Cafe Philosophy began January, 27, 1997, at Bean Around the World. We met there for over two years, and then moved through a couple of other Victoria cafes that no longer exist, till we found our great new home, the Solstice Cafe, where we have been for seven years.

Below you can find the list of upcoming topics, as well as a complete Topic History. Click on past seasons (below left) to see what topics we have covered in the past (past topics are sometimes linked to a page of quotations on that topic).

The Resources column below (to the right of the upcoming topics and questions), you will find a link to a page that gathers information pertinent to particular Cafe Philosophy sessions.

History

Season	Topic	Resources
2009 Summer 2009 Spring 2008 Fall 2008 Summer 2008 Spring 2007 Fall 2007 Summer 2007 Spring 2006 Fall 2006 Summer 2006 Spring 2005 Fall 2005 Summer 2005 Spring 2004 Fall 2004 Summer 2004 Spring 2003 Fall 2003 Summer 2003 Spring 2002 Fall 2002 Summer 2002 Spring 2001 Fall 2001 Summer 2001 Spring 2000 Fall 2000 Summer 2000 Spring 1999 Fall 1999 Summer 1999 Spring 1998 Fall 1998 Summer 1998 Spring 1997 Fall 1997 Summer 1997 Spring	Laughter — 27-Apr-05 What gets you laughing? What are the functions of laughter? Why/When is laughter contagious? Destiny — 20-Apr-05 Do you believe in destiny? Does destiny imply fate or predestination? Do we create or submit to our destiny? Curiosity — 13-Apr-05 What piques your curiosity? Can curiosity endanger us? Is natural human curiosity suppressed? Harmony — 06-Apr-05 What are harmonious relations? Is harmony metaphysical (a law of nature)? What is the value of disharmony? Struggle — 30-Mar-05 Is life by nature a struggle? If so, is the meaning of life reducible to victory or survival or dying having fought the good fight? Or can we win only by ceasing altogether to struggle? Confusion — 23-Mar-05 What baffles you? What are the causes/conspiracies of confusion? Is anything intrinsically confusing (rather than merely productive of feelings of confusion in us)? Home — 16-Mar-05 What does it take to make/have/own a home? What makes you feel at home? Where is your spiritual home? Money — 09-Mar-05 Is money the root of evil or of progress? Does allegiance to money crowd out other values? Do we invest too much meaning in money? Symbolism — 02-Mar-05 What is a symbol? How are we to interpret symbols (in dreams, myths, art, etc.)? What does symbolism convey that literalism can't? Ritual — 23-Feb-05 What do rituals do for us? May we dispense with all formalities? Why do we need ceremony? Illusion — 16-Feb-05 Do we need illusions to survive/succeed? How pervasive/detectible are our illusions? What criteria can differentiate reality and illusion? Revenge — 09-Feb-05 How sweet is revenge? Is revenge always wrong? Is imagined revenge unhealthy? Communication — 02-Feb-05 What makes communication possible? What are the barriers to communication? Does communication make us who we are? The Will — 26-Jan-05 Is the will distinct from desire? Is the will unconditionally free? How conscious are you of your will, its aims and workings? Adversity — 19-Jan-05 How do you deal with adversity? Do we need adversity? What for? What is a fair fight? Conformity — 12-Jan-05 Who does conformity serve? Is conformity coerced? Are we an overly conformist society? Originality — 05-Jan-05 What is originality? Where does originality come from? How original are you?