Cafe Philo in New York City in two weeks, Thursday, 7/15: Is atheism a viable position?

Cafe Philo in New York City will meet in two weeks, Thursday, July 15, 2010 with a discussion on the topic of "Is atheism a viable position?"

The suggested topics for the upcoming meeting and their votes:

1. Optimism vs. pessimism (4, 3)
2. Is there a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict? (3)
3. Why are we so poor at seeing the obvious? (4, 2)
4. What's wrong with our government? (2)
5. Is stupidity hardwired? (3)
6. Immigration (4, 1)
7. Does determinism entail predestination? (1)
8. Is atheism a viable position? (4, 4)
9. Is life a mistake? (2)

I have been acting as guest moderator lately. Bernard Roy has been attending this year as a participant.

We will probably continue to meet during the summer, although Bernard will be off, as usual, in the south of France.

Catch up with preparatory online discussions in the Yahoo! group for Cafe Philo NYC.

As usual, the meeting will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the back room at Bamiyan Restaurant (Afghan food) at the northwest corner of Third Avenue and 26th Street in New York City. In exchange for free meeting space, it is expected that each attendee will purchase a minimum of $5 of food or drink. A glass of red wine can be had for $6 (plus tax and tip.)

After winding down our discussion, we entertain and vote on proposals for the topic question for the next meeting.

There is also usually some number of attendees who go across the street to McCormack's Bar for drinks and food and extended discussion after Cafe Philo, but not limited to the scheduled discussion topic.

There are a number of small groups in the U.S. and Europe who meet regularly to discuss topics related to philosophy. Some of these groups go by the name "Cafe Philo." There is one here in New York City that meets every two weeks, every other Thursday. It is organized and moderated by Bernard Roy, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Ramapo College of New Jersey. Each meeting focuses on a specific topic which was suggested and voted on by the participants at the last meeting.

Also, there is an online discussion forum for the NYC Cafe Philo at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nycafephilo/

There is also a new web site for NYC Cafe Philo:  www.nycafephilo.org.

I have been attending the NYC Cafe Philo off and on since 2004. Previously I had attended the Cafe Philo in Washington, D.C. starting in 2001.

-- Jack Krupansky