Café Philo was coined by teacher/writer Marc Sautetin Paris in 1992, although the concept goes back to the 1950s when characters such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir popularised cafés as venues for talk and debate.

Today, there are Café-Philos from Bristol to Bombay. Each is entirely independent with no affiliation to any overarching organisation. Some are in cafes but many are in pubs, community centres and other public spaces.

What do we do? We steer away (but not always completely) from current affairs. Instead, we choose and discuss topics that have challenged both our and many previous generations. For example: What is free will? What does justice mean? How truthful should we be?

We take the time to look into the topics before the meeting so we are better informed and we try to do justice to the topics with open discussion that is conducted with a spirit of tolerance. Often, there are no clear answers. Despite this, we usually leave our meetings feeling better informed.

We benefit from members who bring a lifetime of experience and different backgrounds and perspectives to our discussions. We welcome new members – and you don’t have to know anything about philosophy to join.

The dates for 2026 are: January 20, February 17, March 17, April 14, May 12, June 9, July 7, October 13, November 10 and December 8.