Meet other local fans of author Ayn Rand and her philosophy of Objectivism -- a philosophy of Reason, Purpose and Self-Esteem that holds human life on this Earth as the standard of all values and *your* life as an end in itself.

NOTICE: October 2012: This group has relocated from New York to San Francisco. Prior meetings were held in NY but future meetings are being held now in SF. **** The purpose of this group is to read a philosophical text and then have some great, engaging, thought-provoking discussion about it in an appropriate public or private venue. Please also check out our sister group: SF Film & Philosophy, where we watch and discuss films in light of a text: http://www.meetup.com/cinephile/ **** "To philoso …

Meet other intellectually oriented gay men for spirited and intelligent discussion of current events, history, philosophy, politics, social trends, pop culture, etc.

Q:  If you had to declare a manifesto for this group, what would it be? A: That philosophy is for everybody.  That, while it uses abstraction, its value rests on its concrete utility in everyday life.  For example, you don't have to know how to program a computer to benefit from one (though of course you can do more with it if you know how it works). Q:  I'm very busy ‐ what preparation is involved? A:  We do not assign reading, because we are interested in your original thinking.  As the the …

Thank you for joining my group. I'm looking forward to networking with you, and to meet with you at my events/workshops. The Greater Bay Area Photographer's Group has formed an Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom User Group and has partnered with the San Jose Creative Suite User Group to hold more meetings with Photoshop & Lightroom content. We are based out of Sunnyvale CA, but we will be doing joint meetings with other Adobe User Groups in addition to holding in-the field Photowalks at various loc …

Semantic Garage is at the cutting edge of semantic and natural language processing. It's where new web companies in the semantic space can showcase live demos and where open discussion and debate about the future and philosophy of semantic technologies emerge.

This group is an experiment, and partly a selfish one. I just finished grad school, moved out to the city, and finally have had some time to really explore what it is that I want out of life. And, shit! This stuff can be *difficult* to grapple with. For example, how do we achieve true happiness? What does "success" mean? What are the implications of mortality on daily life? Can we care more about the rest of the world than we currently do? Where the *hell* is Waldo? If you're in your twenties …

Poetry, short stories, plays, novels, history, philosophy, science, not necessarily in that order, classics that are worthy of discussion, current and past, western and non-western, these are the works we discuss. The discussion is what is most important. We discuss these works to enlarge our understanding of the ideas that shape our culture and gain a deeper appreciation for what it means to be human.

If you are interested in establishing an active Humanist organization in San Francisco and the East Bay, please join this Meetup.  As meetings and events are organized, you will be invited.  We envision discussions, speakers, social activities and events to work for a better world.  For those who may not be familiar with humanism, below is the Humanist Manifesto III, which describes what many Humanists believe. HUMANISM AND ITS ASPIRATIONS Humanist Manifesto II Humanism is a progressive philosop …

Poetry, short stories, plays, novels, history, philosophy, science, not necessarily in that order, classics that are worthy of discussion, current and past, western and non-western, these are the works we discuss. The discussion is what is most important. We discuss these works to enlarge our understanding of the ideas that shape our culture and gain a deeper appreciation for what it means to be human.

These are not your typical software engineering events.  BASE is focused on emerging technologies and creating events around topics that have never been attempted.  Events may be around such topics as Big Data, Machine Learning, Robotics, Nanotechnology, 3D Printing, Synthetic Biology, Artificial Intelligence, Computer History, Computer Vision, Augmented Reality (AR), and using software to create art. BASE creates events only possible in San Francisco and the Bay area with experts from all walks …

Poetry, short stories, plays, novels, history, philosophy, science, not necessarily in that order, classics that are worthy of discussion, current and past, western and non-western, these are the works we discuss. The discussion is what is most important. We discuss these works to enlarge our understanding of the ideas that shape our culture and gain a deeper appreciation for what it means to be human.

The Honorable Order of American Co-Masonry is a fraternity including men and women of every race, nationality and religion. Wishing to do away with all cause for division and strife, it continually seeks the means which to help all human beings to unite and work together for the perfection of Humanity. This discussion group meets monthly to discuss subjects important to humanity. From philosophy and religion to science, history and politics, this group ponders any subject which helps us to bett …

We are a group of students and professionals in the Bay Area, interested in exploring Gurbani and improving our lives for the better. {Typically every friday night 7:30 pm. Yes this is our idea of a night life ... btw some of the hang outs blend into movie nights. Though that is not the norm.} The best part about the weekly meetups is the awesome food the host prepares ( and yes one of the turns will be you too. Join at your own risk :) ) BTW in order to join all u need to bring is an attitude …

Do you want to feel good and improve the quality of your life, meeting likeminded people in the process? Do you enjoy reading books about Mind, Body and Spirit? Would you like to empower yourself with a proven, practical approach to life? Whether you're a beginner or have more experience with the Law of Attraction philosophy, the Law of Attraction Centre is perfect for you. The Law of Attraction Centre, first established in London, UK in 2003, is the largest and most talked about Law of Attracti …

The Bay Area Open Sangha exists to allow people to practice and study the Buddhadharma, the teachings of the Buddha, without concern for sectarianism or the historical lines between traditions of Buddhism. This is not to say that these lines are ignored and traditions are mixed without reflection or regard to their conflicts. The Buddha taught many ways to practice the Dharma and his teachings have come down over two and half thousand years to this day. Many of the differences in doctrine and pr …

Wonderfest’s Mission is to inspire and nurture a deep sense of wonder about the world. Through science education programs, Wonderfest aspires to stimulate curiosity, promote careful reasoning, challenge unexamined beliefs, and encourage life-long learning.  Wonderfest, the San Francisco Bay Area Beacon of Science, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. http://wonderfest.org http://facebook.com/wonderfest http://twitter.com/wonderfest http://www.youtube.com/tuckeroo11

Welcome to San Francisco I Liq Chuan practice group. The training is intended for students of all levels interested in learning the art. I Liq Chuan, martial art of awareness, is an art of cultivating consciousness based on Tai Chi and Zen principles, in other words the practice of moving meditation. The philosophy underlying I Liq Chuan involves the very simple concept of making an active choice to be fully aware of the present moment, by being aware of the sounds around you, your breathing, yo …

The purpose of this meet-up group is to take a step out of the modern world, our modern stresses and to get out in nature's finest. This could be backpacking, hiking, camping, and the occasional happy hours as well as other various random activities we can come up with. This is low pressure discussion based group, meaning the intent is chill and easy going, collaborative and will grow organically. Discussion topics could include anything of interest (from philosophy, literature, to the cosmos an …

What is a philosovert you ask ? It's a person who on one hand lives on the more introverted side but on the other still loves to discuss all kinds of topics with other folks. I have found that introverts more often than not have strong opinions about stuff but don't necessarily share them because they feel overwhelmed by "extrovies". I personally have a hard time discussing boring things like sports or cars since I simply cannot contribute anything. Yes, I'm that guy who brings up that one topic …

Does 19th-century French philosopher, Henri Bergson, haunt your dreams? If he were still alive (and ambulatory) would you be stalking him? If yes to either, check into a mental health facility immediately, or check out our group. Bergson rated immediate experience and intuition above rationalism and quantitative science. For this he won the Nobel Prize in 1924. Bergson was first and foremost a philosopher of Time and viewed time (motion) as something inherent to matter, not something added to it …

"Philanthrocapitalists see their donations as a means to creating a profitable solution to a social problem, attracting far more capital, far faster, and thus achieving a far bigger impact, far sooner, than would a solution based entirely on merely giving money away." (Bishop & Green, 2009) This is the underlying philosophy behind FOREXthropy; a mastermind group of FOREX traders who are passionate about high-impact, transformative philanthropy. At present we are looking to expand the group to in …

Studying and sharing the philosophies of Buddhism and Recovery

(1 minute video) This group is for people who value and enjoy deeper discussions with amazing people and who are also willing to rise to the occasion by joining us to help make these discussion opportunities an ongoing reality. The events held in this group are all about having fun nights of great people and 'deeper' discussions over dinner in a charming restaurant. This Meetup group was created by Glen Brauer as part of a non-profit global initiative using practical philosophy to bring togeth …

An informal conversational venue for those with an interest in Lacan that wish to be introduced to basic terms as well as those wishing to get a better grasp on Lacan through a variety of different disciplines. This meet up offers some structure in reviewing the actual writings of Lacan in order to ground these concepts in Lacan's project; a return to the Freudian nconscious. There is room to play with contemporary translations of Lacan to deal with our current political issues through Zizek and …

Desi Rationalists This is a group on rationality and how we incorporate it in our day to day lives as well as in our thinking. WHY DESI (Indian, (also includes-) of Indian origin)? Higher chances meeting people with similar experiences as yourself, Cultural relatability, Easy to organize discussions concerning India, and another parameter to restrict the size of this group if it ever grows big:)- This group will be suitable to you - - If you are either Indian or have Indian roots that have had a …

This group is to interest and introduce you to Breema's philosophy and practice. Breema® is a simple, natural form of touch and body movement supported by universal principles. The aim of Breema is to bring us to a tangible experience of presence that becomes our foundation for a new dimension of health, consciousness, and self-understanding. Breema provides a unique approach to experiencing body-mind connection. It offers a profound understanding of the underlying unity of all life that is expr …

Poetry, short stories, plays, novels, history, philosophy, science, not necessarily in that order, classics that are worthy of discussion, current and past, western and non-western, these are the works we discuss. The discussion is what is most important. We discuss these works to enlarge our understanding of the ideas that shape our culture and gain a deeper appreciation for what it means to be human.