Worlds of Difference — the latest in The Philosophers’ Club series
In 2001, my first children’s book, The Philosophers’ Club, featuring actual Socratic inquiries on timely and timeless philosophical posers that I held with children far and wide — but in particular at Cesar Chavez Elementary School in the Mission District of San Francisco, home of the original Philosophers’ Club and where I lived at the […]
Our new workbook: a journey of self discovery, the Socratic way
Stop (or start) the presses: After burning the midnight oil on and off for months on end, Ceci and Chris have come out with their first workbook on behalf of the nonprofit — A Socratic Journey of Self Discovery: Changing Your Life, One Question at a Time It’s available in paperback print and digital formats, […]
Why I started Socrates Cafe
One day in August 1996, I took a deep breath and walked into a Borders Bookstore in a nondescript shopping mall in Wayne, New Jersey, twenty miles southeast of New York City, and introduced myself to the store’s ‘community events coordinator.’ I told her of this idea I had of starting a weekly dialogue group […]
Democracy Cafe, the Podcast
Always love it when I find a new passion that blends and builds on longstanding ones. I have been truly fascinated with people and their stories since I was a wee one, and hopefully Democracy Cafe and Socrates Cafe both are a reflection of that — at their most foundational level, a safe place and […]
Passing along the torch
Not only are our flagship endeavors, Socrates Cafe and Democracy Cafe, a moveable philosophical and democratical (my invention) feast — gathering places and spaces sometimes close, so people have to find a new venue at which to convene (the Socrates Cafe I started over 20 years ago in Montclair has managed to meet every week, […]
Democracy Cafe now in Poland
Very cool that our new initiative, ‘Democracy Cafe, A System Unrigged, is catching on abroad. Here’s an email we just received: Democracy Cafe and Socrates Cafe in Kraków, Poland Hi Chris, a little update from us from Kraków, Poland – we start with 2 new discussions: Socrates Cafe in English will start this Monday and […]
A Transformation from Rottenness to Ripeness, and a Lesson in Forgiveness: The story of Elwin Wilson, former KKK member, and John L. Lewis, civil rights activist and member of Congress
In light of the tragic events in Charlottesville, VA (I’m a Virginian, as most know, and I attended the University of Virginia for a year before transferring to the College of William & Mary), this account I relate briefly in my Philosophy of Childing of the remarkable transformation of former KKK member Elwin Wilson seems most apropos […]
Children, youth, democratic participation – and childing
I was on South Dakota Public Radio’s fabulous ‘In the Moment’ program yesterday, for the second time, with the incomparable host Lori Walsh, and was exhilarated and challenged, in the best sense, by her singularly probing questions. Though the emphasis of the 20 – minute interview was on my Philosophy of Childing, Lori adroitly connected […]
After Freire and Unger — How Brazil’s Poorest Are Endowing the World Itself With Greater Plasticity
Neuroscience didn’t exist as a field in John Keats’ day, but the early nineteenth century romantic poet (1795–1821) offered a prescient paean to plasticity with his coinage “negative capability,” which denotes our capacity to transcend preconceived limitations, and hence rewrite the story of our lives. To Keats, the most standout thinkers and doers demonstrate negative […]
How Philosophizing Behind Bars Can Set You Free
The Bergguen Institute asks this question on its Twitter account: “How can philosophy improve our prisons?” Its question was prompted by an article in BigThink.com on the question, “Do we need philosophy in prisons?” Clearly, Bergguen Institute thinks we do, and that it can improve our prisons — the question, then, is how. Is it […]