Democracy Cafe

What an unexpected gift to see that dear friend Sam Crespi, one of the charter members of the very first Socrates Cafe I started, all the way back in 1996 in Montclair, New Jersey, wrote this lovely piece about the longtime Socrates Cafe and Philosophers' Club labors of love of me and Cecilia, among our other kindred dialogue initiatives - so grateful to her. Couldn't have come at a better time.

This Is What A Philosopher Looks Like by Sam Crespi Always Becoming

PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE

Philosophical thought certainly affects literary creation, which can be said in the opposite direction as well. Certain philosophical ideas can be translated into artistic and literary works, through characters, events, motives.

Of course, the abundance of philosophy on the pages of a novel is not a guarantee that it is a good literary work, because literary quality is not measured only by philosophical standards. It is known that there was a lot of mutual influence in the past.

When it comes to the 19th and 20th centuries, various philosophical currents and movements found their echo in literary works, and for some philosophers we can say that they were also writers at the same time, although literature and philosophy are certainly not the same and should not be equated.

One of the philosophers and writers was Ralf Waldo Emerson in the 19th century, while in the 20th century we have the interesting case that some philosophers, such as Henri Bergson (who was influenced by the American philosopher William James) or Bertrand Russell, won the Nobel Prize for - literature! The writer, Nobel laureate Albert Camus also sailed into philosophical waters with his Myth of Sisyphus, as well as with his other works.

Contemporary philosophical thought also has its literary echoes. Maybe someone will find it interesting, if not already, to investigate these permeations, this mutual influence of contemporary philosophical ideas and artistic creativity in a professional study.

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Martha Craven Nussbaum (New York, May 6, 1947 - ) is an American philosopher, known for a series of books in which she dealt with Greek and Roman philosophy, i.e. their relationship to contemporary political philosophy, and the concepts of feminism, modern ethics and animal rights.

QUOTES

"Fear and monarchy pair nicely. But democracy means you have to work with people you may not like but you must still believe are your equals. And a fearful people never trust the other side".

"The first thing you get from the humanities, when they're well taught, is critical thinking. Philosophy in particular can play that role, not just in universities but in schools as well".

"Knowledge is not a guarantee of good political behavior, but ignorance is a virtual guarantee of bad behavior".

This is Cecilia Phillips, co-founder of Socrates Cafe. As we find new ways to support our mission, we have launched a Socrates Cafe shop with new items that serve many functions: they are awesome conversation starters, great ways to promote your Socrates Cafe group and also help us fulfill our mission.
You can shop and support us here:

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This is Cecilia Phillips, co-founder of Socrates Cafe. As we find new ways to support our mission, we have launched a Socrates Cafe shop with new items that serve many functions: they are awesome conversation starters, great ways to promote your Socrates Cafe group and also help us fulfill our mission.
You can shop and support us here: https://socrates-cafe.printify.me/products/1

hope you can join us Thursday for our virtual event 'Shakespeare on Mars' !!

William & Mary alum and Newport News resident named to philosopher post Christopher Phillips will be a part of a webcast discussion on May 23 that talks about possible human civilization in outer space.

It was such a joy and honor to have been invited to preside over this incredibly meaningful and insightful series on gender equality and combatting violence against women. by the one-of-a-kind Sarajevo-based TPO Foundation. Hopefully we'll do more in the future, and I hope so much to be able to venture there in person in the near future.

Busy, fulfilling week next week. Look forward to facilitating this final in this moving, meaningful series with Sarajevo-based TPO Foundation on gender equality amd violence against women.

So thrilling and a great honor to preside over the unfolding of a cutting edge Center for Civil Discourse on Contemporary Issues at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Check out this fabulous new additon to our growing and now quite substantial online (hopefully eventually to be published physically) anthology 'Philosopher Queens & Kings,' this one by one of our nation's pre-eminent pollitical theorists, philosophers and pro-democracy activists, Dr. Danielle Allen of Harvard.

Government Design, the Constitution, and the Crisis of Representation Danielle Allen

At the wonderful Barnes & Noble in my boyhood hometown of Newport News, Virginia

It was such an honor and thrill to moderate the inaugural focus group at Florida Gulf Coast University for the new Center for Civil Discourse they plan to launch.

Guess who made the TV news today?

Socrates Café: FGCU's new free speech initiative FGCU believes everyone can teach someone something. The school is making strides to support free speech with a new initiative called Socrates Café.

This is such a huge honor for me. I know my late father, Alexander Phillips, is beaming with pride.

Humanity In Deep Space has appointed Christopher Phillips, PhD as its Philosopher In Residence.
https://humanityindeepspace.com/philosopher-in-residence

An incredible honor that General Daniel Lasica, Director of Plans, Policy, Strategy and Capabilities for the United States European Command, in Stuttgart, Germany, was among those who took such active and thoughtful part in one of my sessions there, this one with the command's principal leadership. And his family participated in one of the two sessions I held for military families. What an amazing experience. I learned so much from the wisdom of all those diverse souls who leaned in and shared about the integral, intimate role that questions play in their lives. Based on feedback, it looks like down the road it will to further workshops with the military. I felt the strong presence of my Dad, an Army veterans, as I presided over this deeply meaningful and memorable experience. (Credit for the great photos at the conference center go to the USEUCOM Media Ops team.)

Nos dias 6 e 7 de novembro, receberemos o filósofo e escritor americano Christopher Phillips. Junte-se a nós para uma profunda discussão sobre ética, justiça, igualdade e muito mais. Uma oportunidade única de aprender e se envolver com temas importantes. Não perca esta oportunidade única para expandir seus horizontes!

Nos dias 6 e 7 de novembro, receberemos o filósofo e escritor americano Christopher Phillips. Junte-se a nós para uma profunda discussão sobre ética, justiça, igualdade e muito mais. Uma oportunidade única de aprender e se envolver com temas importantes. Não perca esta oportunidade única para expandir seus horizontes!

"📚 Desperte o Pensamento Crítico! 💡

🗓️ Não perca a palestra com o renomado educador Christopher Phillips no CCBEU SBC, dia 11 de novembro às 10h

COM TRADUÇÃO SIMULTÂNEA PARA NÃO FALANTES DA LÍNGUA INGLESA

👩‍🏫 Professores do estado, essa é a sua chance de aprimorar suas habilidades de ensino e promover uma educação de qualidade.

🔵 Garanta o seu lugar! Marque na agenda e inscreva-se agora.

"

This lovely piece about my newest book 'Soul of Goodness,' and its deep connection to my Greek heritage, just came out in the Athens-based national publication Greek Reporter. It also of course extols the West's first democracy in the Athenian polis. https://greekreporter.com/2023/10/25/socrates-greek-island-nisyros/?fbclid=IwAR2XIycaDcmf7nmmgoi11cSKK86LnsM3FSb-cbgwcSex37nxiPL7c2K2Ys8

Carrying the Torch of Socrates to the Greek Island of Nisyros Christopher Phillips in his quest to follow Socrates' principle of “Know Thyself” retraces his roots on the island of Nisyros, Greece.

Hope you'll join us for our 11th Annual Conversation with the Constitution. This year we'll explore the 14th Amendment (and juxtapose it a bit with the 9th Amendment). Since falls on a Sunday this year, we'll be holding this gathering completely on Zoom - and we will return next year to a hybrid format. This event, the brainchild of friend, mentor philanthropist, founder and CIO of Martin Capital Advisors LLP (MartinCapital.com, for which I am an Investment Advisor Representative), is a really cool spinoff from my Constitution Cafe dialogue project and book by that name (my only book that was uniformly praised by professional critics), published in 2011 by W.W. Norton.

What makes this yearly Constitution Day gathering so tremendously special for me is that it falls on the date that my beloved father, Alexander Phillips, passed away unexpectedly (in 2011 - just as I had embarked on a 'Constitution Cafe' book tour, which I had to largely cancel/postpone), with some of the circumstances and machinations surrounding his death still so sad and ugly to this day (and the subject of my newest book 'Soul of Goodness.') I know Dad would be so pleased that this event continues, and is part of the legacy of mine of which he was so proud.

Happy July 4!! We invite you to check out our nonprofit's http://DeclarationProject.org site, featuring the only comprehensive online collection of declarations from across the ages & around the world that we know of. Its MyDeclaration component even guides you in creating your own Declaration, so you can cultivate your Spirit of '76!

Declaration Project – Connect with your revolutionary heritage. Share your political voice. Take action. "My Declaration" Submissions Declaration for Sensible Gun Control Measures [Editor’s note: In the aftermath of the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, on June 12, 2016, that killed 49 and wounded 63, the American Nurses Read More » July 4, 2022

Boundlessly grateful to dearest friend and unswerving supporter Dr. Cornel West, on the board of our nonprofit Democracy Cafee / Socrates Cafe, for his moving words about our abiding friendship and our kindred spirit collaborations to make ours a more inclusive, understanding, loving and participatory world on all scales.

Cornel West on the state of America's soul, his uplifting run for president, & my 'Soul of Goodness' Why is Dr. Cornel West, the greatest philosophical thinker and doer of our times -- his intertwined scholarship and activism springs from the revolutionary p...

And here's the other presentation I'll be giving tomorrow at my alma mater The College of William & Mary, in the evening March 30

Democratic Dialogues Lecture with Chris Phillips '81 Alumni Christopher Phillips will lead a conversation on how his experiences at the State Department's Bureau of Education, the Cultural Affairs' Speakers Program, and civic work abroad changed his understanding of democracy and what challenges he faced. 

https://events.wm.edu/event/view/libraries/134215
Can't wait to return to my alma mater The College of William & Mary tomorrow for two special gatherings. Here's one.

Democratic Dialogues Luncheon with Chris Phillips '81 Join us for a catered luncheon with alumni Christopher Phillips to facilitate dialogue on how spiritual, faith- based, and personal values guide interactions with democracy & democratic values

This is such a timely and pressing issue, conundrum and challenge, promoting civil discourse in our institutes of higher education, and Ceci and I, in our capacity as co-founders of Democracy Cafe (and the world of insights we've gained over the last 27 years) really are honored that we have this fabulous opportunity to lend our hard-won know-how in this workshop we'll be presiding over at at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Give a listen in to this timely, soulful Socratic exchange about the uprising for women's rights in Iran with Dr. Annahita Mahdavi West and her husband, our beloved board member Dr. Cornel West, who wrote the gorgeous forward to my new book 'Soul of Goodness.'

Why we must speak out about the crisis in Iran -An exchange with Dr. Annahita West & Dr. Cornel West Dr. Annahita Mahdavi West, beloved professor, highly respected scholar and psychologist, originally from Iran, recently penned a piercing essay, "The Irani...

In this thoughtful, soulful exchange I had today with Dr. Jeffrey Sachs -- renowned sustainable development expert, global poverty warrior, and head of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network - he lays out his carefully wrought stance for why Ukraine and Russia need to resume intensively a negotiated peace settlement, here and now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGVA162PxPA