Christopher Phillips (born July 15, 1959) is an American author, educator, consultant, lecturer, and
pro-democracy advocate. He is best known for his 2001 book ''
Socrates Café''.
Public Radio International
Public Radio International (PRI) was an American public radio organization. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, PRI provided programming to over 850 public radio stations in the United States.
PRI was one of the main providers of programmi ...
called Phillips the "
Johnny Appleseed
Johnny Appleseed (born John Chapman; September 26, 1774March 18, 1845) was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced trees grown with apple seeds (as opposed to trees grown with grafting) to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, I ...
of Philosophy."
Phillips's latest book ''A Child at Heart: Unlocking Your Creativity, Curiosity and Reason at Every Age and Stage of Life'' was published in March 2018.
Foreword Reviews and Adam Braun both praised it.
Early life and education
According to Phillips, he read
Plato
Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
's Socratic dialogues when he was about 12. After graduating from
Menchville High School
Menchville High School is one of six public high schools in Newport News, Virginia, United States.
Demographics
Percentages
Sports
VA state championships
* Boys' indoor track – 1972, 1973, 1980, 1982, 1983,1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 2016 ...
, he received a BA in Government from the
College of William & Mary
The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...
;
In 1997, he earned an
M.A.T. in Teaching from
Montclair State University, and studied in the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children. In 2000, he earned an M.A.
external degree in Humanities, with an emphasis in philosophy, at
California State University, Dominguez Hills
California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH, CSU Dominguez Hills, or Cal State Dominguez Hills) is a public university in Carson, California. It was founded in 1960 and is part of the California State University (CSU) system.
In 2020, ...
; He also has a Master of Science in natural sciences degree from
Delta State University
Delta State University (DSU) is a public university in Cleveland, Mississippi, a city in the Mississippi Delta.
History
The school was established in 1924 by the State of Mississippi, using the facilities of the former Bolivar County Agricultu ...
, which was the first of his master's degrees. Phillips received a PhD in communications from
Edith Cowan University in Australia.
Cafés
Phillips was a school teacher and newspaper reporter, then editorial consultant and freelancer for national magazines, before starting
Socrates cafes, Socratic discussion meetings in a variety of venues such as cafés, nursing homes, churches, schools (where the gatherings are sometimes called Philosophers' Club, also the name of his first children's book), and prisons. Phillips' idea of having open-invitation meetings in cafes to discuss philosophy was inspired in part by
Matthew Lipman, the founder of the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children who advocated introducing philosophy into schools and under whom Phillips studied, as well as by
Marc Sautet, whose
Café Philosophique Phillips became aware of after reading an article about Sautet while teaching in the Mississippi Delta.
In his penultimate book "Constitution Café", Phillips details a journey across the US promoting discussions with a version of the Socratic Method that he developed for the Socrates Cafés, combined with the
Jeffersonian idea of democratic freedom and inclusiveness. He has since worked on the Declaration Project, a comprehensive collection of declarations of independence, causes, rights, and principles from across the ages and continents, as well as the Constitutional Cafe and the Democracy Cafe initiatives that discuss constitutional changes in the United States. Phillips also founded a for-profit consulting service, Socrates Group.
Academic career
Phillips was a 2012 recipient of the Distinguished American Leadership Award, along with Adam Braun, founder of Pencils of Promise. Phillips has also taught in the graduate program ''Media, Culture and Communication'' at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
, and at the University of Pennsylvania as a Senior Writing Fellow. He has been Senior Education Fellow at the National Constitution Center and 2014–15 Network Fellow at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University. He also blogs the SocratesCafe.com site and writes occasionally for the Zocalo Public Square.
Published works
Books
The books published by Phillips are (the ISBNs refer to paperback editions, where available):
* ''Constitution Cafe: Jefferson's Brew for a True Revolution'' () (W.W. Norton, 2011)
* ''Socrates in Love: Philosophy for a Die-Hard Romantic'' () (W.W. Norton, 2007)
* ''Six Questions of Socrates: A Modern-Day Journey of Discovery through World Philosophy'' () (W.W. Norton, 2004)
* ''Socrates Café: A Fresh Taste of Philosophy'' () (W.W. Norton, 2001)
* ''A Child at Heart: Unlocking Your Creativity, Curiosity and Reason at Every Age and Stage of Life'' (Skyhorse, 2018),
* ''Ceci Ann's Day of Why'' () (Penguin Random House, 2006)
* ''The Philosophers' Club'' () (Penguin Random House, 2004)
Papers
Phillips wrote, among many others, the following papers:
* "Coalition" ''M/C Journal'', Vol. 13, No. 6 (2010)
* "The Austrian Philosopher Who Showed that Words Can Spark Humanism – Or Barbarism"," ''Zocalo Public Square'', January 31, 2018
* "Philosophical Counseling: An Ancient Practice Is Being Rejuvenated," ''Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children'', Vol. 14, Issue 1, 1998, pp. 48–49
* "Daring to Revise America's Sacred Text", ''San Francisco Chronicle'', Opinion Page, July 3, 2017
* "Socratic Inquiry for All Ages", Vol. 8, No. 15, 2012, ''Childhood & Philosophy''
* "Why aren't kids part of 'All men are created equal'?", ''Huffington Post'', December 9, 2014
* "Live Like Picasso: Nurturing Fluid Intelligence and an 'Artistic Dimension", ''Huffington Post'', December 19, 2014
* "The Efficacy of the Lipmanian Approach to Teaching Philosophy for Children", ''Childhood & Philosophy'', Vol. 7, No. 13, 2011
See also
*
Socrates Café
*
Socratic dialogue
Socratic dialogue () is a genre of literary prose developed in Greece at the turn of the fourth century BC. The earliest ones are preserved in the works of Plato and Xenophon and all involve Socrates as the protagonist. These dialogues, and subse ...
*
Walter Kaufmann
*
Matthew Lipman
*
Justus Buchler
References
External links
ChristopherPhillips.comofficial website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Christopher
1959 births
20th-century American philosophers
21st-century American philosophers
College of William & Mary alumni
Montclair State University alumni
Living people