Christopher R. Phillips

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Christopher R. Phillips is the creator of the Socrates Cafe discussion groups. Majoring in Government, he earned a B.A. from the College of William & Mary in 1981;[1] Phillips himself has described this degree as "a bachelor's in political philosophy".[2] In 1997, he earned an M.Ed. in Philosophy for Children from Montclair State University's Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children.[3] In 2000, he earned an M.A. external degree in Humanities at California State University, Dominguez Hills;[4] Phillips himself has described this degree as "a master's in philosophy".[5] He also has a Master of Science in natural sciences degree from Delta State University,[6] which was the first of his master's degrees.[7]

In college, Phillips had an interest in philosophy, but did not major in it, because "his professors spoke in monotone voices, read from prepared texts, and took umbrage at questions." [8] He has voiced similar criticism concerning academic philosophy in general: "I discovered that academic philosophers were just not like the ones I had read about as a teenager -- keen minds who weren't afraid to examine a question from a thousand different angles."[9] This may help explain his self-appointed "quest of bringing philosophy out of the universities and back 'to the people', wherever they happen to be."[10] According to Phillips, "Philosophy has been hoarded too long by academics. I'm stealing it back for the masses."[11]

In 1992 Phillips read an article about Marc Sautet who started a philosophy discussion group at a cafe in Paris which everyone was welcomed to join; upon joinging the group himself, Phillips learned of Monclair's Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children.[11] In the summer of 1996, Phillips started his own philosophy discussion group where everyone was welcome; it met at Borders Books in Wayne, New Jersey.[12] So began the phenomenon of the "Socrates Café".

[edit] References

  1. ^ College of William & Mary, Government Department, Alumni Newsletter 2004, accessed 17 March 2008.
  2. ^ Socrates in Love Talk 40:02, Tattered Cover Book Store, Denver, CO, 23 Feb 2007, accessed 10 May 2008.
  3. ^ Montclair State University, IAPC Philosophy for Children: Student Handbook; and Montclair State Unversity, "The 'Johnny Appleseed of Philosophy' Returns to Montclair", both accessed 17 March 2007
  4. ^ Russell Hudson, "Alum Updates Socrates’ Philosophy, Captures International Attention", 2005, CSUDH website.
  5. ^ Socrates in Love Talk 40:05.
  6. ^ "About Chris Phillips", accessed 11 May 2008.
  7. ^ "Coffee talk: Are Socrates cafes the antidote to modern life?", The Ottawa Citizen, 30 August 2005, accessed 17 March 2008.
  8. ^ Craig Savoye, "Find the Deeper Meaning at 'Socrates Cafe'", Christian Science Monitor, 26 March 2002, accessed 17 March 2008.
  9. ^ Bill Workman, "San Bruno Thinker Spurs Robust Chatter in Cafes", San Francisco Chronicle, 21 May 1998, accessed 18 March 2008
  10. ^ Christopher Phillips, Socrates Café, Norton 2001, pp. 4-5.
  11. ^ a b Monclair State University, Insight, 15 September 1997, accessed 11 May 2008.
  12. ^ Anita Hamilton, "All the Right Questions", Time Magazine, 28 March 2004, accessed 17 March 2008.