I used to run two, but now run one Zoom-based discussion group. Both are/were loosely related to the blog in the sense that people active on the blog tend to be members of one or the other group, and in the sense that we tend to continue our group discussions on the blog. But that’s a broad generalization, not an absolute. This page houses information on both. The philosophy group, MTSP, has room for maybe one or two more members, so if that sounds of interest, drop me a line at khawajaenator at gmail. Both groups presuppose a professional-level degree of familiarity with the subject-matter.

Mc-Cormick-Taber Seminar in Philosophy
This discussion group has been kicking around in one form or another since 2002, well before the creation of the blog in 2014. In its current form, it meets monthly (usually on a Sunday night), has 4-5 members, and focuses mostly (not exclusively) on Anglophone analytic philosophy of the last few decades, usually (not exclusively) in ethics and political philosophy. Though we’ve covered a fair bit of ground over the decades, the group’s meeting schedule has typically operated in fits and starts (as has its membership)–on for a few years, off a year or two, etc. At some point, I’ll reconstruct MTSP’s full history, but for now, here’s a listing below of what we’re reading, and a blog post explaining how the group got started.

2025
Nov 9, 7 pm ET: Milton Friedman, “The Methodology of Positive Economics,” from Essays in Positive Economics (Chicago: 1953).

Aug 31, 7 pm ET: Ole Rogeberg, “Taking Absurd Theories Seriously: Economics and the Case of Rational Addiction Theories,” Philosophy of Science 71:3 (2004).

July 20. 7 pm ET: Louis Kaplow and Steven Shavell, “Conflict Between Notions of Fairness and the Pareto Principle,” Harvard Law School/NBER (1999).

June 8, 7 pm ET (ad hoc session), Irfan Khawaja, “Kalven’s Complicit Executioners: A Critique of the Kalven Committee Report,” preview of my talk at Heterodox Academy (scroll down to p. 22 of the PDF for the abstract). Text of the Kalven Committee Report. Video of my presentation at Heterodox Academy Conference, June 2025.

February 16, 7 pm ET: Friedrich Hayek, “The Use of Knowledge in Society,” American Economic Review (1945); recommended reading, Kevin A. Carson, “Economic Calculation in the Corporate Commonwealth,” Foundation for Economic Education (2007).

Ordering for choices after Friedman: Gregory Mellema’s Complicity and Moral Accountability (Irfan), Michael (TBD), David P. (TBD), Roderick (TBD), John (TBD), Eric (TBD).

2024
Philosophy of Law (Roderick’s choice): the latter half of Fuller’s Morality of Law, plus H.L.A Hart, “Positivism and the Separation of Law and Morals,” Harvard Law Review 71:4 (1958); Lon Fuller, “Positivism and Fidelity to Law,” Harvard Law Review 71:4 (1958); and Ronald Dworkin, “Philosophy, Morality, and Law: Observations Prompted by Professor Fuller’s Novel Claim,” University of Pennsylvania Law Review 113 (1965).

Classic works in social science (Eric’s choice): Ronald Coase, “The Problem of Social Cost,” Journal of Law & Economics (1960), and Harold Demsetz, “Information and Efficiency: Another Viewpoint,” Journal of Law & Economics (1969).

And (John’s choice): Philip Pettit’s Republicanism: A Theory of Freedom and Government.

2023: Gerald Gaus, The Tyranny of the Ideal (David Potts); Lon Fuller, The Morality of Law, chs. 1-4 (Roderick).

2021-2022: George Sher, Desert (Irfan); H.L.A. Hart, The Concept of Law (Roderick); T.M. Scanlon, What We Owe to Each Other (Michael); Lisa Tessman, Burdened Virtues (David Riesbeck, waiving turn to Irfan).

2018-2019: Michael Huemer, The Problem of Political Authority; Jason Brennan, Against Democracy; David Estlund, Democratic Authority; David Riesbeck, Aristotle on Political Community.

Health Care Discussion Group
This discussion group began in August 2022 and lasted until November 2023. I may revive it at some point. As the name suggests, we focused on broadly normative issues in healthcare. Though much of what we discussed overlaps with bioethics and business ethics, the group was intended more for health care professionals rather than for theorists, and focused on matters of clinical/logistical/professional detail that were somewhat “down in the weeds” from a philosophical perspective. Though currently on hold, here’s a link to the some of the blog posts on health care.

October 21, 2023: Discussion of Arnold Kling and Michael Cannon, “Does the Doctor Need a Boss?” Cato Briefing Papers 111 (Jan. 13, 2009), and Kenneth Arrow, “Uncertainty and the Welfare Economics of Medical Care,” American Economic Review 53:5 (December 1963), pp. 941-973.
May 30, 2023: Discussion of Paul Starr, The Transformation of American Medicine, chapter 5, “The Coming of the Corporation.” 
January 21, 2023: Suleman Khawaja, “Burnout in Healthcare”
August 20, 2022: Irfan Khawaja, “Hospital EVS: Toward a Research Program”

Last revised: November 9, 2025