Philosophy
We have two philosophy groups, both of which started as beginners, one (currently known as Topics in Philosophy) in January 2003, the other (Introduction to Philosophy) in December 2008. We take a broad view of "philosophy", including within the term the history of ideas and culture, and the meaning of life, as well as the narrower scope as dictated by academic philosophy.
Both operate in a similar manner, with members reading a chapter of a nominated book before the monthly meeting so that, with group members bringing ideas and interests from a wide variety of backgrounds, we can balance wide participation with (occasionally) coherent discussion of important topics. We are more concerned that members should develop their own views than that they should be taught correct ones.
Both groups started with a general introduction to philosophy, following Nigel Warburton's clearly written Philosophy: the Basics.
The longer established group has followed a course of study in the history of philosophy from the Ancient Greeks to the 20th century using Bryan Magee's accessible, illustrated, but non-trivial, The Story of Philosophy. To cater for our wider interest in the history of ideas, we also looked at some influential thinkers who are not considered primarily as philosophers, such as Darwin, Freud, Jung and Durkheim. This group has reverted to studying the subject by topic, using Roger Scruton's challenging Modern Philosophy: an Introduction and Survey.
Some of our more experienced members are presenting a stream of talks on philosophy (the pre-Socratic philosophers, William of Ockham, and Karl Marx) at the Wokingham U3A Study Day in July 2009, and we hope this will provide an opportunity to meet members of neighbouring U3A groups with an interest in philosophy.
Hugh Davis, February 2009