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We now have over 400 ongoing gatherings around the globe coordinated by hundreds of dedicated volunteers who are deeply committed to making ours a more participatory and inclusive world. We at SPI are devoted to spreading forms of inquiry that enable and inspire each participant, within a group setting, to become a more autonomous and conscientious thinker and doer, a more expert questioner and listener. A paramount aim of ours is to inspire people who are curious, perplexed and filled with an insatiable sense of wonder, so they can dialogue for discovery. We also strive to enable those who share our deep concern about the state and straits of civility and civic-mindedness to dialogue for democracy. And we are here for those who subscribe to the Socratic ethos that the philosophically examined life can make for a richer existence. SPI co-founders Cecilia Chapa Phillips and Christopher Phillips are devoted to enabling, empowering and inspiring people -- particularly those at society's margins -- to articulate, explore, and further discover their singular philosophy of life, and to develop and contribute their unique talents and potentials. They believe that every person on this planet matters and counts. Countries like the U.S. even have documents that loftily declare this to be so. Yet such noble ideals all too often are mirrored by an ignoble reality. How can we better recognize the glaring gap and contradictions between the ideals we claim to espouse, and the actual ways of the world in which we carry out our works and deeds? How can we become inspired to bridge this gap ,and resolve these contradictions? How can we quit being so quick to label others, and to label ourselves, obviating the exhilarating possibility of greater self- and communal discovery as we rekindle our childlike but by no means childish questioning nature? By taking part, on an ongoing basis, with people of diverse human experiences, in a type of dialogue that opens up our imaginative, intellectual and empathetic lenses. By feeling a keener and deeper sense of connection to all members of human society on local and global scales. Our operating premise is this: As people of a bracing variety of ways of world-viewing and world-making come together regularly -- as they become more civil, even downright empathetic -- they will become more civic-minded; they will strive to become the change they aspire to see in the world at large. In this ongoing quest to widen the circle of thoughtful souls who cultivate a more acute social and intellectual conscience, SPI was formed to support these efforts, and to be a clearinghouse for information useful to individuals or groups with similar goals. Thanks to vital seed funding and ongoing support from the Whitman Institute of San Francisco, as well as the unswerving support of our hundreds of individual and institutional members, and the popularity of our workshops and presentations, we are able to move forward with our mission, and establish around the globe democratic communities of inquiry and encounter, which are typically called Socrates Café or Philosophers' Club -- the name is not nearly as important as the shared ethos of rational, reflective, egalitarian and empathetic inquiry.People.htmlshapeimage_7_link_0
SPI's advisory board includes kindred spirits as: Robert Coles, Harvard University professor, child psychiatrist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author; Roy J. Nirschel, PhD, President of Roger Williams University; Jacob Needleman, noted author and professor of philosophy at San Francisco State University; Michael Schwarz and Kiki Kapany of award-winning Kikim Media; Matthew Lipman, distinguished scholar and professor of philosophy at Montclair State University; Giancarlo Ibarguen, president, Universidad Francisco Marroquin, Academy for Educational Development; Clay Morgan,award-winning writer.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Coleshttp://www.rwu.edu/newsandevents/publicaffairs/media/peopleprofiles/rjn.htmhttp://www.jacobneedleman.com/http://www.kikim.com/http://www.kikim.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Lipmanhttps://www.ufm.edu/index.phphttp://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,1000023059,00.htmlshapeimage_8_link_0shapeimage_8_link_1shapeimage_8_link_2shapeimage_8_link_3shapeimage_8_link_4shapeimage_8_link_5shapeimage_8_link_6shapeimage_8_link_7
Click here to enter into SPI’s Homepage. Home.htmlshapeimage_9_link_0
nonprofit organization devoted to supporting philosophical inquirers of all ages and walks of life as they become more empathetic and autonomous thinkers who take active part in creating a more deliberative democracy. Its members strive to form and facilitate "democratic communities of philosophical inquiry". Their gatherings - which, depending on the setting , occasion and purpose, have such names as Socrates Café, Philosophers’ Club, bring together people from a wide array of walks of life and experiences. They take place in venues like parks, coffee houses, libraries, hospices, senior centers, nursing homes, prisons, plazas and other public spaces, bookstores, homeless shelters and community centers, libraries and schools.Socrates_Cafe.htmlPhilosophers_Club.htmlshapeimage_10_link_0shapeimage_10_link_1
Socrates Café online survey Participate in Christopher Phillips’ research project. Letter.html
Follow two steps to participate in the survey: Read the Information Letter Click the Take Survey button to start the survey. Questions? Email Christopher Phillips.Letter.htmlmailto:socratescafe@gmail.com?subject=Questions%20regarding%20the%20surveyshapeimage_12_link_0shapeimage_12_link_1
Click here to enter into SPI’s Homepage. Home.htmlshapeimage_14_link_0
Socrates Café survey Participate in Christopher Phillips’ research project. Letter.html
Walter Kaufmann website projectPhilosophy.htmlPhilosophy.htmlshapeimage_16_link_0shapeimage_16_link_1
How do I facilitate a Philosophers' Club for young people?http://www.philosopher.org/philosophers.pdfhttp://www.philosopher.org/philosophers.pdfhttp://www.philosopher.org/philosophers.pdfshapeimage_17_link_0shapeimage_17_link_1shapeimage_17_link_2