Merlin Receives $3,000 Grant from PLATO for their 2019-2020 Philosophy in the Community Program(s)

Wow!  What an honor! We cannot express enough how much we love the Philosophy Learning & Teaching organization! For the 3rd year in a row, PLATO is awarding our organization a grant for our Philosophy in the Community program…and this year in the amount of $3,000. We are honored to have been selected by this amazing organization for three years in a row and are looking forward to providing the Helena & surrounding communities with a host of unique, fun & accessible opportunities to do “get their hands dirty with philosophy!”  Thank you so much, PLATO.

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“Big Ideas by Little Philosophers” (BiLP) — Spring 2019

We had an amazing time with our young philosophers during the first phase of our “Big Ideas by Little Philosopher’s” (BiLP) program at Cottonwood ALC. Check out what sorts of things we explored, photos & our fun video with HCTV!

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April 2019 Philosophy Think & Drink (Missoula)

What a wonderful & kind group of thinkers at our first Missoula gathering!  Thank you so much, everyone, for spending your evening with us and contributing such thoughtful insights and questions.  Check out photos & some of the things we explored here.

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“Public Philosophy & A Way of Life” at U of M Philosophy Forum

We are delighted & honored to have been asked to participate as a guest speaker on Dr. Albert Borgmann’s Philosophy Forum at the University of Montana where we will be exploring philosophy as a way of life and public philosophy.  The discussion will be facilitated by Dr. Deborah Slicer.

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March 2019 Philosophy Walk: The Environment, Ethics & Stewardship (Part 3)

Part 3 of our 3-Part Fall Philosophy Walk Series on the environment, ethics & stewardship took place on Sunday, March 24th at Ten Mile Creek Park.  Despite the weather being overcast (a change from the sunny day prior) and the trails a bit slushy from the recent melt, our adventure was beautiful and fun.  We also heard numerous bird calls from above — geese, gulls, northern flickers — and some fun dog calls (from our furry four-legged’s who joined us on the walk). Sponsored in part by grants from The Philosophy Learning & Teaching Organization & Humanities Montana, our group shared dialogue about philosophical and other perspectives related to current and future environmental & conservation challenges, and featured special guest speakers Thomas Baumeister, Mark Smillie, and Tyrrell Hibbard.

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March 2019 Philosophy Mini-Drive-In (Altruism)

In this TED Talk & Philosophy inspired movie night facilitated by Thomas Baumeister, we explored questions about altruism through the practice of socratic inquiry. Primed by a scholarly TED Talk discussion by Matthieu Ricard, we looked at the nature of consciousness, its function and evolution, and more. Access resources here!

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2018-2019 Philosophy Symposium – “The Environment, Ethics & Stewardship” (Part 3)

Our 2018-2019 Philosophy Symposium Series “The Environment, Ethics & Stewardship” looked at numerous philosophical issues & perspectives related to ethics, the environment, and conservation stewardship, ranging from public vs. private land (including individual rights, collective rights, indigenous rights, other); landowner/steward-wildlife and habitat relationships, and; current & future environmental/conservation challenges. At this symposium, six panelists from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds focused on the third of these three areas of discussion and spoke for 7-10 minutes each. Then the forum was opened up to free-flowing audience-panelist Q & A. Access audio-video, photos & more here!

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