Socrates Cafe Berkeley

The purpose of Socrates Cafe is to build a community that encourages people to think about their lives and provides a forum for doing so together. We start off each meeting gathering questions that have been on our minds. These questions range from "what is beauty?" to "does mental illness really exist?" to "what are the ramifications of the automobile on society?" to "is it ever okay to lie?" There are no guidelines for good questions beyond the interests of the group. We then spend about two hours delving into the question -- not really trying to answer it, but rather trying to see it from as many different sides as we can, investigating its assumptions, getting beyond pat answers and appreciating the depth and complexity of all the issues we encounter.

And that's pretty much it. The meetings are open to everyone. There is no agenda, no predetermined answers to the questions. People generally leave with new things to think about and a growing sense of community. And that's really the goal.

The original socrates cafe was started about 5 years ago by Christopher Phillips. You can get a greater feel for what it's all about by looking at his website. You will also find information there about other Socrates Cafes around the country.

In the Bay Area, there is a growing number of Socrates Cafes or like-minded discussion groups. The best place to keep up with events is at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SFBayAreaSocratesCafe. If you'd like to receive e-mail announcements about the meetings, send a request to Sean at seansturgeon@yahoo.com. Also, feel free to e-mail me with any questions or suggestions you may have: lnorin@yahoo.com.

Laura Norin

Information about Bay Area philosophical discussion groups
Examples of questions discussed
Socrates Cafe homepage (Center for Philosophical Inquiry)
More information about Socrates Cafes