- Christopher R. Phillips
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Christopher R. Phillips (born circa 1960)[1] is the creator of the Socrates Cafe discussion groups.
Contents
Career
Majoring in Government, he earned a B.A. from the College of William & Mary in 1981;[2] Phillips himself has described this degree as "a bachelor's in political philosophy".[3] In 1997, he earned an M.Ed. in Philosophy for Children from Montclair State University's Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children.[4] In 2000, he earned an M.A. external degree in Humanities at California State University, Dominguez Hills;[5] Phillips himself has described this degree as "a master's in philosophy".[6] He also has a Master of Science in natural sciences degree from Delta State University,[7] which was the first of his master's degrees.[8] Currently, Phillips is a Ph.D. student in the School of Communications and Arts at Edith Cowan University, focusing his research on "communicating everyday philosophy across cultural contexts".[9]
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 joining the group himself, Phillips learned of Montclair's Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children.[10] 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.[1] So began the "Socrates Café".
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." [11] 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."[12] This may help explain his self-appointed "quest" of bringing philosophy out of the "stifling confines of academia" and "back 'to the people', wherever they happen to be."[13] According to Phillips, "Philosophy has been hoarded too long by academics. I'm stealing it back for the masses."[10]
Bibliography
- Phillips, Christopher. Constitution Cafe. W. W. Norton, 2011. ISBN 978-0-393-06480-3
- Phillips, Christopher. Socrates Cafe. Cambridge: Lutterworth, 2002. ISBN 978-0718830205
- Phillips, Christopher. Six Questions of Socrates: A Modern-Day Journey of Discovery Through World Philosophy. New York: W.W. Norton, 2005. ISBN 978-0393326796
See also
- American philosophy
- List of American philosophers
References
- ^ a b Anita Hamilton, "All the Right Questions", Time Magazine, 28 March 2004, accessed 17 March 2008
- ^ College of William & Mary, Government Department, Alumni Newsletter 2004, accessed 17 March 2008.
- ^ Socrates in Love Talk 40:02, Tattered Cover Book Store, Denver, CO, 23 Feb 2007, accessed 10 May 2008.
- ^ Montclair State University, IAPC Philosophy for Children: Student Handbook; and Montclair State University, "The 'Johnny Appleseed of Philosophy' Returns to Montclair", both accessed 17 March 2007
- ^ Russell Hudson, "Alum Updates Socrates’ Philosophy, Captures International Attention", 2005, CSUDH website.
- ^ Socrates in Love Talk 40:05.
- ^ "About Chris Phillips", accessed 11 May 2008.
- ^ "Coffee talk: Are Socrates cafes the antidote to modern life?", The Ottawa Citizen, 30 August 2005, accessed 17 March 2008.
- ^ Researcher Profile for Prof Lelia Green, Edith Cowan University website, accessed 28 June 2008.
- ^ a b Montclair State University, Insight, 15 September 1997, accessed 11 May 2008.
- ^ Craig Savoye, "Find the Deeper Meaning at 'Socrates Cafe'", Christian Science Monitor, 26 March 2002, accessed 17 March 2008.
- ^ Bill Workman, "San Bruno Thinker Spurs Robust Chatter in Cafes", San Francisco Chronicle, 21 May 1998, accessed 18 March 2008
- ^ "quest" & "back to the people": Christopher Phillips, Socrates Café, Norton 2001, pp. 4-5. "stifling confines of academia": quoted in Hamilton, "All the Right Questions", Time Magazine.
External links
- ChristopherPhillips.com official website
Categories:- American philosophers
- Living people
- The College of William & Mary alumni
- Montclair State University alumni
- California State University, Dominguez Hills alumni
- Delta State University alumni
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