Socrates Cafe' in Helena

Discussion group takes on the big ideas
By ANGELA BRANDT - IR Staff Writer - 07/08/07
For those who have ever pondered — Does love at first sight exist? Is there a supreme being? Why do our dogs see us as their master? — Helenan Tom Cladouhos has a group for you.

By the way, his answer to that last question: “Because we’re good guys,” Cladouhos responded with a chuckle.

“Also because we know how to open cans of dog food,” he added.

Cladouhos has begun a discussion group, a Socrates Café, which opines on an array of topics once a month. The meeting is not like debate class, he said, and members are not looking to win but rather searching for the truth.

“It is not about argument but about discovery,” he said.

The group, which usually attracts a handful of participants, meets the second Tuesday of every month at the Staggering Ox. They begin at 6 p.m. and philosophize until they get the boot at closing time at 8 p.m.

At the start of the meeting, those gathered each pose a question. The group then votes on which they will discuss. At the group’s meeting Tuesday, five men gathered in the corner of the sandwich shop to reflect on the presence of a supreme being.

The men talked about how and if God differentiates between prayers and their importance, if morals and ethics would exist without a supreme being and whether or not prayer is fruitful.

This month’s group included some who are religious and others self-described as “non-believers.” The conversations swayed from intense retrospection to lighthearted joking.

Retired Helenan Bill Campbell attended the Socrates Café for the first time Tuesday. He said he will definitely return.

“That was the most stimulating conversation I’ve had in quite some time,” Campbell said.

An indicator of a successful meeting is when participants leave the discussion with more questions than which they began, he said. The idea isn’t to find a definitive answer but to continue pondering.

Cladouhos started the meeting after attending a similar one in Whitefish and reading the book “Socrates Café” by Christopher Phillips.

Denverite Ron Jepson, 55, saw a listing in the Independent Record about the Stagger Ox meeting while he was here on vacation and decided to attend.

“I love this kind of stuff,” Jepson said with a grin after the discussion.

Although Tuesday’s was his first meeting, Jepson said he will look to participate in a similar gatherings when he returns home to Colorado.

Anyone is welcome to the Helena discussions.

Contact Cladouhos for further information at 443-7376.