Up@dawn 2.0

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Socrates in love, at the cafe

Here's another cartoon for you to re-caption. (I have this one on my office door.) Maybe that's Socrates, Alcibiades, Aristophanes and friends on their way home from the Symposium?

Our CoPhi discussions of Socrates, Plato, Platonic love, Higher Love, and human reality will echo the observation of M.M. McCabe, that our culture's almost forgotten how to have an amicable conversation in which everyday people get together
to discuss with others in this open-minded, open-ended way that allows them to reflect on what they think and us to reflect on what we think, without dictating, without dogma, without insistence, and without imperative... to be true to themselves: to be sincere about their beliefs and to be honest... and to have some respect for their companion.
Christopher Phillips was similarly inspired when he created Socrates Cafe,
gatherings 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.
The point is to foster mutual understanding, empathy, respect, and collaborative enlightenment, to break down barriers to communication, to go beyond the superficial plane of trivial and meaningless talk that so often characterizes our public exchanges, to put partisan prejudice aside and really listen to one another.

And, as with the great Gadfly himself, the point is to puncture the pretense that only a few of us really Know, and are licensed to engage in such discourse. No: philosophy is supposed to be for everyone. If more of us did it, well, what a world it could be.

We can talk across lines [of partisan division and mistrust] by talking about what we love, because a lot of us love the same things: our kids and grandkids, our country, the natural world, the idea that people should be able to get ahead in life. Then we can talk about our doubts, because we all doubt that what we love is being served well. Beginning a conversation with loves and doubts rather than political ideologies opens a new door to dialogue, driven by story-telling rather than political point scoring. ("Reclaiming 'We the People,' One Person at a Time")
This is the Socratic dream of one Parker J. Palmer, who runs retreats based on something he calls a Circle of Trust. Like Chris Phillips, he wants "to help people step back from the noise of modern life, reflect, and return more centered and effective in their vocations." 

"Talking about what we love": that's what Socrates was all about, at his ancient Symposium and in Phillips' Socrates in Love. Let's do it too.

8 comments:

  1. Section 8
    Group 1
    FQ= True or false? Socrates focused on individual acts rather than the whole life.
    DQ= Why did the Athenians choose to put Socrates to death rather than try to deal with their problems?

    This I believe essay= I found this essay an amusing read. It also provides an easy stress reliever. http://thisibelieve.org/essay/93808/

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  3. 12

    Lady: "Should we help or nah?"

    Guy: "Nah, let's just keep rubbernecking and hopefully not trip over these stairs."

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  4. 12

    Lady: "Should we help or nah?"

    Guy: "Nah, let's just keep rubbernecking and hopefully not trip over these stairs."

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  6. Section 12

    ♫ Got the club goin' up on a Tuesday ♫

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  7. See what happens when you think too much darling?

    008

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  8. Those ludicrous drunken Socrates.

    Section 12

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