What do we think is the problem?
In today’s increasingly divided and fast-paced world, there seems to be little time or place to grapple with life’s big questions. Questions like:
- Who am I?
- How should I live?
- What is the nature of good and evil?
- What can I do to combat injustices?
- What is the nature of love, family, and friendship?
Questions like these are as relevant today as they have been for centuries, but it can be hard to find a community or a space where they can receive the attention they deserve. Conversation has become increasingly polarized: social media, which was meant to bring us together, is instead driving us apart, rewarding argument over dialogue and conflict over collaboration. The dominance of the STEM disciplines – whose value we rightly recognize – has sidelined other, equally important forms of creative and intellectual exploration, like philosophy, art, literature, and history.
Our Solution
At Being and Becoming, we believe that taking these questions seriously is key to our intellectual, psychological, and emotional well-being. We offer spaces to explore the big questions together in a spirit of collaboration and mutual inspiration.
We view philosophy as one of the main tools for exploring these questions. However, far from confining ourselves to the world of academic philosophy, we aim for a diverse representation of disciplines among our leadership, our audience, and our guests, who include artists, teachers, writers, as well as philosophers. We aim to highlight and explore the work that is being done in academic and non-academic spaces to build stronger connections in the community.
We are committed to listening and learning from the desires, needs, and interests of our members. We seek to offer a diverse range of events, including lectures, open mic nights, discussion cafes, and more. For a variety of learners, we want to meet people where they are and offer what is most valuable. In other words, there’s something for everyone.
Since September 2023, we have made significant progress toward our goals, including:
- The launch of Curiosity Café, a public bi-weekly philosophy cafe “on the questions that matter”
- Our bi-weekly newsletter
- Our Instagram, the hub for all things Being and Becoming! We poll our community, receive feedback and suggestions for future events, and keep our community up to date with what we are up to
As a registered non-profit, Being and Becoming has begun pursuing even more of our goals in building a community around philosophical inquiry in Toronto. In the near future, we look forward to collaboration with other groups and communities in the city, beginning a highschool lecture series, hosting open mic nights for our community members, and throwing an annual summer philosophy festival!
To learn more about what we are up to and what we have planned next, visit our Events page!