connecting through philosophy

We all have some assumptions about how the world works. Examining these assumptions is what philosophy is really about. We can often find ourselves in a black and white world, especially on social media. The club offers participants an opportunity to develop a more nuanced look at the world, in a form of an open enquiry with other participants. Although the topics can sometimes be serious, the tone of the meetings will be light and fun. The Philosopher’s Hat Club aims to bring delight in thinking together and thinking well. It also hopes to answer a need for people to connect during times where physical contact and movement is restricted due to the COVID virus.

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Participants do not need to have any philosophical background to join the club, only the willingness to engage in a meaningful conversation.

About the club

The Philosopher’s Hat Club invites participants to put their philosopher’s hat on, and once a month to engage in a meaningful and facilitated conversation, about the world we live in, with other participants.

The Club is a joint venture between Creative Together and Tertulia, a bookshop Like no other, and the initiative is supported by Spot Lit EU in association with the Western Development Commission.  

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The meetings are facilitated by Lukasz Krzywon from Creative Together (in Cong, Co. Mayo) and Brid Conroy from Tertulia bookshop (Westport, Co. Mayo).  Both share an interest in philosophy and philosophical thinking. Lukasz is a philosopher, author, and educator. He is passionate about teaching children how to think well and about introducing important ideas using philosophical enquiry into Irish classrooms. He has trained with the best facilitators in Ireland and the UK. Brid, whose background is also in philosophy aims, to make a positive contribution to the way the world thinks through Tertulia, a bookshop Like no other.  Pre Covid Lukasz and Brid organised several events at the bookshop on issues relating to Climate Change, Philosophy, and Poetry. Since the first lockdown, they conducted a successful pilot for conducting meetings online and now run monthly events for over a year.  

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Our club was recently featured in The Irish Times in Unthinkable column by Joe Humphrey.

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Code of Conduct:

• We are all co-creating a safe space for thinking together on interesting topics. Participation is voluntary.

• Our meetings are not debates. We are not here to win in the discussion but to enjoy it.

• Our meetings are not opinion forums. Support your claims with arguments that can be challenged by anyone in the group.

• Respect all participants. Listen attentively. Speak respectfully.

• Try to be concise and to the point. Make space for others.

• No verbal or written (chat) abuse will be tolerated.

• If anyone breaks the rules, the facilitators hold the right to block the person or ask the person to leave the meeting.

• If you’re not happy about any aspect of the meeting please write to contact@creativetogether.ie with short feedback on what happened, so we can learn from it and make the events better. 

Regular monthly events

Monthly events introduce a different topic each time. The club aims to make those as relevant to the world we live in today as possible. Many threads in classical philosophy are still as valid today as they were before. And there are many issues and problems facing today’s world that require a deeper reflection in search of new solutions. Each topic comes with a recommended reading list of interesting books.

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The club launched its first event on the 4th of February exploring the theme of happiness during extreme circumstances.  The events are held on Zoom. Participants are expected to have a working camera and microphone. Don't forget a hat!

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About next event

#historyofideas

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The history of philosophy is as much a history of ideas as it is the history of philosophers and the zeitgeist of times they appear in. 

We'll look at some examples of ideas that are very yesterday, ideas that inspired many but are now obsolete, and yet still influencing our cultures, like a noble savage, blank slate, or ghost in the machine or ideas when put to test didn't work out well, like those of Marx. We'll also look at some examples of thinkers who had great ideas but were also proponents of other, rather dubious ethical ideas, or could be simply considered unethical people. Popper, Seneca, Marx, Arendt, Foucault, Decartes, Heidegger, Rand, Jefferson, Augustine, Freud, Nietzsche, Deleuze ... 

How can we trust philosophy and philosophers? Should one follow ideas and philosophers? How do we judge great ideas from bad ideas? What do we need philosophy and philosophers for? Should we cancel ideas if their originator is being canceled?

Tertulia, Bookshop Like No Other in Westport

Tertulia is a Spanish word for a circle of people who meet regularly to discuss literature, art, what’s going on in the world or just to gossip!

We all want to feel part of something and we envisage Tertulia as a space to reach out to people, provide a forum for stretching our assumptions about the world, enjoy a coffee, a glass of wine, a conversation or lose yourself in a really great book.

The mission of Tertulia, Bookshop Like No Other is therefore to contribute to a positive change in the way the world thinks. The vision of Tertulia is to live in a world where every story matters, to live in a world that understands that (our) stories are interconnected. It is this understanding that can help make our world a more equal society.

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Our bookshop stocks the books we ourselves would love to read and we do read many of them of course.  We have coffee to sit and chat, explore the world in a place surrounded by books.  We host authors and events where like-minded people can get together and at times over a glass of wine.