Is the study of philosophy in U3A serious or just for fun? Will Aitken

The meeting opened with small zoom breakout groups, where members can chat and make up for loss of social interaction in normal club meetings. In your correspondent’s breakout, the topics ranged from dog walking, through the joys of pet stroking to dangers from cattle.

President Irene Walker then challenged the members with her “ thing of the week”, providing up to 5 clues to guess the item; this time, she beat all members as turned out to be white hedgehogs from Alderney!

During Club Business, it was reported that the Christmas Sheet Quiz had raised over £400, with one winner coming from as far as Liverpool; the proceeds are to go to the “Lend with Care” charity, which helps budding entrepreneurs in the developing world.

Following club business, member Will Aitken gave a video Powerpoint Presentation entitled “Is the Study of Philosophy in U3A serious or just for fun?”. Will is a member of Cupar U3A (used to be called University of the Third Age) Philosophy Group, and using a mix of slides and videos, explained the wide range of topics covered by Philosophy, from both ancient philosophers such as Aristotle to modern thinkers like Michael Sandel and Richard Dawkins.

The Cupar U3A Philosophy Group discusses many aspects of philosophical thinking from the very serious to the just plain fun, exemplified in Will’s presentation by a video of “The Philosophers’s World Cup”, made many years ago by Monty Python of  BBC fame. With a group size of 14, and similarly sized waiting list, clearly many members of the Cupar U3A  Philosophy Group share Will’s enjoyment and challenge from tackling wide and often bizarre philosophical subjects.

David Sandford gave the vote of thanks after a number of member questions, most of which confirmed that philosophy must be fun!

The meeting closed with usual Rotary toast, after President Irene, inspired no doubt by the talk, gave members a very deep thought for the week.

Our next meeting will be back in St Andrews Golf Club for our Burns Night.