Local knowledge-hungry thinkers wishing engage in discussions about suicide, God or morality, now have a place to do so at the Squamish-Whistler Philosophers' Café monthly meetings.
The roundtable symposiums are respectful discussions focusing on a wide variety of contentious topics including death, free speech and the meaning of life. The gatherings are intended to facilitate vibrant and passionate discussion on local and global issues amongst Squamish residents, according to long-time Philosophers' Café attendee, Johnny Stork.
Stork recollected having participated in engaging conversations while studying at Simon Fraser University in the 1970s and fondly recalled the small gatherings with colourful discussions.
"I had the privilege of going to a few of these meetings which we in really dumpy little cafes down at Main [street] and Hastings [street]. Literally there was just a few passionate philosophers that would show and some students," he said.
The Philosophers' Café series has soared in popularity growing from a few sessions at the university campus to hundreds every year, just in the Lower Mainland area.
"I was very pleased to find out that over the last 20 years it's really grown to become an international recognized phenomenon," Stork said.
After finding out Squamish didn't have it's own Philosophers' Café series he decided to start one. Stork said one of his objectives with this group is to engage people within the community who might not otherwise have the opportunity to vocalize their views and opinions. Stork said he also wants to bridge ethnic, socio-economic or gender gaps that might exist within our community.
"My own goals is to basically create an open community driven forum where everybody in every aspect of our local community the academics, business, municipal leaders, general public, everybody can come and talk about global topics or locally relevant topics."
For example, Stork explained, the topic of the month for Jan. is objective beauty, which Stork got the idea for after a discussion about the Stawamus Chief and the pending billboard construction.
"How that's going to impact the esthetic value of our community and the Stawamus Chief itself?" he asked.
Anyone who is interested in respectful discussion of hot topics is welcomed to attend. However, Stork warns, some of the topics might not be appropriate for everyone.
"Obviously there are some topics that will be very passionate topics, especially when we get to issues of faith or abortion," Stork said.
Stork said the Squamish-Whistler branch meetings would intentionally not be held at pubs in order to ensure individuals younger than 19 can participate if they chose to.
The first Philosophers' Café will be held on Sunday (Nov. 22) from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Parkside Restaurant. The discussion will be introductory in nature and is free of charge to attend. The public can also suggest topic ideas for future discussion or individuals can offer to moderate discussion topics they are familiar with.
Anyone interested in receiving more information on the group is encouraged to join the Facebook group "Squamish & Whistler Philosophers' Café," email [email protected] or just show up to the next scheduled meeting.
Objective standards of beauty will be explored at the Sunday Jan. 31 Philosophers' Café, while on Sunday Feb. 28, the group plans to discuss environmental risks. Additional dates, and topics are listed in full on the Facebook group page.
