opps! Thanks Alan. Here's the article then:
We think, therefore we drink ... no, we drink, therefore we think
They are, perhaps, Hong Kong's most unlikely bunch of bar-room brawlers. David Watkins trades highbrow blows
May 03, 2004
Arguing is good for you. No, it isn't. Yes, it is - vocalised confrontation in a relationship is a positive thing, demonstrating that both parties feel comfortable enough to reveal their true selves to each other. Heightened emotions at the time might suggest otherwise, and chances are you're going to hear a few things you'd rather not. However, assuming that the storm successfully clears the air, you can continue onwards on an elevated plateau of understanding.
Of course, there's nothing quite like winning an argument, either. Handing out intellectual beat-downs is perhaps one of the most satisfying forms of combat. It's also a two-way street, and so the members of the Hong Kong Philosophy Cafe meet once a month to hone their skills.
Not that there's any bad feeling here, with everyone arming themselves with a few beers and some good-natured banter at the start of each two-hour sessions. 'Not everyone is used to the process of formulating and defending a point of view,' says Roy Butler, a long-time member of the Hong Kong Philosophy Cafe Fringe Club branch, who is limbering up his grey matter along with 17 other like-minded individuals.
'These evenings always include a certain amount of attack and defence, and some people get upset. Hopefully, most newcomers learn by the end that anyone ought to be capable of engaging in a serious disagreement without getting upset.'
Assuming a disagreement is to be had at all, of course. 'Our meeting two months ago was unusual in that it was impossible to generate any form of discussion, because everyone agreed,' he says. 'I was the speaker and my topic was 'The Absurdities of Christianity'. So, you might conclude that most of the people who are interested in philosophy are perhaps not coherent to any religion, which is useful. A sceptical approach is a necessary part of the equipment.'
In its five years, 424 members have signed up to the cafe. Up to 40 regulars cram themselves around a table upstairs in the Fringe Club every month. A Kowloon branch meets at the Cultural Centre, and there's a Cantonese branch, as well as a newly arranged 'Happy Hour' branch that rarely strays out of the pub.
One person supplies a short introduction before the topic (tonight's is Nietzsche) is opened for general discussion. A moderator - although at more heated moments you could call him a referee - ensures everyone gets a chance to talk. 'Last month was the first time when people couldn't get in the room,' says Butler, eyeing me. 'That was on the ethics of journalism.'
This is apt. If it weren't for a spot of shoddy journalism, chances are the club wouldn't have started. The Philosophy Cafe phenomenon was born out of a journalistic mistake. In the summer of 1992 at the Cafe des Phares in Paris, Marc Sautet, a Nietzsche expert, was sitting with friends, discussing his plans to open a private philosophy consultancy. Sitting next to him was a journalist who, after catching snippets of conversation, went and announced on a radio programme that people were meeting every Sunday morning at the cafe to discuss philosophy.
So, it came as a surprise to Sautet when, the next week, 10 people turned up for a discussion. From that point on the 'Cafe Philo' was alive and kicking. Today, there are 130 cafes in France and a further 70 around the world, including Hong Kong's own branches, first opened five years ago by Dr Stephen Palmquist, associate professor at Hong Kong Baptist University's department of religion and philosophy. 'I was convinced ... this sort of organisation would make a meaningful contribution to Hong Kong's successful democratisation,' he says.
Judging by last week's news, it hasn't quite achieved that. 'One of the benefits of philosophy is not that it leads you to the answers, but that it shows you what limits there are in applying reason in pursuit of those answers,' says Simon Patkin, a cafe regular and business-English tutor. 'What you're doing is looking at reality in a way that you can deal with it.'
You could call it mental aerobics, says Butler. 'I come along to get my intellectual muscles working. Others do it because they're genuinely searching for answers to some of life's most important questions.'
The Hong Kong Philosophy Cafe:
www.hkbu.edu.hk/~ppp/HKPC