A salon for a Redwood City cafe also is being considered and could begin later this fall. One of McCullough s salon discussions focused on whether modern society was in need of a new myth to live by. Several participants argued for a new belief system that would heal our anxiety and sense of groundlessness. A debate followed, with some salon members countering that a myth could lead to dogmatic beliefs and potentially tyrannical consequences. We re focused on developing our technology, not our humanity.
Philosophical counseling can help people develop their humanity.
Berend says a big draw is the sense of community created by the conversations. Instead of being at home alone with your Trader Joe dinner, this gives you a chance to be with people, and it gives you a chance to talk and think, he says. The mini-explosion of philosophy salons owes a great deal to Chris Phillips. Phillips, a magazine writer with a master s degree in philosophy education, started a salon in Montclair, N.J. in 1996 to rescue Socratic debate from the esoteric arguments so common in academia. His weekly Socrates Cafe attracted the attention of The New York Times, and soon 60 or more people were showing up.