These are all excerpts from a posting by Lance Fletcher on the
Phil-counsel listserver.


The Philosophers' Guild:


Who is convening this discussion?

Strictly speaking, this invitation comes from me, Lance Fletcher, as
the owner of the Free Lance Academy, whose listserv will host the
formative discussion. (For more information about The Free Lance
Academy, send a message to info@freelance.com.) The proposal to form
a philosophers' guild emerged from conversations among a group of
philosophers who have been active in philosophical
counseling/philosophical practice and have all participated in
discussions on the phil-counsel list, which is one of the main
channels of communication among people interested in philosophical
counseling and philosophical practice. The people named below have
expressed general support for the idea of forming a philosophers'
guild (but I am solely responsible for the details, and faults, of
this invitation).

	Lance Fletcher
	Christopher Phillips
	Eric Hoffman
	Maria Davenza Tillmanns
	Kathleen Damiani
	Dennis Polis
	Steve Palmquist
	Christopher Borst
	Larry Parker
	Shlomit Schuster

Background:

Initially our conversations had the aim of creating a new
organization specifically for philosophical counselors, partly
because of our dissatisfaction with the best-known American
organization in the field. But,	as our conversations proceeded, some
of us began to realize that what we found most exciting was
something beyond philosophical counseling in the narrow sense of
using philosophical conversation in one-on-one consultations.

The recent development of philosophical counseling is only one
aspect of a much larger phenomenon: which is that an increasing
number of people, coming from quite diverse backgrounds, are
converging on the idea of engaging in philosophical conversation,
not just as a theoretical discipline, but as a way of improving, or
even transforming, human lives. Perhaps the most exciting thing
about this development is that it occurs both as something new and,
at the same time, as a rebirth of something very old, in fact
something close to the authentic origins of philosophy in the
conversations of Socrates.

It appears that a great many people are longing for the opportunity
to participate in conversations which are both philosophical and at
the same time thoroughly practical -- conversations generated out of
the issues that arise in ordinary human lives, yet reaching toward
matters of ultimate concern. In fact some people are already
participating in such conversations, in a wide variety of different,
mostly improvised, ways.

To the academic mind, many of these conversations are apt to appear
as disturbingly irregular. But what the situation calls for, some of
us believe, is not regulation, but empowerment and acknowledgement.
Those who are longing to engage in philosophical practice, whatever
that looks like, need structures which will empower them in doing
so. And those who are already engaged in some form of philosophical
practice do not want or need a structure that will invalidate what
they are doing because it fails to match somebody else's
preconception. They need a structure which will acknowledge what
they already stand for and aid them in accomplishing that.

In short, those numerous people, both inside and outside
universities, who are awakening to the idea that the practice of
philosophy can, and does, make a powerful impact on people's lives
need a structure for supporting each other in bringing that idea to
fruition. That is what the Philosophers' Guild is intended to
provide.

What will the philosophers' guild do?

Obviously that is what the people who join this formative effort
will be responsible for deciding. But some of the most important
possibilities are practical:

Lots of people are excited by what they have heard about
philosophical counseling, philo-cafes, philosophical consulting,
etc., and some of these people are eager to get involved in doing
this sort of thing themselves.

As the owner of the phil-counsel list, I get a lot of mail from
people interested in philosophical practice, and overwhelmingly the
most common question people ask is, "Where can I turn for help in
getting started?"

If the philosophers' guild does nothing else, it will certainly look
for practical ways to address this question, especially by creating
structures, perhaps on a local or regional basis, for experienced
individuals to meet with and form collaborations with others who are
less experienced.

Is this invitation addressed to you?

This invitation is intended to enlist a working group of
philosophers who are willing to commit some time and effort to the
task of creating a philosophers' guild. To determine whether or not
this invitation is addressed to you, please consider the following
three questions:

	1. Are you a philosopher? I don't mean, Do you have an advanced
	degree in philosophy, or do you teach philosophy in a
	university? I mean, is philosophy something that you find
	yourself doing? Is being a philosopher something that gives who
	you are in the world?

	2. Is the possibility of a philosophers' guild -- as roughly
	described here -- something that calls to you, something that
	you want to be a part of?

	3. Are you willing and able to participate actively in a
	conversation aimed at formulating the idea of a philosophers'
	guild and bringing it into existence over the next few months?

If your answer to each of these questions is Yes, then this
invitation is addressed to you. In that case, here is what you
should do:

Work plan:

Remember that what you are being invited to join is not the
philosophers' guild, since that doesn't yet exist, but a working
group which will take on the responsibility for designing a
philosophers' guild and bringing it into existence.

Since we will, I think, be better off with something as simple and
inclusive as possible, I am proposing a fairly tight, three-week
work schedule (allowing a week prior to the beginning of Week 1 for
people to respond to this announcement):

	Week 1: Formation of the agenda, including adoption of initial
	decision-making procedures.

	Week 2: Discussion of agenda items, with decision on basic
	issues to be taken at week's end.

	Week 3: Editing of documents and decision on implementation
	steps.

The formative conversation will take place on the philo-guild
mailing list. In addition, I can arrange for real-time internet
chat conferences to allow for more spontaneous give and take, if
necessary. The times and details for such conferences will be
announced on the philo-guild list.

To those of you who have elected to join the formative conversation,
I thank you and I am eager to begin.

If you answered yes to questions 1 and 2 above, but not to 3, I
thank you very much for your interest and look forward to your
membership and participation in the future, after we have the
philosophers' guild up and running.

In any case, no matter what your answer, I would welcome any
comments, suggestions or criticisms you care to share with me.

Sincerely,
Lance Fletcher

lance.fletcher@freelance.com (Lance Fletcher) 



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