About Chris Phillips

Many of us search for answers; Christopher Phillips searches for questions. As the cofounder of the non-profit Society for Philosophical Inquiry, he travels the world holding hundreds of dialogues and discussions, taking philosophy out of academia and bringing to "ordinary people in ordinary places." He sees the Socrates Café series on The Exchange as an exciting way to carry out this mission.

Phillips' discussions -- typically called a Socrates Cafe or Philosophers' Club -- employ the Socratic method, in which participants try to define key moral concepts and then scrutinize those answers for flaws, contradictions and, hopefully, insights. The journey is as important as the destination; through the process of dialogue participants can better understand themselves and each other and, in the process, build a more inclusive and deliberative democracy. To date, more than 500 of these groups have been established around the globe -- in cafes, bookstores, libraries, prisons, community centers, seniors centers and residences, churches, colleges and universities, and schools both public and private, from elementary to junior high school.

Phillips is author of several books, written for general audiences but which have served as college texts, about his experiences holding dialogues around the globe -- Socrates Cafe: A Fresh Taste of Philosophy (W.W. Norton, 2001), Six Questions of Socrates: A Modern-Day Journey of Discovery through World Philosophy (W.W. Norton, 2004), and Socrates in Love: Philosophy for a Diehard Romantic (W.W. Norton 2007) -- as well as two children's books, "The Philosophers' Club" (Ten-speed Press, 2001) and "Ceci Ann's Day of Why" (Ten-speed Press, 2006). More information about his writing and other activities can be had at: www.christopherphillips.com

Phillips has a bachelor's degree in government from the College of William & Mary. He has also earned a Master in Education degree in Early Elementary Education, with a specialization in Teaching Philosophy for Children, a Master of Science degree in Natural Sciences from Delta State University, and a Master of Arts degree in Humanities from California State University-Dominguez Hills. Currently he’s working on his doctoral degree in communications, as well as writing two new books on “dialogue for democracy”. Chris' wife, Cecilia Chapa Phillips, is co-founder of the nonprofit SPI; they're also the ecstatic parents of Caliope Alexis Phillips.