philosophy Off Brick Lane website. You can also find some relevant podcasts there. Visit the Key Themes in Modern Philosophy page to access these and other materials. 

  How many people will there be and what will the classes be like?

  There is maximum class-size of 12 people (or 13 including the teacher). Although the emphasis is on structured discussion, there are different ways of taking part in a conversation. You can come to this session talk about the chapter from Nagel's What Does It All Mean? and the other material for the session. Or if you're not sure what you want to say about it, you can come just to listen. 

  How much do classes cost? 

  For the first few meetups, attendees can pay what they think the class is worth (or nothing at all). In the future, the cost of the class will be £10 for two hours.

I helpfully suggested the Confucian concept of Rectification of Names at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rectification_of_names but this was deleted, probably because it is is not within the established curriculum for academic philosophy whose intention seems to be the opposite of promoting practical wisdom or phronesis.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phronesis

Such a shame that the organiser has taken such a sudden dislike to me!

The reasons why may be divined at http://thevoiceofreason-ann.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/claire-khaw-asked-to-leave-philosophy.html