What we’re about
A Summary of key concepts/points of Socrates Café™
• No background knowledge or studying is required.
• New habits of discourse with the primary purpose to become a more independent and thorough thinker and doer; a more expert questioner and listener.
• The aim is to create a more vibrant and participatory democracy and empathetic society, through a respectful exploring of the participants' various viewpoints.
• It is NOT a debate or exercise in pushing your viewpoints.
• Disrespecting other's views will not be tolerated.
• It is not enough to have the courage of your convictions, but you must also have the courage to have your convictions challenged.
We all philosophize. Whether it’s when we are asked for our ethical/moral opinion, or we ask ourselves “Why..?” or “What if..?” Never studied philosophy? Haven't read Nietzsche or Kierkegaard? Don't even know who they are? Then Socrates Café may be the philosophy group for you. It's an approach that takes philosophy "out of the ivory tower and back into the lives of ordinary people, where it belongs." It's where people from different backgrounds get together and exchange thoughtful ideas and experiences while embracing the central theme of Socratizing; the idea that we learn more when we question and question with others. ”Philosophy is a search for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means." We deal with questions which are abstract and very general.
Bring YOUR questions. Suggestions for discussion are submitted by attending members. These suggestions may be massaged so they are philosophical in nature (as described above.) They are then voted on be the attendees.You should vote for the questions that leave them feeling the least expert and the most curious and perplexed -- because those are most worth interrogating Socratically (whereas, if you choose a question in which you already think you know "the answer," it will be a very empty exercise). In a Socrates Café, just about any question can be grist for a meaningful dialogue. Or at least, virtually any question can be fine-tuned so it can be looked at in a philosophical way…
• Example 1 - A person wanted to discuss the execution of Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy McVeigh. The question was expanded to include other related philosophic important issues, and became: “Who owns human life?”
• Example 2 - People wanted to discuss the appropriateness of the Iraq war. To look at it in both abstract and concrete ways, and apply to wars in general, the question was framed as: "What is a just war?"
• Example 3 - To discuss the “gay marriage issue” in a philosophical way, and avoid an emotional charged debate, but that would still examine the issue thoughtfully and in a way in which gay marriage was looked at in the broader context of the institution of marriage as a whole, the question became: "What is an excellent marriage?"
The Concept: This inquiry is meant to create a more vibrant and participatory democracy and empathetic society. It is meant to be the exact opposite of the mindless types of debates and diatribes in which he/she who speaks the loudest and interrupts the most and browbeats the best and engages in the most frequent non-redemptive oneupsmanship "wins," whatever that could mean. Socrates Cafe is meant to cultivate new habits of discourse in which the primary purpose is to inspire each person within the community of inquiry further to cultivate and discover his/her unique point of view, nothing more and certainly nothing less. For this to take place, each participant must need and want to cultivate his/her capacity to become a more careful listener -- indeed, the ability to listen with all one's being to what other participants are sharing is the most important quality a Socrates Cafe-goer can have.
Socrates Café DOs and DON’Ts.
Do be an active and engaged listener. Respecting the ideas of each participant is a key element of a successful Socrates Café. Putting down others is absolutely taboo at a Socrates Café.
Do encourage participants to offer specific examples that back up what they take to be a universally accepted view. Support perspectives with cogent, well-constructed, reasoned views.
Do question the perspectives offered by others and try to examine any perceived logical inconsistencies. The collective goal is for all participants to become a more expert questioner.
Don't strive for consensus. It doesn't matter if everyone begins and ends a dialogue with disparate perspectives. There's never any need to try to force any sort of agreement.
Don't try to bring the discussion to any sort of artificial closure. A Socrates Café is considered a success when participants leave a discussion with many more questions than they had at the beginning.
Putting down others is absolutely taboo at a Socrates Café.
Socrates Café all started with Christopher Phillips’ book by the same name. (Socrates Café is available through libraries, and other suppliers of books.)
Official Socrates Cafe website: https://www.socratescafe.com/
Meetings are held at various days and times in around the Renton area.