Are Socrates Cafes the antidote to modern life?
[from The Ottawa Citizen, Aug 27, 2005] It’s a fact of modern life: Good dialogue is a rarity. Take the average nine-to-five human who minds children and parents and hasn’t shared an hour with a good friend — without interruption — for months. Or the guy on a cell, trapped in rush-hour traffic, with a virtual stranger reciting forgettable blond jokes. Want a good mental meal? Join a Socrates Cafe. Think about big ideas: What is a just war? What is a friend? What is truth? Curious minds from diverse communities hold cafe meetings in coffee shops and other comfort zones. They meet for a couple of hours and talk philosophy — Socrates-style philosophy which examines life with questions. In ancient Greece, Socrates built a career asking questions en route to self knowledge and human excellence. Think: the unexamined life is not worth living. Why ask why? Why does anyone want wisdom? It’s a personal thing. But what’s obvious is: Socrates cafes — which attract thinkers — exist against a
