The Community of Philosophical Inquiry

A Public Philosophical Discussion Group

What is it?

Every week, we meet to discuss philosophical questions. These are not empirical questions—for which we have broadly agreed-upon methods to fathom answers. Philosophy requires personal care, attention, willingness to look, refined and refining ability to see, and most importantly, courage to self-correct upon bearing intimate and rigorous witness to truth.

How it works

Our modality is simple. Anyone may contribute a question. The facilitator writes down all questions, and we vote to decide on which question to explore. The facilitator’s role is to keep close to the leading edge of the inquiry, while regulating the traffic of voices. The facilitator role can change from week to week, as the group matures.

What’s the Point?

Philosophical inquiry is work. We do not debate; argue and defend. Winning and losing is not cultured. We look—and we see what is so—together. This looking and seeing requires us to work with beliefs, attitudes, ideas, theories, concepts and the like which interfere with the fullest development of our natural intelligence, moral character, and sanity.

Who can come?

This group is open to all people; students and adults of every conceivable sort. Everyone is welcome. The only limitations will be those of the physical space, and the capacity of group dynamics. One person alone is not a community. More than thirty people are challenged to operate functional inquiry effectively, unless we are grounded and matured through enough consistent process.

Who is the facilitator?

Jim McStay is presently a substitute teacher with FUSD. This group has no affiliation whatsoever with the district. Jim’s education includes a BA in Contemplative Psychology from Naropa University in Boulder Colorado, and an M.A.T. from the Institute for Advancement of Philosophy for Children at Montclair University in New Jersey.

Jim finds meaning in unlocking and opening natural intelligence from calcified and mal-adaptive conditioning, and has worked professionally with people in extreme states of mind, including Alzheimer’s patients, chronic psychotics, severely emotionally disturbed children, and high school students addicted to their phones, all of his adult life. Jim finds no greater meaning than in be-ing where words like peace, beauty, truth, and freedom all mean the same thing.

Jim looks forward to bringing about significant momentum and skillfulness in this community such that, after a few weeks, he can gladly hand over the reigns of the facilitator role to other participants who can continue the democratic nature and spirit of this role in the community.