We had a wonderful time at our April Think & Drink. After a couple months hiatus due to a philosophy conference in February and our Philosophy Symposium in March, our group reconvened for a lovely night of ideas and community in our normal haunt. Several questions were offered as possible avenues of exploration, including:
- What is it that we owe to marginalized peoples and in what currency can we pay this debt?
- Why factors contribute to the rise and persistence of so many “sub-culture” voices right now?
- What is the relationship between values and economics/policy? Do values come first? Or can values develop from the primacy of economics/policy?
- What are the parameters of free speech? Should there be more limits on it and has our conception of free speech changed over the years?
The Question We Selected as a Group
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What is it that we owe to marginalized peoples and in what currency can we pay this debt?
Some Things Explored & Unpacked in the Process
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What does the word “owe” entail?
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What about responsibility and duty? Where and how do they come into play?
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What about honor (as in the case of caring for an ailing parent)? How does this sort of relationship differ from the concept of “owing” someone? What if we were to refine the original question posed with this sort of relationship with others in mind?
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When considering reparations and attempts to balance the scales for marginalized peoples, is money really enough? What sorts of things need to be considered?
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How does the concept of “personhood” fit into all of this and how might we address the demolition of personhood that has taken place over the years and in various ways? Is a fractured personhood as “easy” to repair as a fractured bone?
Thank you to the Philosophy Learning & Teaching Organization (PLATO) for supporting philosophy in the community and helping us bring activities like these to the Helena community!
