We were talking about philosophizing with children yesterday, and I noted the work of Chris Phillips in this area. Please pass this along to any educators, school librarians, or administrators you think might be interested.

Picture a group of children gathered for a regular meeting to talk about their thoughts and concepts of the world. They follow a method of questioning inspired by the philosopher Socrates. You’ve just imagined a Philosophers’ Club. In a nutshell, the Socratic method of discourse is a way for children to seek and find insights and truths by their own lights. Socrates believed that we only discover what we truly think about something by engaging in constructive and empathetic discourse with others.

Philosophers' Clubs invariably help members nurture their ability in "the fourth R" the ability to reason in breathtakingly imaginative and constructive ways. As a result, children are more highly motivated to develop their abilities in the traditional three Rs... philosopher.org 

Socrates in love

In a new book about Socrates, Bettany Hughes sees him as a pioneer bridge-builder too, connecting words to deeds, passion to action.

Hughes urges us to keep the Socratic flame alight, ‘above all to remember ta erotica - the “things of love”, the things that drive us to pursue the good’. She paints him as a very relevant reminder today that ‘eudaimonia (a kind of good karma, realising all your potential as a human being) is more important than jewels, baths, designer clothes, warships, dogma’. She endorses his critique of ‘the pursuit of plenty’ and ‘mindless materialism’, arguing that his key challenge is to suggest that it is ‘us’, not ‘them’, who can make things better. She even flirts with casting him as a bit of an anti-imperialist, a bit of a proto-feminist. In her telling, the city takes the criticism and the man is defended. She makes Socrates sound very like Jesus, ceaselessly haranguing the Pharisees. She even has Socrates echoing modern-day concerns about thoughtless consumerism making us miserable. The Hemlock Cup: Socrates, Athens and the Search for the Good Life, by Bettany Hughes

So the cliche is right: it's love that generates the passion that makes the world go 'round. Not stuff, not money.

If you like this book you'll probably love Chris Phillips' Socrates in Love.

no gurus

Here's a thought:

Spiritual life means mastery of oneself - no tears, no stupidities, no depression, no complaints, no praise, no blame. The opposites collapse. Where there are opposites there is no peace, no true happiness, no power. Human beings and animals are the victims and slaves of joy and sorrow, hatred and love. The lover of the Divine is above this. He does not lose his head - always calm, always in self-control, always in the same state, always all-independent. In disease and in death, in merriment and in happiness, he remains above the mind. Guru is such a person. He lives in the Light...

Here are some other thoughts, from Chris Phillips:

"It seems to me that the gurus are flourishing... There has been an upsurge of interest in the irrational." His solution: Socratic humility as a basis for respectful engagement across all our many cultural divides, and as a spur to "an enduring curiosity that cannot be quenched or satisfied by the facile responses of know-it-all gurus."

Or, to paraphrase the slightly more crytpic (and lyrical) words of Van Morrison: "no gurus, no teachers, no method." Well, no method except for the Socratic one.