Socratic Conversations @ Valltjärn, Stadsskogen

We're hosting a Socratic event in Stadsskogen! We wanted to create an open-minded discussion event in Uppsala where you can meet regularly to discuss life philosophy. Bring something to drink or a snack for yourself. Dress warm - it's still chilly in spring. We might make a fire and bring some tea to make it extra cozy. You can also bring something to draw or write with. For those who want to walk with us, we will walk from outside Himlen är blå som en apelsin in Rosendal at 17.45 sharp. If you're late, you can still meet us at Valltjärn in Stadsskogen.

Bring a question, vote on your favorite question, and share your personal experiences.

What you can expect:

• Discuss an open-ended question that prompts you to reflect and go deeper.
• Personal conversations that relate to your life, relationships, or topics we can all relate to as human beings.
• Gain insights into your personal life, emotions, values, and bigger questions in life.
• Moderated conversations that encourage reflection and where everyone is able to share.
• To have fun - after all, life is a silly place, despite all the seriousness, there's a lot of absurdity too!

What you won't find here:

• People jumping at or interrupting what you have to say mid-sentence. We raise our hands to volunteer our thoughts, and the moderator tries to distribute the word fairly.
• Debates where people try to win an argument or "find the right answer".
• Topics that require you to be a scientist or expert. This is a space to explore our own and others' personal experiences and thoughts around a topic, and to think together.

Our vision of Socrates

We encourage this to be a place of active listening and a stream-of-consciousness. We see this as a place to test out new thoughts and learn new ideas, letting go of past preconceptions and prejudices. We allow ourselves to stop and really think about what is said and to ask questions. Here, we actively think about our own feelings about a topic, our personal experiences, and why we think the way that we do.
We don't try to label each other or attack other people. We try to ensure we have a fair understanding of what others say. Our focus is not to change anyone's mind but to learn different ways to see things. We're 8 billion people on this planet - that's 16 billion eyes allowing us to see the world from a myriad of viewpoints. We don't need to label or describe an experience the same way, and we don't need to agree. The most important part is the connection that comes from understanding each other a little bit better.

Who was Socrates, and what does he do at our Cafe?

Socrates was an Ancient Greek philosopher who loved the pursuit of wisdom (philo-sophia), and did anything he could to reach new insights. Socrates was a fierce critic of Sophists or Wisdom teachers -- and saw them as people more concerned with sounding right, than being right. It's tempting, still today, to try to act or sound confident or sure, even when you have doubt, and a desire to impress people or win can keep us from really reflecting on a topic.

According to the stories, the ancient oracle of Delphi dubbed him the "wisest man" in the world because he realized that he didn't know anything. It can be easy to think, when you've studied for a long time, that you're smarter or better than other people, but Socrates lifestyle only taught him intellectual humility. He believed wisdom could be found in anyone, regardless of background or education. So instead of falling victim to arrogance, he fell victim to an insatiable curiosity and decided to devote his life to lifelong learning. What an ideal!
Sadly, he was sentenced to death -- accused of teaching young people independent thinking, an important skill in any society. So let's all channel the spirit of Socrates and see what we can learn from each other!

Practicals

Who we are

We don't yet have an organization or a manifesto; we're just normal people, but we hope we can create a nice community together. If you'd like to help or have ideas, send us a message!
We vote for the best question, and if multiple questions get the same number of votes, we do a second round to choose the favorite of the evening.,

Contact information

Send me a message on [Meetup.com](http://meetup.com/) with your phone number included to join our WhatsApp group! Unfortunately, due to spam, I can't put out a public link.

How to find us

We will meet by the fireplace and the little lake in Stadsskogen. For those who want to walk with us there, we will meet at the latest 15 minutes before (17.45) at Himlen är blå som en apelsin to walk there together. If you're late or want to go directly to Valltjärn, you can still navigate there using Google Maps.