By Amanda Estes
Staff Writer
    Are you looking for a forum in which to discuss those nagging questions such as what is truth and what is happiness? Look no further than the Scarborough Public Library. Nearly 20 people attended the organizational meeting for a Philosopher’s Club, held at the library last Thursday afternoon, which represents local involvement in an international initiative.
    The Society for Philosophical Thinking (SPI), co-founded by Cecilia Chapa Phillips and Christopher Phillips, is an organization that facilitates philosophical discussions by providing guidelines for groups interested in forming a Socrates Café or Philosophers’ Club. According to SPI’s Web site, the organization maintains “as people of a bracing variety of ways of world-viewing and world-making come together-they will become more civic-minded.”  The SPI guidelines inform groups of everything from how to choose discussion questions to how to handle a participant that monopolizes the discussion.   
    “We thought we would give it a try, not really knowing what to expect,” said Adult Services Librarian, Catherine Morrison. Morrison said Joan Conroy, who attends South Portland’s Socrates Café, suggested Scarborough start a daytime program. The group will meet at 2 p.m. on the third Thursday of every month.
    The topic of discussion is determined at the start of the meeting. There are no outside reading requirements for participation because attendants don’t know beforehand what they will be discussing. First, the group chooses a moderator, then people contribute ideas or issues that they would like to talk about and then the group determines the topic by voting.
    Some of the topics proposed at the start of Thursday’s discussion included: Who or what is responsible for global warming? Why do people have the most fervent beliefs about something they have no evidence for? Do you have to love your country to be a resident? What is happiness? Do we do enough for our seniors? When did nationalism begin and what purpose does it serve? The group chose to discuss nationalism and whether or not there is still a need for it.
    Within the conversation, the group came to the agreement that nationalism is a difficult topic to define because it means different things to different people. The group explored the concepts most commonly associated with a nation, such as language, geographical boundaries, and documents such as The Constitution, and whether those are true components of a nation or simply arbitrary guidelines.
    A Philosopher’s Club meeting does not yield any answers, but rather it is a mechanism for exploring concepts that don’t always come up in everyday conversation. According to the SPI guidelines, “A Socrates Café is considered a success when participants leave a discussion with many more questions than they had at the beginning.” The organization advocates that participants not strive to bring meetings to a tidy close, but rather let them end naturally within a reasonable timeframe. Scarborough’s meetings will most likely run from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
    Although, some participants saw some kinks in the way last Thursday’s meeting was run, it appears as though at least several people will be back for the next meeting.      
    Betsy Kelley, of Scarborough, said she is happy to see more daytime programs like the Philosophers’ Club in the community.
    “There is a need in the town for people to get together in a civil way,” she said.