Quodlibet de Disciplina, III.2

A Philosophical Happy Hour on… anything pertaining to learning (disciplina)! The second installment in our Felictates de Quodlibet series for 2026, with a specific topic but an open field of questioning. Or, to put this otherwise: do you have any question whatsoever, or any idea of weight, so long as it pertains to learning that you want seriously to discuss with other people?

In the Scholastic university, renowned thinkers would regularly engage in open debate on questions posed by other scholars or students at the institution. Most often, these questions would concern a specific, pre-determined topic. From this we derive works such as Thomas Aquinas’ Quaestiones disputatae de Veritate and Quaestiones disputatae de Potentia Dei, etc. But sometimes, they would be completely open-floor: Quaestiones de Quodlibet, literally, “questions about whatever”. Here, this week, we are combining the two—taking a very broad topic, namely learning, and opening the field for any question that fits within that breadth.

We will of course, still be quite jovial (or try to be) in addressing this inquiry. Attendees are encouraged to think up any questions or challenges. To help stimulate that thinking, here are a few broad suggestions:

• Is it possible to teach someone virtue?
• Is learning more passive, more active, or a balanced combination of both?
• Should education be regulated?  How and by whom for what ends?
• Is this tweet true?  What does it really mean?
• How does technology change our patterns of learning?
• What does it mean to say “education is a habit”?

One is not limited to these considerations—which are mere suggestions, intended more to provoke than to define the course of our inquiry. You may bring in anything you wish to discuss! Early childhood pedagogy, adult learning, the study of languages, and so on and on—the questions are truly endless.

So if you have any inquiries to bring, and wish to ask them in a truly philosophical register, in a truly wisdom-seeking environment, join us this Wednesday, 8 April 2026! This is the tenth overall instance of the Felictates de Quodlibet; or, in honor of our forebears, we can identify this as the second quaestio of the third series—and we look forward to many more!

Nota bene: if you have come to previous Happy Hours, the link to join has changed! Be sure you use the new link.

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