A lovely article resurfaces from three years ago, the gently musing "Philosophy: a case of Sunday afternoon fever" by James Garvey in The Guardian. The subtitle, "It's not therapy or self-help. But people, many with mental health issues, pack out the Stuart Low Trust philosophy forums" summarizes the theme, reminiscent of the Philosophy Cafes of [1]. People get together to muse about "The ancient questions — how should I live? what matters most? who should I be? ...". Among the topics discussed:

... a different conception of the self. The new idea is that a person consists in many changing selves, strung along over time like pearls on a string. The seminars split off again, and there's discussion of Hume's bundle theory here and there. One asks what the string connecting the pearls is supposed to be. There's a moment of baffled silence, smiles, and more conversation.

...

What's striking is the group's openness to new ideas. "It's not like a debate among academics ... where people just take up established positions and butt heads." There's a real sense of people trying to get at the truth, trying to do philosophy with honesty.

...

... philosophical questions can play a powerful role in the lives of people who have experienced mental health problems. "Their lives can throw up abstract and fundamental questions that many people drift through life leaving unexamined. Their experiences generate answers that are often novel, plausible and powerful, and as they've lived the questions, the answers they reach take on a different significance. Apart from all that, their thoughts are listened to here with an equality of respect...".

...

The philosophy forum is one of those rare things that defy the laws of social physics. Everyone gets more out than they put in, particularly the volunteers. "It's the best thing I do," one tells me. "It's the highlight of my week."

...

"It's quite wonderful, isn't it?"

(cf. Headline Socrates (2000-05-30), Thinker Shrinks (2011-09-19), ...) - ^z - 2016-03-14