Society
The Phil's rooms are in the Graduates' Memorial Building (commonly known as the GMB) in Trinity College, which it has shared with the College Historical Society (the Hist) and the College Theological Society (the Theo) since the building's construction in 1904. It holds most of its meetings in the GMB's Debating Chamber; meetings with an expected audience above two hundred are held in large college lecture theatres.
The Phil is traditionally a paper-reading society, and many meetings continue the format of responses to a paper rather than debate on a motion. Each year the writer of the best paper and the best chamber speaker are awarded with medals from the society. In addition to debate, the Phil provides facilities for its members such as games and a conversation room, and organises club nights, sporting events, blood drives, and other social events.
Read more about this topic: University Philosophical Society
Famous quotes containing the word society:
“All mothers need instruction, nurturing, and an understanding mentor after the birth of a baby, but in this age of fast foods, fast tracks, and fast lanes, it doesn’t always happen. While we live in a society that provides recognition for just about every life event—from baptisms to bar mitzvahs, from wedding vows to funeral rites—the entry into parenting seems to be a solo flight, with nothing and no one to mark formally the new mom’s entry into motherhood.”
—Sally Placksin (20th century)
“Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot.... How is it possible that society should escape destruction if the moral tie is not strengthened in proportion as the political tie is relaxed? And what can be done with a people who are their own masters if they are not submissive to the Deity?”
—Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859)
“The most unpardonable sin in society is independence of thought.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)