COMMENSAL ISSUE 103

1. PDG Gathering 2001
2. Mensa at Braziers, October 2000
3. PDGList
4. Philosophy for All - PFA
5. Royal Institute of Philosophy
6. PDG Web Page
7. Date of Next Issue (Commensal 104)

We now seem to have resumed normal service, and hopefully it will continue uninterrupted from now on ! Indeed, I've decided to get ahead of the game and issue Commensal 103 before the deadline (this is because I'll be out of commission for a couple of weeks from 26^th September - I hope this doesn't upset the plans of anyone hoping to make a contribution to Commensal 103 just before the deadline; as you'll see, we're full ! That said, I'm about to start a part time BA in Philosophy at Birkbeck College, London University, in addition to the day job, so life might be a little fraught for the next four years. We'll see how things go.

PDG Gathering 2001

As announced last time, Roger Farnworth & I need to get going organising next year's Gathering (note the change of name - this is deemed less forbidding than the more august term Conference). It will be on the subject of Consciousness and will be held at Braziers Park over the weekend of Friday May 4^th - Sunday May 6^th 2001, so please reserve these dates in your diaries. Hopefully in December's Commensal I'll be able to announce the draft programme of events - so if you want to speak - and I hope you will - please let me or Roger (on 01208 821 544) know as soon as possible.

I hope all goes well in early October with Jane Benn's Conference on Education. I also hope we'll in due course receive a summary from Jane or some other attendee. I expect still to be recovering from the uncomfortable after-effects of an operation, so won't attend. A slightly amended programme of events follows :-

This is the internet discussion group of PDG and invited guests. The list seems very active at the moment, with 45 members. If you don't want to be inundated with emails you can sign up as a "daily digest" member or a "web only member"; the latter option allows you to browse past emails on the web without them clogging up your inbox.

To join PDGList you need first of all to log on to http://www.egroups.com and sign up to eGroups. Then you need to apply to join PDGList itself. You can do this by initially doing a search on "pdglist" and then following instructions. Alternatively, and quicker (though you will thereby miss out on all the wonders of eGroups !), you can go directly to http://www.egroups.com/group/pdglist - again, you will need to join eGroups first (it will prompt you) - and then click on the "subscribe" link or button. Either way, I then need to accept your application. Once accepted, whenever anyone posts anything to the list, you will automatically receive an emailed copy of the posting (subject to the alternatives above). To post something yourself, just email to pdglist@egroups.com and everyone on the list will receive a copy.

Why not give it a go ?

Incidentally, for those who've signed up for PDGList, MS Word 97 versions of all the back-issues of Commensal since I've been PDG Secretary are available in the "Files" area at the PDGList website (http://www.egroups.com/group/pdglist).

NOTE : PFA has no relationship with PDG or British Mensa. See C100 (or http://www.pfalondon.freeserve.co.uk) for more details on PFA.

Kant's Cave : On every first Wednesday of the month, from 7pm (lecture at 7.30 pm) PHILOSOPHY FOR ALL meets at "Kant's Cave" for a lecture, debate and social evening. Kant's Cave meetings are now held at the cellar bar of The Penderel’s Oak, 283-288 High Holborn, London (3 minutes' walk from Holborn tube station). Door-charge: £1 (free for PFA members)

UPCOMING KANT'S CAVE LECTURES

The PFA at the Mary Ward Centre : Philosophy Debates are to be held approx. monthly on Saturdays 14:00 - 17:00; Dates : 14 October, 2 December, 16 December, 17 February, 3 March, 7 April, 19 May, 2 June, 9 June. There are also Public Lectures on some Saturdays 10:00 - 13:00; Dates : 28 October & 7 April. The Mary Ward Centre is at 42 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AQ. There is no fee.

Philosophy of Science Workshops (Filiz Peach) : Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, WC1R; 19:00 - 20:30. Tuesday 10^th October, Tuesday 14^th November, Tuesday 12^th December. Admission free.

Borders Bookshop, Oxford St.; Wednesday 11^th October. Ted Honderich debates with another contemporary philosopher (tba) some questions raised by his part-philosophical, part-autobiographical book Philosopher : a kind of life.

NOTE : The RIP has no connection to PDG or Mensa, but I can very highly recommend these lectures.

Further to the announcement last time about my web-site :-

http://www.kenrick-todman.freeserve.co.uk
or preferably
http://website.lineone.net/~theotodman

which has had rather a lot more gubbins crammed onto it over the last month, I've now set up the PDG web page at the similar alternative addresses :-

http://www.kenrick-todman.freeserve.co.uk/pdg.htm
or
http://website.lineone.net/~theotodman/pdg.htm

The site now contains 9 back issues of Commensal, including the 6 most recent ones. The advantage of the HTML versions is that they allow you to hop around between articles (useful for understanding the mixed-bag commentaries on previous issues).

Hopefully, we'll soon get the links from the Mensa web page, which should help advertise the SIG.

This raises the issue of privacy - we've mentioned this idea for some time, and I pointed out the fact that the site is open to anyone who knows the URL. Currently, not many do but eventually it'll become more widely known. I've probably adopted a rather cavalier approach in just bunging the back issues up there, and it may be that some people don't like the idea of people outside the group reading what they've written (no that this can be prevented - anyone in Mensa can ask for a newsletter). However, if you are sensitive about this issue, please let me know. I can either place your articles on the PDGList web-site (where only PDGList members can access them) or I can omit them altogether. I'd prefer this not to be requested frivolously as it involves me in extra work - but either is technically possible without too much bother, so if you are concerned, do let me know. In the future, I will assume that any article submitted for publication in Commensal is OK for placing on the web-site, unless you tell me otherwise.

You will note that I've made an attempt to return to commenting on the articles submitted, or at least on those early on in this edition of Commensal. Those appearing later deserve comment also, but space ran out. I also want to get this issue off for distribution so I can concentrate on my studies. I hope my remarks aren't too rushed and superficial.

The next edition of Commensal (C104) will appear in December. The closing date will be 15^th November 2000.

Might I just make one point - given my commitment at the moment, I will no longer have time to type hand-written contributions. My preference is for contributions to be emailed or sent on floppy disk. Otherwise neatly typed and printed using a good ribbon so that I can scan them in. I realise that some of you may not have this capability, so could I ask for a volunteer to offer their services as a typist for those who cannot do so themselves ?

Best wishes !