We engage together in, and record for broadcast, our earnest philosophical dialogues, so that we may:

  1. Enhance our understanding of life and the world in which we live.
  2. Stimulate intellectual curiosity and philosophical exploration in ourselves and others.
  3. Strengthen our intellectual skills of critical thinking and sound reasoning.
  4. Provide a forum for a diversity of thought from a broad spectrum of independent thinkers.
  5. Connect with and form a network among thoughtful and caring individuals, everywhere.
  6. Enjoy the pleasures of intellectually stimulating and philosophically insightful company.
  7. Promote the pursuit of wisdom in everyone.


Civility - Treat everyone with respect. Use helpful, not hurtful language. Listen carefully and patiently when someone else is speaking.

Sincerity - Honest opinions and innocent questions are more valuable than "scoring points" or "looking smart". Strive for intellectual honesty.

Soundness - Favor sound reasoning over emotional rhetoric or sophomoric obfuscation.

Succinctness - Strive to be brief and to the point using understandable language. Speak loud and clear so others can hear.


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Thursday, July 31, 2003

Past Topics of Cville Socrates Cafe

Here is a list of topics we discussed at our Socrates Cafe meetings between 2000 and 2003:
(highlights of some topics have been posted previously)

2003
07/30 How can we live fully, knowing death is inevitable?
07/23 What value can we find in silence?
07/16 What is it that compels us to be unique and at the same time just like everyone else?
07/09 What is the authentic self and where does it come from?
07/02 What is authority and why do we resist it?
06/25 What is the role of religion on our culture today?
06/18 Is science the only universal religion or link among us?
06/04 What is the sanctity of life and when, where, and to whom does it apply?
05/28 Is Nature Important?
05/21 What is the relationship between non-conformity and self-actualization?
05/07 Does God really exist?
04/16 Should Nations be held to the same standards of behavior as individuals?
04/09 How can we return to a path toward spiritual wholeness?
04/02 Why is it so hard to be totally honest?
03/26 How does a passionate person guard against crossing over to zealotry?
03/19 Why is there not enough time for the fun stuff?
03/19 (Off-topic topic about "going off topic".)
03/05 What should one do if they discover their government is corrupt and evil?
02/26 Why don't people listen to reason?
02/19 What is the point of humor? Why do we laugh?
02/12 What is the nature of creativity?
02/05 Is democracy truly compatible with freedom?
01/29 What is passion?
01/22 What is the nature of dreams?
01/15 Why is voyeurism so compelling?
01/08 How do you know when your government has gone too far?

2002
12/18 Is polyamory ethical?
12/11 Do we need leaders? What is leadership?
12/04 What is our purpose in life?
11/27 Where do questions come from?
11/20 How do we know what we know? How do we make decisions?
11/13 Can shared spiritual beliefs reduce violence?
10/30 How does language affect thinking?
10/23 How do you create a participatory democracy?
10/9 What is being versus having in a capitalist culture?
9/25 Who owns planet earth?
9/11 What does peace mean to you?
8/28 What is competition versus cooperation?
8/14 What is the balance of good and evil?
7/24 What is a perfect world?
7/10 How do we know ourselves? change ourselves?
6/26 Do good and evil co-exist?
6/12 How do we make choices?
5/22 Is language disintegrating?
4/24 Is religion a source of conflict?
3/27 What is more important than the truth?
3/13 What is imagination versus knowledge?
2/27 What is emotional versus rational?
2/13 On a jury, what are the ethics of lying?
1/23 What is enchantment?
1/9 What is truth?

2001
12/26 Is romantic love possible or even viable?
12/12 Are we prisoners of our emotions?
11/28 What is the root cause of terrorism?
11/14 What is loyalty?
10/24 What is art?
9/26 What is scientific evidence?
9/12 What is appropriate response to violence?
8/22 Is human life sacred?
6/27 Is there reality outside of perception?
6/13 Is America free?
5/23 What is worth it?
5/9 What is karma?
4/25 What are the advantages of philosophy?
4/11 Is there a difference between science and religion?
3/28 Is it honorable to deceive yourself?
3/14 How do we know what is not natural evolution?
2/28 What is home?
2/14 Are moral codes shifting?
1/24 What is the source of power in government?

2000
12/13 Is the idea of utopia useful today?
11/8 What is reality?
10/25 What is morality?
10/11 What is guilt?
9/27 What is power?
9/13 How do we manifest?
8/9 What is love?
7/26 How do we know what we know?
7/12 What is absolute value?
6/28 What is happiness?
5/31 What is fun?
5/17 Is there justice?

Thursday, July 03, 2003

What is authority and why do we resist it?

Highlights from our meeting on 07/02/03
  1. Where does authority come from?
  2. Does authority come from position or title?
  3. What is the relationship between authority and power?
  4. Is authority and power the same thing?
  5. Doesn't authority imply more than just power?
  6. Doesn't authority imply some kind of social structure?
  7. Doesn't authority imply a power to enforce some kind of social order or structure?
  8. When we resist authority, are we resisting the social order?
  9. Isn't there a natural drive or desire to be free from restraint?
  10. Do we resist authority because authority always demands some kind of individual restraint?
  11. Do we resist all authority?
  12. Do we resist more restrictive authority more than less restrictive authority?
  13. Is there such a thing as legitimate authority as opposed to illegitimate authority?
  14. Do we resist illegitimate authority and not resist legitimate authority?
  15. What would characterize legitimate authority?
  16. Is legitimate authority, authority that we willingly submit to for the greater good?
  17. Does legitimate authority also imply competence to perform some public good in the position of authority?
  18. Would an example of legitimate authority be a ship's captain, skilled in navigation and crew management?
  19. Wouldn't we acknowledge the authority of a captain on his own ship?
  20. To be legitimate, doesn't the authority have to be accepted by the group as a whole?
  21. Don't people need to "buy into" the authority, for the authority to be legitimate?
  22. Then couldn't some individuals feel the need to resist authority that the majority sees as legitimate?
  23. Is the legitimacy of authority, then, an individual judgement?
  24. Do I have to recognize someone's authority over me, just because others do?
  25. But doesn't authority, conferred by a group, empower that authority over everyone in the group?
  26. Whether or not you recognize someone's authority over you, don't you still have still have to recognize their power, if they have been empowered by the group?
  27. But what about power that does not come from group consent?
  28. In totalitarian societies, isn't power derived from police or military force rather than democratic consent?
  29. In these societies, aren't the "proper authorities" a source of fear and abuse rather than skilled, competent, public service?
  30. Who wants to be turned into or scrutinized by the "proper authorities" in such societies?
  31. Hasn't the word "authority" itself been corrupted by oppressive political systems?
  32. Isn't it a common propaganda technique to coopt language to put up a false facade of legitimacy?
  33. Doesn't the true meaning of the word "authority" share its roots with "authentic" and authorship"?
  34. Doesn't true authority come from a kind of authenticity of character and authorship in a particular area of competence?
  35. Don't we use the word to refer to an expert in a particular field?
  36. Can't someone be an authority on native American culture or the mating behavior of the pacific salmon, for example?
  37. So shouldn't an authority in government be an expert in governing?
  38. Wouldn't an expert in governing be skilled in persuading citizens to act in the public good?
  39. Wouldn't such a skilled and competent authority recognize, as a wise parent might, the utility of leveraging the innate drive or desire within individuals to live a meaningful life?
  40. Doesn't living a meaningful life inevitably involve some kind of service to others?
  41. Isn't the use of violence or the threat of violence, on the other hand, the hallmark of unskilled or less skilled governing?
  42. Isn't another hallmark of such unskilled governing, tremendous tension between the governing and the governed?
  43. Doesn't this tremendous tension between the governing and the governed make such a government unstable in the long run?
  44. Don't such systems generally reach a breaking point and come to a catastrophic end?
  45. But isn't some tension between individual and authority, even "legitimate" authority, inevitable?
  46. Isn't it right and appropriate for individuals to resist, to a greater or lesser extent, authority that is, to a lesser or greater extent, competent?
  47. Isn't this resistance precisely the kind of feedback authority needs in order to correct itself over the long run?