achilles justice

History of the Philosophy Society

     The philosophy society is a community. We are people who want to be accepted and respected for our value of the love of wisdom. This organization was created by Achilles Justice in 2008 at Lakehead University as part of the Philosophy Club. It quickly gained a lot of attention and attraction because of the way Achilles facilitated events and gave people a place to talk about their ideas. This was a place where we learned to make sense of things together through the skills of critical thinking, the history of philosophy, psychology and social science.

     Achilles facilitated several different types of events to foster an educational environment where people were able to learn how to live a good life. These events were:

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    Critical Films: Weekly film nights. These films displayed philosophical content, subject matter or the cinematography was philosophically engaging. Some documentaries were also shown if they had a philosophical basis. During and after the film there would be opportune times for discussion depending on the films content and delivery. 

     Critical Thinking, Emotional Intelligence and Ethical Workshop: Every sunday from 2-5, Achilles would mediate and host free forum workshops and have guest speakers to encourage developing these different skills. The group itself would direct the content of the discussion based on who attended and their specific needs of the day. 

     Clear Sky Cafe: Modelled of the philosophy of the street or philosopher's cafe, Achilles facilitated, promoted and designed posters for subject specific discussions like 'What is Love?," "Meaning of Life," "What is Wisdom?," and other compelling ideas that we use on an everyday basis but may not have explored their meaning. 

     Professor Conferences: Achilles coordinated with each faculty member in the philosophy department to give them an audience to discuss and talk about any topic of their interest. Some of the subjects of the professor talks were 'Is No Religion the Best Religion of All?," "Hedonism," "and "Why Care about Sport?." 

      Graduate Seminars: Achilles gave graduate students the opportunity to practice speaking about their thesis projects and coordinated space, time and ads for their events. One of the students had a talk titled, "Exploring the Ethical Arguments for Intellectual Property." 

     

     This vsat array of events, skills and coordination created a culture of philosophy that began to grow into a community that shared pot lucks during the holidays and acted as group counselling for those who were dealing with mental health issues. Some members of the group who were suffering from mental illnesses began to show significant improvement from the workshops after learning the skills of critical thinking and emotional intelligence. 

     Developing a healthy mind is not just our habits, beliefs, attitudes and emotional stability but also our relationships with others. Having a community which fills the gap that our family and friends cannot, can give balance to those who need it the most. Together we are stronger than alone. With the foundation of over 2500 years of wisdom and up to date psychological science, we only need to put into practice what we know will lead to a better life: this is the Philosophy Society. 

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