The 220th lecture series
Season 2022/23
The Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow was founded in 1802, when the term ‘philosophy’ meant knowledge in the broadest sense. The Society provides stimulating lectures and discussion for members on a great diversity of topics.
Our 220th season has just ended, and we are now planning the lectures, member trips and events for next season, beginning in September 2022. You can learn more about us and peruse past lectures on this web site.
If you are someone who enjoys learning about what is happening in the world around you, being introduced to new discoveries and exposed to new ideas, and are not already a member, then join us and expand your horizons!
Previous eclectic, diverse lectures from leading figures

See Professor Lars Chittka's talk for the society "The Mind of the Bee" from January 2021. Bees have a diverse instinctual repertoire that allows the functioning of the beehive like a smoothly oiled factory, with different workers specialising in comb construction, climate control system, defence and foraging for nectar and pollen. However, the richness of bees’ instincts has traditionally been contrasted with the notion that bees’ small brains allow little behavioural flexibility and learning behaviour.
Watch now
When he receives an invitation to deliver a lecture in the Ukrainian city of Lviv, international lawyer Philippe Sands begins a journey on the trail of his family’s secret history. In doing so, he uncovers a series of unlikely coincidences that lead him halfway across the world, to the origins of modern international law, in the 1945 ‘moment’ and at the Nuremberg trial. ‘East West Street’: on the origins of genocide and crimes against humanity, on the individual and the group. See Prof Philippe Sands lecture for the Royal Phil.
Watch nowActive since 1802 to present day

0n the 5th November 1802, three Glaswegian gentlemen, John Roberton, William Douglas, and Peter Nicholson, acting on behalf of a number of others in the city who were ‘interested in the prosperity of the Trades and Manufactures of their country’, and anxious for ‘the improvement of the Arts and Sciences’ ...
Find out more
We are really excited to be moving into our new home (as soon as conditions allow) in the brand new James McCune Smith lecture theatre, part of the new development at Glasgow University. There we will have the latest facilities for our talks and social activities.
Learn moreMember activities

In March 2022, there was a very successful three day trip to York which was packed with interesting and informative visits and talks. The trip also provided an opportunity to meet with a similar organisation to ours, this being the Yorkshire Philosophical Society (YPS).
See more about the tripJoin the Society

Membership brings free access to all talks as well as other benefits. After each talk you can meet the lecturer and other society members over a glass of wine.
Membership brings free access to all talks as well as other benefits.
Learn
Listen to and participate in a wide variety of outstanding talks from our guest speakers.Support
Membership supports an institution which keeps the engaging, inspiring and lively activities of the society going for the next two centuries!Meet others
Meet like-minded people with a similar passion for learning and ideas.Recent Lectures
-
Why high blood pressure is the world’s number 1 killer
Prof Rhian Touyz
Professor Rhian M. Touyz is Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec. Prof. Touyz is recognized internationally as an…
-
British Academy Lecture: Fair work for our future?
Prof Patricia Findlay
Delivered by the most outstanding academics in the UK and beyond, the British Academy’s flagship lecture programme showcases the very best scholarship in the humanities and social sciences. The quality…
-
Scotland can prosper post-pandemic – the proof is in the Highlands.
Prof Lorne Crerar
March 23, 20227:30 pm - 9:00 pmThe establishment of Highlands and Islands Development Board in 1965 was at the time a unique experiment to improve economic and social conditions for the people of the Highlands and…
-
Diversity and its Reversals: reflections on half a century of change
Prof Sally Mapstone FRSE
March 9, 20227:30 pm - 9:00 pmProfessor Sally Mapstone joined the University of St Andrews as Principal and Vice-Chancellor in September 2016. She had previously served since 2009 as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Personnel and Equality and since…
-
The Thoughts the Civilized Keep: How to Reclaim Human Intelligence in an Age of Machine Thinking
Prof Shannon Vallor
February 23, 20227:30 pm - 9:00 pmProfessor Shannon Vallor I am the Baillie Gifford Chair in the Ethics of Data and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Edinburgh's Edinburgh Futures Institute, where I am also appointed…
-
An enduring art – Opera in Scotland
Alex Reedijk
February 9, 20227:30 pm - 9:00 pmRegister for live lecture here Alex Reedijk joined Scottish Opera as General Director in February 2006, following four years at the helm of the NBR New Zealand Opera. Prior to…