Members of Mensa will gather in Oxford – birthplace of the High IQ Society – for a weekend of discussion and debate in March.

The society's Philosophical Discussion special interest group has organised the event, based at Wadham College from 28-30 March, offering members and their guests a chance a varied weekend of talks and social activity.

The weekend will focus on the 'age of change and progress' in the first half of the 19th Century, considering the works of philosophers Hegel, Mill and Schopenhauer and the great poets Keats, Byron and Shelley. Members attending will enjoy a talk on the continuing influence of Marx, and discussion groups on progress, moral dilemmas and political idealism.

Event organiser Roger Farnworth from Bodmin, Cornwall said: "It's the discussion rather than the information in the talks that I value. We develop our minds through dialogue and improve our ideas by respecting and engaging with others' views."

Members who have attended previous discussion weekends of this type have given feedback, including: "Wonderful company, and intellectual discussion"; "This is the kind of meeting I expected when I joined Mensa"; "Civilised exchange of ideas with thinking people".

Mensa was founded in 1946 in Oxford, and currently has around 24,000 members in the British Isles.

The society welcomes people from all walks of life, with the objective of enjoying each other’s company and participating in a range of social and cultural activities. The only criteria for Mensa membership is an IQ measured in the top two per cent of the population.

The society's aims are to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity; to provide a stimulating intellectual and social environment for its members; and to encourage research into the nature, characteristics and uses of intelligence.

Mensa Events 2008 >