26/04/2026
Could we cheat death by becoming fully digital? The metaphysics of uploading ourselves.
Some people believe that future technology will enable us to upload ourselves into a computer and live in electronic form. We won't need food or housing or furniture, and we will be immune to ageing and the usual causes of death. But is this really a coherent scenario? No one would suppose that future technology will enable us to convert bricks or trees into electronic code by uploading them. Is it any more possible to upload a human being?
Tuesday 26 May 2026, 7:30pm-9:00pm at the OSO
Speaker Prof. Eric Olson
https://osoarts.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173672142
Supported by the Royal Institute of Philosophy
Run Time 90 minutes (including Q&A and discussion)
26 May 2026
Barnes Philosophy Club 2026: Could we cheat death by becoming fully digital? The metaphysics of uploading ourselves. - Oso Arts
Supported by the Royal Institute of Philosophy.Speaker Eric OlsonSome people believe that future technology will enable us to upload ourselves…
06/04/2026
Can AIs be genuine epistemic agents? Can they know things? Do they base their outputs on evidence? Are they genuine inquirers? Are their outputs informative speech acts, or rather meaningless strings of symbols?
In this talk Mona will defend optimism about artificial epistemic agency and argue that epistemic agency emerges on the spectrum of functional normativity, and that we have overwhelming evidence to believe (some) Large Language Models instantiate rationality, justification, norm-governed inquiry, and informative speech.
Mona Simion is Professor of Philosophy and Michael Cohen Fellow at Exeter College, University of Oxford. Her work spans epistemology, philosophy of language, moral and political philosophy, feminist philosophy, and the philosophy of AI, and she leads major international projects on knowledge, evidence, and social epistemology.
Barnes Philosophy Club 2026: Do AIs know things? Artificial Epistemic Agency - Oso Arts
Supported by the Royal Institute of Philosophy.Speaker - Mona SimionCan AIs be genuine epistemic agents? Can they know things? Do they base…
29/03/2026
Can AIs actually know things? Are they rational agents that tell us things, rather than reproducing character strings they don’t understand? Join us with Prof Mona Simion of Oxford University on 21 April in SW13.
https://osoarts.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173672122
10/03/2026
Join us on 24 March to discuss T.E. Hulme, a philosopher and poet who was called “The First Conservative of the 20th Century”, and described by T.S. Eliot as “classical, reactionary, and revolutionary”. Prof. Derek Matravers will talk about Hulme’s view of human nature as deeply flawed, and therefore in need of external discipline, order and absolute values.
Book to join us at 7:30pm as the OSO Arts Centre, SW13
Barnes Philosophy Club 2026: Hulme, the Individual and the State: Prof. Derek Matravers - Oso Arts
Supported by the Royal Institute of Philosophy. Professor Matravers will be discussing the philosophy of T.E. Hulme, a philosopher and poet who…
31/01/2026
Join us on Tuesday Feb 24th to talk with Dr Kathryn Murphy about thinking in the seventeenth century - she'll talk about how Francis Bacon, John Milton and others responded to the "teeming, various, incorrigibly plural world".
https://osoarts.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173669821
07/01/2026
Barnes Philosophy Club | Enlightened Self-Interest – the Moral Philosophy of Adam Smith
A talk by, and discussion with Sean O’Connor
Wednesday 21 January 2026, 7:30pm-9:00pm at the OSO
Book now: Barnes Philosophy Club | Enlightened Self-Interest – the Moral Philosophy of Adam Smith
Supported by the Royal Institute of Philosophy
Supported by the Royal Institute of Philosophy
A major figure of the Scottish Enlightenment and perhaps the best known economist in history after Karl Marx, Adam Smith is arguably wrongly caricatured as only a dry champion of greed and selfishness, relying on an “invisible hand” to promote the general good while individuals rationally pursue their own ends. However, Smith was also a professor of moral philosophy in his early thirties, and his work highlighted the critical importance of empathy and conscience in laying out the arguments behind the modern state and its relationship with its people, in the tradition of similarly influential writers such as Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau. Sean O'Connor, who previously spoke at the Club about game theory in his talk 'How To Win At Life', will be discussing Smith's place in the explosion of 'social contract' philosophers who shaped societies after mass printing had directly led to the civil wars and uprisings that sparked the Age of Revolutions.
Sean O’Connor spent over 20 years as an advertising executive before becoming a serial entrepreneur, assembler of private equity projects, investor and corporate strategist. He has been the Chairman or director of a wide range of public and private companies. His acclaimed novel, The Prisoner’s Dilemma was published in 2013 and his latest series of books, The Secrets of Life: From Big Bang to Trump appeared in 2023. He lives in London and Somerset.
Please note that due to a clash, this talk will be taking place on a Wednesday.
Book now: Barnes Philosophy Club | Enlightened Self-Interest – the Moral Philosophy of Adam Smith
About the club
Barnes Philosophy Club is a public club, supported by the Royal Institute of Philosophy and the OSO that meets to talk with philosophers and discuss a wide variety of philosophical issues. We aim to promote a philosophical and thoughtful approach to everyday life, and to help connect the public with the thinking of professional philosophers.
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All the best,
Nick Aldridge
www.barnesphilosophy.org.uk
07880201682
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