The Socrates Café — international version (online)

Event Description: Philosophical discussions about fundamental human questions.

Format:

1. The discussion topic is provided by and chosen by participants. If there is a question that you would like to discuss, please put it in the chat! If you are new here, you can find our previous questions here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/133sfywQ81G2jcQ4acXESK2-BCosHipvMNQ7w1pj1WL8/edit?usp=sharing

2. When we have a list of questions, we will vote on the topic for this week.

3. We start with an opening round, so everyone has a chance to introduce themselves and share their initial thoughts on the topic. The person who proposed the topic usually starts.

4. Once everyone has had a chance to speak, the discussion starts. Those who want to speak place their name in the chat to create a queue.

5. The discussion concludes with a closing round, where each participant shares their final thoughts on the topic. The person who proposed the topic usually goes last.

6. OPTIONAL: After the formal discussion ends, participants are welcome to stay around for an informal chat.

Some practical stuff:

1. Everyone is welcome, but not all behaviors are welcome. If there is anything that may prevent you from participating in a respectful discussion, leave them outside before you come into the discussion. If you cannot do that yet, please take a break from our discussions until you are ready.
2. If you cannot make it, please cancel as soon as possible before the event - otherwise you will be marked as a no-show. Frequent no-shows will be moved to the waiting list in future meetups. For those on the waiting list, last-minute spots may be available due to no-shows, so please keep an eye on your notifications.
3. Please arrive on time so that you can participate in the whole discussion. If something unexpected happens, let me know as soon as possible.
4. It is sometimes necessary to challenge others' ideas in the process - you are welcome to do so without attacking the person who presented those ideas.
5. Please turn your camera on to help us create a safe environment for discussion.
6. Please make sure you log in with your Meetup username. For the safety of the other participants, I will not let in anyone who I cannot recognize. If you are unable to change your name on Zoom, please give me a heads up before the meetup starts.

It’s not a lecture! It’s participants like you who make the discussion a success, organizers just facilitate it. We bring our most puzzling questions - along with creativity, curiosity and genuine interest to enrich ourselves with perspectives of others. We discuss, we inquire, we think aloud - respect is the main rule.

You can read more background about Socrates Café in the meetup group description, and if you have any questions - feel free to ask!

See you soon!

***

Supporting the Meetup:

We are a group of volunteers who share the time and costs of running Socrates Cafe. We appreciate donations in any form to keep this going!

a) If anyone would like to make a donation towards our costs, please contact the main Organiser, Denitsa.

b) If you'd like to donate your time to help with moderating, please let any of the regular hosts know.

Many thanks to those who have made a contribution already <3