Society For Philosophical Inquiry
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Society For Philosophical Inquiry
The Society for Philosophical Inquiry (SPI) is a non-profit organization devoted to propagating a version of Socratic inquiry through the establishment of regular meetings. Based on their different settings, they are called Socrates Café, Philosophers' Club, these meetings take place all over the world. The purpose of these meetings is to facilitate discussion of philosophy. Christopher and Cecilia Phillips co-founded SPI in 1998. The Society is funded through a grant from the Whitman Institute in San Francisco History SPI is a grassroots 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 ...
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Non-profit Organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in contrast with an entity that operates as a business aiming to generate a profit for its owners. A nonprofit is subject to the non-distribution constraint: any revenues that exceed expenses must be committed to the organization's purpose, not taken by private parties. An array of organizations are nonprofit, including some political organizations, schools, business associations, churches, social clubs, and consumer cooperatives. Nonprofit entities may seek approval from governments to be tax-exempt, and some may also qualify to receive tax-deductible contributions, but an entity may incorporate as a nonprofit entity without securing tax-exempt status. Key aspects of nonprofits are accountability, trustworthiness, honesty, and openness to eve ...
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Socratic Inquiry
The Socratic method (also known as method of Elenchus, elenctic method, or Socratic debate) is a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presuppositions. It is named after the Classical Greek philosopher Socrates and is introduced by him in Plato's Theaetetus as midwifery ( maieutics) because it is employed to bring out definitions implicit in the interlocutors' beliefs, or to help them further their understanding. The Socratic method is a method of hypothesis elimination, in that better hypotheses are found by steadily identifying and eliminating those that lead to contradictions. The Socratic method searches for general commonly held truths that shape beliefs and scrutinizes them to determine their consistency with other beliefs. The basic form is a series of questions formulated as tests of logic and fact intended to help a person or group discove ...
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Socrates Café
Socrates Café are gatherings around the world where people from different backgrounds get together and exchange philosophical perspectives based on their experiences, using the version of the Socratic Method developed by founder Christopher Phillips. The groups model their discussions from the 2001 book of the same name by Christopher Phillips and a guide he also developed. Today, there are hundreds of such gatherings, coordinated by volunteers, worldwide.Socrates Café official website
the official website of the Socrates Café movement


History

Socrates Cafés began in 1996, when Christopher Phillips, then a freelance writer and editorial consultant, desired to in some way build on the legacy of historical thinkers. He proposed Socratic dialogues with anyone who wished to become more empat ...
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Philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some sources claim the term was coined by Pythagoras ( BCE), although this theory is disputed by some. Philosophical methods include questioning, critical discussion, rational argument, and systematic presentation. in . Historically, ''philosophy'' encompassed all bodies of knowledge and a practitioner was known as a ''philosopher''."The English word "philosophy" is first attested to , meaning "knowledge, body of knowledge." "natural philosophy," which began as a discipline in ancient India and Ancient Greece, encompasses astronomy, medicine, and physics. For example, Newton's 1687 ''Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy'' later became classified as a book of physics. In the 19th century, the growth of modern research universiti ...
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Matthew Lipman
Matthew Lipman (August 24, 1923 in Vineland, New Jersey – December 26, 2010 in West Orange, New Jersey) is recognized as the founder of Philosophy for Children. His decision to bring philosophy to young people came from his experience as a professor at Columbia University, where he witnessed underdeveloped reasoning skills in his students. His interest was particularly on developing reasoning skills by teaching logic. The belief that children possess the ability to think abstractly from an early age led him to the conviction that bringing logic to children's education earlier would help them to improve their reasoning skills. In 1972 he left Columbia for Montclair State College to establish the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children (IAPC) where he began to take philosophy into K-12 classrooms in Montclair. That year he also published his first book specifically designed to help children practice philosophy, '' Harry Stottlemeier's Discovery''. The IAPC ...
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Robert Coles (psychiatrist)
Robert Coles (born October 12, 1929) is an American author, child psychiatrist, and professor emeritus at Harvard University. Early life, education, and military service Born Martin Robert Coles in Boston, Massachusetts, on October 12, 1929, to Philip Coles, an immigrant from Leeds, England, United Kingdom, and Sandra Young Coles, originally from Sioux City, Iowa. Robert Coles attended Boston Latin School where he played tennis, ran track, and edited the school literary magazine. He entered Harvard College in 1946, where he studied English literature and helped to edit the undergraduate literary magazine, ''The Harvard Advocate''. He graduated magna cum laude and earned Phi Beta Kappa honors in 1950. Coles originally intended to become a teacher or professor, but as part of his senior honors thesis, he interviewed the poet and physician William Carlos Williams, who promptly persuaded him to go into medicine. He studied medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Su ...
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Roger Williams University
Roger Williams University (RWU) is a private university in Bristol, Rhode Island. Founded in 1956, it was named for theologian and Rhode Island cofounder Roger Williams (theologian), Roger Williams. The school enrolls over 5,000 students and employs over 480 academic staff. History The university’s operations date to 1919, when Northeastern University (Boston, Massachusetts), Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, opened a branch campus in the YMCA building in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1940, the YMCA board of directors began directing the school, and the YMCA Institute granted its first associate's degrees in 1948. In 1956, the institute received a state charter to become a two-year, degree-granting institution under the name of Roger Williams Junior College. During the 1960s, Roger Williams College began granting bachelor’s degrees. Needing a larger campus, the college purchased of shore, waterfront land and moved its main campus to Bristol in 1969. (RWU ...
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Jacob Needleman
Jacob Needleman (October 6, 1934 - November 28, 2022) was an American philosopher, author, and religious scholar. Needleman was Jewish and was educated at Harvard University, Yale University, and the University of Freiburg, Germany."Bio: Jacob Needleman"
website
He was deeply involved in the Gurdjieff Work and the Gurdjieff Foundation of San Francisco. He was a Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Religion at and is said to have "popularized the term 'new religious movements'." He was a former visiting professor at the Duxx Gradu ...
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Lincoln Philosophy Café
Lincoln Philosophy Café (LPC) is an open society for philosophical and topical discussion based in Lincoln (United Kingdom). It was founded on 29 June 2009 by James Taylor-Foster and has run continuously at the Angel Coffee House in central Lincoln since. According to the website, it is "a forum for listening, exchanging ideas and forming new opinions", as well as being "Lincoln’s only well established, free of charge, open topical & philosophical discussion group". In September 2011, Joseph Bell started facilitating Lincoln Philosophy Café meetings before Matthew Misiak began facilitating in September 2012. The 3rd anniversary of the Lincoln Philosophy Café at the Angel Coffee House was held on Monday 4 June 2012. Organisation The Lincoln Philosophy Café is a not-for-profit organisation and membership is completely free of charge to ensure that it is accessible to all. Registered with the Society for Philosophical Inquiry, the Lincoln Philosophy Café bases its core ideal ...
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Philosophical Societies In The United States
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some sources claim the term was coined by Pythagoras ( BCE), although this theory is disputed by some. Philosophical methods include questioning, critical discussion, rational argument, and systematic presentation. in . Historically, ''philosophy'' encompassed all bodies of knowledge and a practitioner was known as a ''philosopher''."The English word "philosophy" is first attested to , meaning "knowledge, body of knowledge." "natural philosophy," which began as a discipline in ancient India and Ancient Greece, encompasses astronomy, medicine, and physics. For example, Newton's 1687 ''Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy'' later became classified as a book of physics. In the 19th century, the growth of modern research universities ...
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