The Psyche Society is an aesthetic club that seeks to answer the question, “What is beauty?” Every two weeks, the President and the executive committee will put forward an aesthetic idea to debate. It will usually follow a format like “Is suffering beautiful?” or “Is nature beautiful?” The President gives a short introduction to the topic summarising the relevant literature. Then, three club volunteers put forward objects of beauty and well-thought-out arguments for why they are beautiful. Anyone can bring forward any object of beauty, whether artistic, performed, recorded, physical, bought, or stolen. Then, they give a presentation for what makes them beautiful, drawing on philosophy, aesthetics, or whatever human discipline they like. There are a few short questions after each presentation, and then, after the presentations, there is a general discussion where anyone can ask a question until the end of the meeting. The goal is to help members better find and understand the beauty in the world around them. At each meeting, the conclusions and key points of each discussion and contribute to the Psyche Society’s ethos for that year, which may be published as an annual review at the end of the year. Occasionally we will host events of beauty such as nature trips, music shows, plays, poetry readings and pub nights.

You can join, whoever you are, regardless of your academic background, ethnicity, race, religion or language. All the Society’s discussions are held in English, but works of other languages are eagerly welcomed if they are explained clearly. The Society is secular by design, but holds the literary ideal of the goddess Psyche as a symbol of its purpose. Thus, each meeting will begin with a symbolic President’s address to Psyche which members may take part in if they choose. The Psyche society welcomes all members’ beliefs, but has not a dust-mote of tolerance for discourse or acts that attack members in their person or for their belonging to a certain group. Neither do we tolerate any discourse or actions that undermine the effective functioning of the club. Violate these rules and you are out in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. The Society is driven by love for beauty, not to prove anyone’s intelligence or rhetorical skill. It prefers not to host people who only like to hear themselves talk. If you love beauty and want it to take up a greater part in your life, you’re welcome here.

The Psyche Society is, at its core, a group of friends and kind compatriots with whom a common enjoyment for beauty is shared. More details will appear close to the clubs fair and inscription date.