Lectures and Events
Engage with the community through one of SFU Continuing Studies’ public lectures, events, or forums. Most are free, and admission is open to anyone. Some events require reservations.
April 2018
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Thu, 19 Apr 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Negative events can leave you with a cloudy view of the future.
On a clear day, what do you see? What kind of future do you want to live? -
Thu, 19 Apr 2018 7:00 PM
Russian Café | Do we need something supernatural in our life?
Guest: Boris Bychov -
Thu, 19 Apr 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | What impact has social media had on human behaviour? -
April 23, 2018
Don't Engage the Public... Before You've Answered These Six Questions -
Tue, 24 Apr 2018 6:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Are you plugged in?
How do you know? How do you check that your cord hasn't fallen out? -
Wed, 25 Apr 2018 2:00 PM
Gentle Yoga -
Wed, 25 Apr 2018 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | In Statistics Canada and the media, why are European Canadians labelled white, Caucasians or Westerners, African Canadians labelled black and Asian Canadians labelled Asians? -
Wed, 25 Apr 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Can extreme alterations of consciousness give us insight about ourselves and the world?
Do different kinds of knowledge exist? -
Thu, 26 Apr 2018 2:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | How do you live as, or live with, a highly sensitive person? -
Thu, 26 Apr 2018 6:30 PM
Teen Café | First-world problems.
Shedding light on the day-to-day issues youth experience and how they compare to the rest of the world. -
Fri, 27 Apr 2018 4:30 PM
Pop-up Café | How is social media changing the world? Are the impacts of digital communications more positive or negative?
May 2018
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Wed, 02 May 2018 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | Should digital democracy be maintained in our time of big data, censorship and surveillance? -
Thu, 03 May 2018 10:30 AM
Philosophers' Café | Social media: when can it have antisocial effects? -
Fri, 04 May 2018 12:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Poetic truth, or pretty falsehood? -
Mon, 07 May 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | What is your idea of community?
What are the characteristics that define a community and what are the requirements for membership? -
Mon, 07 May 2018 7:00 PM
Pop Up Cafe | Adrenaline junkies: Are they on to something?
How can we keep our lives exciting and not get bogged down in the day-to-day of our usual responsibilities? -
Tue, 08 May 2018 5:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Do we alienate ourselves from nature, others, our work and our own potential? How? -
Thu, 10 May 2018 9:30 AM
Liberal Arts and 55+ Program Meet and Greet -
Thu, 10 May 2018 10:30 AM
Philosophers' Café | What’s on your bucket list?
What experiences or achievements do you hope to have during your lifetime? How do you choose which ones are most important to you? -
Thu, 10 May 2018 7:00 PM
Looking back, Looking forward — Reflections on Housing Metro Vancouver -
Thu, 10 May 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Is it true that all human action is motivated by self-interest?
Some economic theories and many people assume that humans are essentially selfish. Is this view of human nature correct? -
Fri, 11 May 2018 12:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | Have we lost our appreciation and understanding of Western music and Western culture?
Does it matter? With guest musicians: C. Ridley, D. Marcinek, A. Khvatova and T. Khvatova -
Sat, 12 May 2018 3:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Siri, self-driving cars and robot vacuums: who is responsible if autonomous machines go berserk? -
Mon, 14 May 2018 9:00 AM
Executive Director Pro-D Day Conference 2018 -
Mon, 14 May 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | In what ways does gender shape one’s life experience? -
Tue, 15 May 2018 10:30 AM
Philosophers' Café | War: is it necessary?
Why do we have wars? Are there any good wars? What would it take to end all war? -
Wed, 16 May 2018 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | Is shame an effective parenting method?
How did the use of shame in your childhood impact your relationship with shame as an adult? -
Wed, 16 May 2018 7:00 PM
No One Should Have No One: Tackling Loneliness Together -
Thu, 17 May 2018 10:30 AM
Philosophers' Café | Inside Canada’s prisons: punishment or rehabilitation?
Do you think rehabilitation can be accomplished in our current incarceration system? What challenges does our system face? Guest: Neil MacLean, retired Correctional Service of Canada manager -
Thu, 17 May 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Angels, near-death experiences and the afterlife.
Given our heavily science-based understanding of life and death is there an equally science-based place for these other experiences? -
Thu, 17 May 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | What do immigrants contribute to Canada? -
Thu, 17 May 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | How does living in Vancouver affect your artistic practice?
What are the challenges and rewards of creating art in this setting? -
Thu, 17 May 2018 7:00 PM
Russian Café | The human rights movement in the USSR in the 1960s and 70s: evidence of eyewitnesses and participants.
The human rights movement in the USSR in the 1960s and '70s: evidence of eyewitnesses and participants. Guest: Dr. Michael Beletsky -
Thu, 24 May 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | What defines “art”? When someone refers to themselves as an “artist,” what do they claim to be? -
Tue, 29 May 2018 6:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | "Few are guilty, but all are responsible,” said rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. What does this phrase mean to you? -
Wed, 30 May 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Should the proliferation of internet piracy affect our legal and practical notions of copyright, ownership and creativity?
June 2018
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Mon, 04 Jun 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | How much discipline do we need in our lives?
Is it the same for each person? Does it make a difference if the discipline is applied externally or internally? -
Mon, 04 Jun 2018 7:00 PM
Pop Up Cafe | What are the rules you live by?
Where do they come from and do they change over time? -
Wed, 06 Jun 2018 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | Is traditional marriage on the way out?
Marriage as a formalized bond between two individuals is evolving. What is it being replaced with? -
Thu, 07 Jun 2018 10:30 AM
Philosophers' Café | How do we measure happiness? What are some major determinants and metrics? -
Fri, 08 Jun 2018 12:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | The aesthetics and musical language of the baroque period and the 21st century demonstrate key similarities and differences. Which era’s ideals do you feel are better?
With guest musicians: C. Ridley, D. Marcinek, A. Khvatova and T. Khvatova -
Sat, 09 Jun 2018 3:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | If you were a castaway on a desert island and could take eight things with you, what would they be?
What makes these things important enough to take? How do you choose? -
Mon, 11 Jun 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | What do you hope to learn or accomplish when you travel? -
Tue, 12 Jun 2018 5:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Is the mystery of life a problem to be solved or a reality to be experienced? -
Wed, 13 Jun 2018 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | Are you free to choose your future?
What is the role of personal responsibility in freedom and do we really have a choice? -
Thu, 14 Jun 2018 10:30 AM
Philosophers' Café | What does a vacation mean when you are a retired person?
Are vacations still necessary and how does their meaning change? -
Thu, 14 Jun 2018 7:00 PM
Philosopher's Café | Does it matter if we lose our capacity for long form writing and reading?
Research suggests that constant exposure to digital media changes how our brains process information. Will society be profoundly changed if books and reading disappear? -
Sat, 16 Jun 2018 1:30 PM
Free Forum | The Reality of Your Mortality: Using an End-of-Life Planning Checklist -
Tue, 19 Jun 2018 10:30 AM
Philosophers' Café | A good death: what does this mean to you?
Can you plan ahead? What are the constraints? -
Thu, 21 Jun 2018 10:30 AM
Philosophers' Café | Catch of the day: bring your favourite food for thought. The early worms get the fish. -
Thu, 21 Jun 2018 7:00 PM
Russian Café | Charles Chaplin: the great stranger.
Чарльз Чаплин: великий незнакомец. Guest Vladimir Ivanov, filmmaker -
Thu, 21 Jun 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | What are the pros and cons of urban densification? -
Thu, 21 Jun 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Mental illness, psychopharmaceuticals and the reconciliation of the mind-body dilemma.
Why have we so fully accepted the medical model of mental illness? -
Tue, 26 Jun 2018 6:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | “They say the seeds of what we will do are in all of us, but it always seemed to me that in those who make jokes in life the seeds are covered with better soil and with a higher grade of manure,” wrote Ernest Hemingway. What does this mean to you? -
Wed, 27 Jun 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | What can shamanic and neoshamanic practices and rituals teach us about the potential of the human mind? -
Thu, 28 Jun 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | How is social media changing human behaviour?
Does it change our social interactions and social relationships? How? Is it bad, or just different?
July 2018
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Wed, 04 Jul 2018 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | What is entheogen spirituality and how does it compare to organized religion? -
Tue, 10 Jul 2018 5:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Is there a difference between this world and nirvana? -
Fri, 13 Jul 2018 12:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | If the pinnacle of any civilization is its art and music, is Western civilization thriving, surviving or dying?
With guest musicians: C. Ridley, D. Marcinek, A. Khvatova and T. Khvatova -
July 14, 2018
A Day of Creative Commotion -
Sat, 14 Jul 2018 3:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Leave the hamster or miss the plane: where do we draw the line on emotional support animals?
Should we value animals based on their utility to us? -
Wed, 18 Jul 2018 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | How do our elected politicians effectively represent long-term societal interests when short-term re-elections prevent major societal shifts and initiatives? -
Thu, 19 Jul 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Given the rising levels of addiction and homelessness, what should we do?
Is differentiating between those who are homeless due to circumstances and those who are homeless due to poor choices a rational approach to the problem? Does everyone have a basic right to housing? -
Thu, 19 Jul 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | How do we encourage constructive, engaged citizenship? -
Tue, 24 Jul 2018 6:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | In the end, it is our own wholeness we must seek, and our only possible creation is ourselves; it is this realization that brings the sound of time’s winged chariot hurrying near.
Discuss what this means to you. -
Tue, 24 Jul 2018 7:00 PM
TWS Graduation & Reunion -
Wed, 25 Jul 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Do you experience anything you define as “magic” in your life?
How do you practise it? -
Thu, 26 Jul 2018 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | What are your comfort zones? Why do we have them?
How do we challenge ourselves to expand them and how does it feel to push against them?
August 2018
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Wed, 01 Aug 2018 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | Is it fitting or peculiar to offer university courses to prison inmates?
Is there an incongruity between incarceration and education, or does it make sense to bring university courses into a prison setting? -
Thu, 09 Aug 2018 7:00 PM
Philosopher's Café | Does "laid-back Vancouver" still exist?
Did a Vancouver "philosophy," "essence" or "spirit" ever exist? Does it have one now? -
Tue, 14 Aug 2018 5:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Antinomianism: is it acceptable to do what is conventionally forbidden to gain power or achieve what you desire? -
Wed, 15 Aug 2018 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | Is the quest for happiness legitimate?
Is it something we should pursue as a life goal or does it just happen? What are the key forces that we need to shape a happy life? -
Thu, 16 Aug 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | History: truth or alternative facts?
Given the fallibility of humans and our tendency towards image management, should we trust history as it has been recorded? -
Thu, 16 Aug 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | How do we renew our energy during our holidays? What approaches work best for you when you want to recharge? -
Sat, 18 Aug 2018 3:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Home school, public school or private school: if given the choice, what system would you choose?
What is your ideal school? -
Wed, 22 Aug 2018 6:30 PM
Philosophers' Café | The personal Panopticon of your psyche: have you internalized the expectations of the dominant culture? -
Tue, 28 Aug 2018 6:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | "In a superficial truth, the opposite is false. In a deep truth, the opposite is also true,” said physicist Niels Bohr. What are examples of this in your life? How do you reconcile this paradox? -
Wed, 29 Aug 2018 7:00 PM
Philosophers' Café | Going beyond the robot: can we overcome our tendency to go on autopilot in order to experience our everyday life as alive and sacred?