Café Philosophique
Encyclopedia
Café philosophique is a grassroots forum for philosophical discussion, founded by philosopher Marc Sautet
(1947–1998) in Paris, France.
Sautet started the idea of philosophy cafes in the Place de la Bastille
neighborhood of Paris at the Café des Phares on December 13, 1992. He would gather some friends at his "café philos" each Sunday at 11 A.M. and opened up philosophical debates ("conceptual fisticuffs") for some two hours. His philosophy was a return to the basic principles of reasoning intended for the general public, not aristocrat
s. The first meetings started with only a dozen or so people. Soon university students showed up, followed by eccentric citizens off the street, off-duty cab drivers, and idle wealthy women. This became a weekly event that grew in popularity to about 200 people at each meeting. Sautet returned philosophy to the general public in Café Philosophique. In so doing, he was rejected by scholars as being unfaithful to the normal philosophy taught in higher education
.
The subjects discussed at the cafes had a range that varied from the Santa Claus myth to truth to beauty to sex to death. They posed such questions as What is a fact? and Is hope a violent thing? Sautet made the discussions seem fun and exciting. The concept was to bring people together in a public friendly forum where they could discuss ideas. A cafe tended to have this type of atmosphere where people were relaxed drinking coffee and carrying on conversations. This concept ultimately developed into Café Philosophique that he founded.
Thousands of participants in philosophy cafes worldwide have adopted Sautet's idea as a way to enhance their thinking. Ideas are thrown out with concern for accuracy and philosophical rigor. The concepts discussed were in the spirit of tolerance and openness. The idea of Sautet's philosophy cafes have spread around the world. The concept that started in France and subsequently entered England, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, and eventually throughout Europe is now in the United States, Canada, South America, Greece, Australia and even Japan. It has been in places where people come together in philosophy cafes in Brussels, Bonn, Geneva, and London. It was so successful that the French president Jacques Chirac
sent a founding member on a good will mission to Latin America to introduce the concept there.
There were about 100 "cafés-philos" operating throughout France and some 150 cafés-philos internationally at the time of Sautet's death.
. Staff of The French Institute in Scotland are also involved in teaching philosophy in Scottish primary schools, as an example in Clackmannan
. In England, a Cafe Philosophique has been meeting in a Cromford (Derbyshire) bookshop cafe since being founded by Wirksworth philosopher-potter Evan Rutherford in 1993, and by 2009 had held around 100 meetings. The public evenings are usually led by members and associates of the ever-changing group rather than by professional philosophers, but prospective speakers are welcome to propose topics; the text of some of the talks can be read online.
The Ottoman empire
exported throughout Europe in the 17th century. From Vienna came the idea of a place where men could meet and discuss various topics over coffee or tea. Adapted to Western culture, the Turkish "coffee cafes" became the place where friends met for a drink. The tradition of the Agora
was moved from the public square to the center city cafe. Philosophers, poets, writers, and intellectuals of all types made these places their new meeting places.
In 1686 the Sicilian Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli started Café Procope
in rue de l'Ancienne Comédie, in the Latin Quarter of Paris known as the 6th arrondissement. It was the first café in Paris. Certain intellectuals that have frequented the cafe for philosophical discussions throughout history have been Victor Hugo
, Paul Verlaine
, Honoré de Balzac
Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, François-Marie Arouet, Jean-Jacques Rousseau
, Georges Danton
, Jean-Paul Marat
, Honoré de Balzac
and Denis Diderot
amongst others.
For about 30 years in Paris, poets, painters, writers and part of the surrealist movement went to cafés of Montparnasse
. Also in Paris after World War II the cafes of the Latin quarter saw a form of existentialism
. The philosopher Jean Paul Sartre conducted philosophical discussions at the Café de Flore
. These "coffee philos" were the historical beginnings of Sautet's "cafés-philos".
Marc Sautet
Marc Sautet was a French writer, teacher, translator ), and philosopher. He was a Doctor of Philosophy ) at the Paris Institute of Political Studies. Sautet was a former Trotskyist who however edited two books on the German philosopher and philologist Friedrich Nietzsche...
(1947–1998) in Paris, France.
Sautet started the idea of philosophy cafes in the Place de la Bastille
Place de la Bastille
The Place de la Bastille is a square in Paris, where the Bastille prison stood until the 'Storming of the Bastille' and its subsequent physical destruction between 14 July 1789 and 14 July 1790 during the French Revolution; no vestige of it remains....
neighborhood of Paris at the Café des Phares on December 13, 1992. He would gather some friends at his "café philos" each Sunday at 11 A.M. and opened up philosophical debates ("conceptual fisticuffs") for some two hours. His philosophy was a return to the basic principles of reasoning intended for the general public, not aristocrat
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
s. The first meetings started with only a dozen or so people. Soon university students showed up, followed by eccentric citizens off the street, off-duty cab drivers, and idle wealthy women. This became a weekly event that grew in popularity to about 200 people at each meeting. Sautet returned philosophy to the general public in Café Philosophique. In so doing, he was rejected by scholars as being unfaithful to the normal philosophy taught in higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
.
The subjects discussed at the cafes had a range that varied from the Santa Claus myth to truth to beauty to sex to death. They posed such questions as What is a fact? and Is hope a violent thing? Sautet made the discussions seem fun and exciting. The concept was to bring people together in a public friendly forum where they could discuss ideas. A cafe tended to have this type of atmosphere where people were relaxed drinking coffee and carrying on conversations. This concept ultimately developed into Café Philosophique that he founded.
Thousands of participants in philosophy cafes worldwide have adopted Sautet's idea as a way to enhance their thinking. Ideas are thrown out with concern for accuracy and philosophical rigor. The concepts discussed were in the spirit of tolerance and openness. The idea of Sautet's philosophy cafes have spread around the world. The concept that started in France and subsequently entered England, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, and eventually throughout Europe is now in the United States, Canada, South America, Greece, Australia and even Japan. It has been in places where people come together in philosophy cafes in Brussels, Bonn, Geneva, and London. It was so successful that the French president Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
sent a founding member on a good will mission to Latin America to introduce the concept there.
There were about 100 "cafés-philos" operating throughout France and some 150 cafés-philos internationally at the time of Sautet's death.
History
The French Institute ("Institut francais de l'écosse") in Edinburgh also runs a café philosophique in Edinburgh - continuing a tradition that dates back to the days of the great Francophile philosopher David HumeDavid Hume
David Hume was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism. He was one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy and the Scottish Enlightenment...
. Staff of The French Institute in Scotland are also involved in teaching philosophy in Scottish primary schools, as an example in Clackmannan
Clackmannan
Clackmannan District 1975-96From 1975, Clackmannan was the name of a small town and local government district in the Central region of Scotland, corresponding to the traditional county of Clackmannanshire, which was Scotland's smallest...
. In England, a Cafe Philosophique has been meeting in a Cromford (Derbyshire) bookshop cafe since being founded by Wirksworth philosopher-potter Evan Rutherford in 1993, and by 2009 had held around 100 meetings. The public evenings are usually led by members and associates of the ever-changing group rather than by professional philosophers, but prospective speakers are welcome to propose topics; the text of some of the talks can be read online.
The Ottoman empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
exported throughout Europe in the 17th century. From Vienna came the idea of a place where men could meet and discuss various topics over coffee or tea. Adapted to Western culture, the Turkish "coffee cafes" became the place where friends met for a drink. The tradition of the Agora
Agora
The Agora was an open "place of assembly" in ancient Greek city-states. Early in Greek history , free-born male land-owners who were citizens would gather in the Agora for military duty or to hear statements of the ruling king or council. Later, the Agora also served as a marketplace where...
was moved from the public square to the center city cafe. Philosophers, poets, writers, and intellectuals of all types made these places their new meeting places.
In 1686 the Sicilian Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli started Café Procope
Café Procope
Café Procope, in rue de l'Ancienne Comédie, 6th arrondissement, is called the oldest restaurant of Paris in continuous operation. It was opened in 1694 by the Sicilian Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli, with a slyly subversive name adopted from the historian Procopius, whose Secret History, the...
in rue de l'Ancienne Comédie, in the Latin Quarter of Paris known as the 6th arrondissement. It was the first café in Paris. Certain intellectuals that have frequented the cafe for philosophical discussions throughout history have been Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
, Paul Verlaine
Paul Verlaine
Paul-Marie Verlaine was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the fin de siècle in international and French poetry.-Early life:...
, Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories and novels collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the 1815 fall of Napoleon....
Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, François-Marie Arouet, Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
, Georges Danton
Georges Danton
Georges Jacques Danton was leading figure in the early stages of the French Revolution and the first President of the Committee of Public Safety. Danton's role in the onset of the Revolution has been disputed; many historians describe him as "the chief force in theoverthrow of the monarchy and the...
, Jean-Paul Marat
Jean-Paul Marat
Jean-Paul Marat , born in the Principality of Neuchâtel, was a physician, political theorist, and scientist best known for his career in France as a radical journalist and politician during the French Revolution...
, Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories and novels collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the 1815 fall of Napoleon....
and Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer. He was a prominent person during the Enlightenment and is best known for serving as co-founder and chief editor of and contributor to the Encyclopédie....
amongst others.
For about 30 years in Paris, poets, painters, writers and part of the surrealist movement went to cafés of Montparnasse
Montparnasse
Montparnasse is an area of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail...
. Also in Paris after World War II the cafes of the Latin quarter saw a form of existentialism
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
. The philosopher Jean Paul Sartre conducted philosophical discussions at the Café de Flore
Café de Flore
The Café de Flore, at the corner of the Boulevard Saint-Germain and the Rue St. Benoit, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, has long been celebrated for its intellectual clientele....
. These "coffee philos" were the historical beginnings of Sautet's "cafés-philos".
See also
- Viennese caféViennese caféThe Viennese Coffee House is a typical institution of Vienna that played an important part shaping Viennese culture.Since October 2011 the "Viennese Coffee House Culture" is listed as "Intangible Cultural Heritage" in the Austrian inventory of the "National Agency for the Intangible Cultural...
- Pub PhilosophyPub PhilosophyPub Philosophy is a term sometimes used to describe organised gatherings in public houses for philosophical discussion. Several series of events in the United Kingdom and elsewhere offer pub philosophy in a variety of formats, typically involving an invited speaker and some degree of open discussion...
- Socrates CafeSocrates cafeSocrates Café are gatherings around the world where people from different backgrounds get together and exchange thoughtful ideas and experiences while embracing the Socratic Method. The groups model their discussions from the book of the same name by Christopher Phillips...
- Society for Philosophical InquirySociety for Philosophical InquiryThe Society for Philosophical Inquiry is a non-profit organization devoted to propagating a version of Socratic inquiry through the establishment of regular meetings. Based on their different settings, they are called Socrates Café, Philosophers' Club, these meetings take place all over the world...
- Lincoln Philosophy CaféLincoln Philosophy CaféLincoln Philosophy Café is an open society for philosophical and topical discussion based in Lincoln . It was founded on Monday 29 June 2009 by James Taylor-Foster and has run continuously at the in central Lincoln. According to the website, it is "a forum for listening, exchanging ideas and...
- The list of all cafes philo in the world registered and still in activity (June 2011)
External links
- The list of cafes philo still in activity
- ¿What is a Philosophy Café? in Spanish, by the Philosophical and Legal Investigations Circle.
- The philosophy café by Dr. Óscar Brenifier, in Spanish.
- Britannica Online Encyclopedia: “French literature” - Café Littéraire