Pinner Philosophy Group

(Harrow, London)

Details of Autumn Term 2026

The Autumn term starts on Wednesday 23rd September 2026. Meetings take place in Pinner from 10am to 12.30pm. The group is open to all ages. The cost is £30 per term. You can attend two sessions before deciding whether to join. For details of how to pay the fee and for details of the venue please contact Paul Skidmore by email at paul_skidmore@yahoo.co.uk

The current programme is attached. Where appropriate, links will be made to contemporary issues in art, science, sociology, politics and philosophy.

AUTUMN 2026 PROGRAMME Knowledge & Belief
Wednesday 23/09/26	Logics	Peter K
Wednesday 30/09/26	Judicial Dilemmas	Jonathan
Wednesday 07/10/26	GUEST SPEAKER: Jainism	Anjay Punatar
Wednesday 14/10/26	Thick and thin in a post-secular age	Philip W
Wednesday 21/10/26	William James – and beyond	Patrick
Wednesday 28/10/26	HALF TERM
Wednesday 04/11/26	Mini – My most important beliefs & why	tbc
Wednesday 11/11/26	Hauntology & Derrida	David
Thursday 19/11/26	GUEST SPEAKER: Archaeology & Science	Prof. Dark
Wednesday 25/11/26	Conjectures and Refutations – Karl Popper revisited	Adrian
Wednesday 02/12/26	Aspects of Gender: Sexism/ Radcliffe Hall/Jungian male and female archetypes	Sheila/Laura/Alexis
Wednesday 09/12/26	Philosophers' Christmas	All
	END OF TERM

Location and times of sessions

Meets weekly at 10am Wednesdays

Venue: On request to Chairman

3 terms per year: spring, summer, autumn

Approximately 50 members

Further Details

Further information from:

Paul Skidmore 07930424520 paul_skidmore@yahoo.co.uk
Patricia Kliman  02084293862

Term structure

Each term usually consists of one or more philosophy strands.

Recent strands have been:

Philosophy of Mind

Theory of Knowledge (epistemology)

Aesthetics

Political Philosophy

Ethics

In addition, terms often include ‘one-off’ topics occupying one or two sessions. Recent examples are:

Play reading of Copenhagen by Michael Frayn together with presentation and discussion of philosophical questions raised by the play.

Presentation and discussion of the philosophy of individual philosophers, e.g. Pythagoras, Descartes, Rousseau, Kant, Nietzsche, Rawls, Nozick.

Presentation and discussion of key philosophical positions, e.g. phenomenology and logical positivism.

Presentation and discussion of wider philosophical topics in science and mathematics, e.g. special and general relativity and Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem.

Presentation and discussion of topics in religion, e.g. the existence of the soul.

Method of Presentation

Sessions are usually presented by a member of the group with interspersed discussion or by discussion at the end of the presentation.

The presenter may already have an interest in or professional knowledge of the topic. Topics selected for presentation are often based on chapters from one or more recommended books but are often researched in more detail. Group discussion occupies about half the session time.

There is a coffee break of about 15 minutes half way through the session.

Guest Speakers

Each term features one or two talks/lectures by professional philosophers or experts in their fields. Recent talks have been on:

Continental Philosophy

The Aesthetic Theory of Kant

The Penal System

Medical Ethics

The Nature of Time

Group Visits

The Group organises visits to events of philosophical interest. Recent visits or events attended have included: a lecture by Jürgen Habermas; visit to The Enlightenment Exhibition at the British Museum; visit to a Hare Krishna temple; theatre visit to see the play Galileo by Bertold Brecht.