philosophy club

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1

once again ILP i come for assistance.

i am starting a philosophy club at my school and i was wondering what would be the best announcment to make over the PA in the morning…

any ideas?

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“do you love wisdom?”
“do you know what epistemology is?”
“do you understand the difference between ethics and morals?”
“can you prove your own existence without begging the question?”
“join our philosophy club… NOW!”
“mandatory dues to the president are $-----”

you may want to leave the last one off…

good luck with your club…

-Imp

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Data

Portent

People will become angry with you.

4

we started a philosophy club at our school last year, it went over really well with the kids that were smart but not nerds (which was, as you might predict, about 20 kids).

it was also started by one of the best teachers in the school, who was both smart and practical, so it worked out beautifully.

just come over the PA and say “we are starting a philosophy club. if you are interested in philosophy come to (place) at (time).” the kids that are interested in philosophy will come, the others won’t. short and sweet.

5

short and sweet i agree…

but im trying to set it apart.

get kids interested.

6

true, just be careful to call it exactly what it is… you don’t want to get kids interested who are not philosophical because these kinds of kids either (1) ruin the discussion with stupid comments and pretend they know everything, or (2) sit there uncomfortably the whole time shifting in their seat.

7

agree.

i might open with a sort of “philosophical” joke to attract a certain crowd.

any ideas for a good philosophical joke lol?

8

what does a nihilist call something powerfull omniscent and worshipped all over…?

nothing

9

For the last two years, I was involved with the philosophy club at my college. The first year I was a member; the second, the president. The first year I was involved (also the first year it was in existence), everything went very well. A bunch of very bright, very interesting people joined. And then, like most people… they graduated. The second year, I found myself in charge of a club (we called it the 'Friends of Wisdom") that slowly started to not exist. When people got busy, they stopped coming.

So here’s a list of what I’d suggest NOT doing, and some of what I’d do over if I could do it differently:

  • Don’t even call it a ‘club’. A club’s something that SOUNDS elite and select, even if it isn’t. Try the word Forum, perhaps, or Conversation. Anything that DOESN’T sound like a bunch of boring people sitting around discussing Heidegger :wink:

  • Be flexible. Really flexible. I think that I went into overdrive last year, worried too much and planned too little. Understand that as cool as it is to sit around in the evenings discussing philosophy… people are going to want to be home watching the newest episode of Lost or Gilmore Girls then. Afternoons are probably better.

  • Just be yourself. You don’t have to talk about philosophical ideas that secretly feel even over YOUR head. One idea I had (albeit a tad too late) is just marketing it in normal, everyday language. “Have you ever wondered about… X? A bunch of us have, too. Come on out and gab about it. The cookies are on us!”

  • Word of mouth, pamphlets, and advertising like crazy are GOOD, but advertise to the right people. Specifically, advertise to enough people. Don’t assume that everyone in philosophy will want to talk about it after hours, and DO assume that some mathemeticians and english students will LOVE talking about it.

Best of luck with the group. More than anything, have fun. Crack jokes, even. Ideas can both change the world and be hilarious, when we let them be.