Back to index of Nerve 14 - Summer 2009

Why don’t you do it in the pub?

By Paul Doran

That was a question put to me at an end-of-course get-together in the local social club. I was the tutor on the course in question: An Introduction to Philosophy at the old Phoenix Adult Education centre, which was just across from where we were. The questioner, Rob Lewis, had been a student on the course. This was no throwaway remark, it was an idea he had been giving some thought.

An idea, I believe, born from a growing awareness of the genuine benefits philosophic insight has for people, together with the fact that not many people seemed to be aware of it. This was very much in line with my thinking at the time, so when he approached me with the idea, I just simply said – I like it, let’s do it!

Anyway, together with another local lad (Michael Naidoo) we found a suitable venue, which was The Brewery in Berry Street (called something else now) whose manager was agreeable with the idea. We put together some leaflets, a poster, contacted the local press, media, and held our first pub philosophic enquiry three weeks later.

That was just on nine years ago. We now have ten different philosophy groups across Merseyside, meeting weekly, fortnightly or monthly, at ten different venues. In any one week there will be five live philosophic enquiries going on in this city (which, incidentally, has little to do with the influences of the ‘capital of culture’); it is probably safe to say there are more genuine philosophic discussions, in the hub of the community, happening in Liverpool than any other city in the world. People from other towns who have heard about Liverpool PIPS (Philosophy In Pubs) have been keen to start one where they live. So consequently we have a Brighton PIPS which started a year ago and is flourishing, a Manchester PIPS which got going just six months ago, and one in Leicester which started up in February this year. By the time this article goes to publication we will have visited a group of people in Newcastle who want to start ‘sowing PIPS’ there.

The idea that philosophy is an elite subject that’s best reserved for a certain class of person, who frequents departments of higher education, is one we’re committed to eliminating.

PIPS are open to everyone, but it is a grassroots organization and was initially directed toward ordinary working people. To create the space and opportunities for people to better understand their world and react accordingly. That is to develop their ideas by testing them along with other people’s. Developing your thoughts and arguments is extremely difficult to do alone. Sitting in front of a television it’s hard to have new ideas, but that seems to be the way it’s done in our society - information is simply received and not challenged. The need for community forums and public discussions is more and more necessary these days, if only to counteract the tendency of today’s society to commodify our culture (education, politics etc) to a sort of dumbed-down easily consumable package. An intellectual self-defence is required, and only through carrying out an ongoing public philosophic enquiry can we begin to formulate clearer unprejudiced and enlightened thought.

The idea (grandiose we know) is that a world - or even a city - that has more philosophic, i.e. critical thinkers in it, will be a better world than we have now.

For information on your local group see: www.philosophyinpubs.org.uk

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