Lincoln Philosophy Café (LPC) is an open society for philosophical and topical discussion based in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * 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 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, Philos ...

, the Lincoln Philosophy Café bases its core ideal around the concept of informal discussion in a relaxed environment. For example, members are encouraged to not argue with each other but rather to engage in debate of which there is no right nor wrong. The structure of each monthly or fortnightly meeting has been radically changed since its formation.

Local interest

The Lincoln Philosophy Café has been given press attention, most recently in the

Lincolnshire Echo The ''Lincolnshire Echo'' is a weekly British regional newspaper for Lincolnshire, whose first edition was on Tuesday 31 January 1893, and is published every Thursday. It is owned by Reach PLC and it is distributed throughout the county. The ...

, where it was described as being "a great social event that allows people of any age to share ideas". In the past, the Lincoln Philosophy Café has also had guest speakers, which was also documented in the

, such as Dr. Euan Gallivan who spoke on

Arthur Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer ( , ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is best known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the prod ...

Facilitators

2009-2011 - James Taylor-Foster
2011-2012 - Joseph Bell
2012-2013 - Matthew Misiak
2013-2014 - Steve Marshall / Joseph Carson / Sophia Griffin-Yates

Foundation

Its foundation was inspired by the work of

Marc Sautet Marc Sautet (25 February 1947 – 3 March 1998) was a French writer, teacher, translator (mainly of Nietzsche), and philosopher. He was a Doctor of Philosophy (B. Litt.) at the Paris Institute of Political Studies. Sautet was a former Trotskyist w ...

at the Parisian

Café Philosophique A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

(at the Café des Phares on

Place de la Bastille The Place de la Bastille is a square in Paris where the Bastille prison once stood, until the storming of the Bastille and its subsequent physical destruction between 14 July 1789 and 14 July 1790 during the French Revolution. No vestige of the ...

). The idea of "a return to the basic principles of reasoning intended for the general public" is at the core of the structure of the Lincoln Philosophy Café, with anyone from anywhere welcomed.‘Free and open to all’ - http://philosophycafe.co.uk/free-open-to-all/ A diluted and uniquely evolved version of the

Socratic Method 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 ...

is encouraged to stimulate people to challenge others opinions informally and politely without causing argument.

References

External links

The Angel Coffee House, Lincoln
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lincoln Philosophy Cafe Lincoln, England Philosophical societies in the United Kingdom Public philosophy