A Book Club For Ideas, Part II

So what sorts of things would be discussed and what’s the purpose? There is no intended outcome other than an intellectually rigorous conversation around a large, interesting topic, with no right answer.

There are five main branches of philosophy: the study of existence (metaphysics), the study of knowledge (epistemology), the study of action (ethics), study of force (politics), study of art (esthetics). As a simple starting point, a rotation with one session dedicated to each of these five areas in order would be a great start.

Some other specific ideas for topics for the first year might include:

• How one finds meaningful work.
• The two-party system in the United States.
• What will be obvious 10 years from now that we can’t see today?
• Affirmative action.
• Upward social comparisons.
• Family relationships.
• The purpose of higher education.
• Funding space exploration.
• Income inequality.
• Happiness.
• Executive actions by a US President.
• The meaning of life.
• Luck.
• Stoicism.
• Finding the Truth.
• Defining Beauty.
• Friendship.
• Donald Trump.

This list is far from exhaustive but gives a sense of the wide variety of issues to cover.