Socrates Café Marks 25 Years of Philosophical Conversation at RWU

BRISTOL, R.I. — For 25 years, Socrates Café at Roger Williams University (RWU) has invited students, faculty, and other members of the university community to explore philosophical questions, challenge assumptions, and consider different perspectives through open discussion.

RWU will mark the milestone on Wednesday, Oct. 28, with a special program featuring co-founders and Philosophy Professor Michael Wright and Professor Emeritus Bob Blackburn, followed by a discussion on voting led by June Speakman, Professor of Political Science and State Representative for Rhode Island District 68. The celebration will begin with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by the program at 7 p.m. in Mary Tefft White Cultural Center.

The idea for Socrates Café originated with Christopher Phillips, who began organizing philosophical discussions at universities, libraries, bookstores, and community centers in the 1990s. After Phillips visited RWU to introduce the concept, Wright and Blackburn continued the tradition on campus. They adapted the format to include an announced moderator and a specific topic framed as a question.

One of their early goals was to raise the profile of RWU’s Philosophy program. The first gatherings took place in the basement of the former student center, in what is now the Gabelli School of Business. The location helped draw students who were already spending time in the building. The program later moved to Mary Tefft White Cultural Center, where it has remained for much of its history.

For Wright and Blackburn, the goal has always been to help people think critically about questions that matter in everyday life and consider perspectives beyond their own.

“My goal, and I think it's Bob's goal too, is that we want this to be an opportunity for people to think critically about important questions that resonate within your everyday life, and that warrant dipping your toe into the pool and trying to think and respond to other people’s perspectives, and when that happens, then you know Socrates is smiling somewhere,” said Wright.

Over the years, the organizers have adjusted the schedule to keep the program going, reducing the number of sessions from about five per semester to two or three. Attendance typically ranges from 15 to 25 people, a size that allows participants to share their ideas and respond to one another. Chairs are arranged in a horseshoe so everyone can see and engage with the group.

The program has featured 113 different moderators, including faculty members from across all of the university’s schools, university administrators, and alumni. Speakman, who teaches and researches politics and elections, will lead her sixth Socrates Café discussion during the anniversary program.

For the organizers, success comes when participants begin to question their assumptions or see an issue in a new way.

“The happiest moments are when we see students have a light go on, and they appear to be responding in such a way that is telling us, I hadn't really thought about it that way,” said Blackburn.

One memorable moment came in 2016, when Philosophy alumnus Fran DeLuca ’11 returned to lead a discussion after completing law school and beginning his legal career. For Wright and Blackburn, his return was a full-circle moment that showed how the program could remain meaningful to students beyond their time at RWU.

Wright hopes participants carry that spirit of inquiry into their lives beyond each session, taking time to examine the assumptions that shape how they understand the world.

“One of the reasons I still am teaching is that you’ve got to fight the good fight, and that is getting people to recognize some of the assumptions that they operate on, that they don't question, maybe should be questioned,” said Wright. “If you ever want to think outside of a box, you’ve got to identify what makes the box.”

As Socrates Café marks its 25th anniversary, Blackburn hopes it will continue to spark interest in philosophy and encourage people to ask questions about ethics, knowledge, and how we understand the world.

“My hope would be that it continues to garner more interest in philosophy and in asking the kinds of questions that affect our society itself, in the moral realm, in all of the major philosophical areas of ethics,” said Blackburn. “How do we distinguish knowledge from opinion? Appearance from reality. What does it mean to be a person?”