Philosophers’ Café
Join the conversation throughout Metro Vancouver
Everyone is welcome to join these gatherings, which meet at libraries, community centres, beaches, and bistros throughout the city. Topics range from the absurd to the sublime, from the scholarly to the religious, and from the deeply philosophical to questions of morality and ethics.
Besides our regular cafés, we have developed cafés specifically for high school students, ethnic groups, seniors, and native Russian speakers.
Our moderators are culled from a variety of backgrounds. They include artists, schoolteachers, SFU faculty, therapists, and members of the business and legal communities.
Beginning in the Spring 2013, Philosophers’ Café will begin a new series of book salons. This will be a small collection of events supplementing the regular cafés, which are focused on discussion topics. The book salons will give participants the opportunity to have in-depth conversation around a particular book chosen by the moderator. Last year, the Philosophers’ Café began a book blog on the café website, featuring books and authors that have been mentioned in the various café events. The book salons will also link to the book blog, with the intention that this can be a great resource for the public in providing ideas for building up their home libraries. We’ll choose books that are easily accessible and have important links to the history of ideas and current debates in society. Last year, the café website added a feature whereby members of the public can submit ideas for café discussion topics, and likewise, ideas for books to be featured in the book salons are welcome as well.