If you could get away with anything, could you resist the temptation to do what others consider wrong?

Three leaders of the Lexington SOPHIA Chapter, Derek Daskalakes, Lila Wakman, and Erik Jarvis, introduce here this theme of our upcoming meeting, at 6pm on Tuesday, October 16th of 2018 at the Good Foods Coop in Lexington, KY, titled the “Ring of Gyges.” Join us for fellowship and a really fun conversation.

To learn more, check out and join our MeetUp group:
https://www.meetup.com/Lexington-SOPHIA-Chapter/

Connect also with our Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/973809392802752/

And our chapter’s Twitter profile:
https://twitter.com/LexingtonSophia 

Finally, here’s the link to our October 2018 get together:
https://www.meetup.com/Lexington-SOPHIA-Chapter/events/254488521/

Inaugural Meeting of the Shining Network SOPHIA Chapter

Photos and a One-Sheet from the group's first event

The Shining Network SOPHIA Chapter kindly shared with the SOPHIA national office some photos from their August 2018 event and a wonderful One-Sheet Document, available here, on “The Nature of Good and Daily Life.” What follows are photos from their inaugural event at Kamala Nehru College at the University of Delhi in New Delhi, India.

Thank you to SOPHIA member Dr. Geetesh Nirban of Kamala Nehru College!

The Nature of Good and Daily Life

One-Sheet Document for SOPHIA Conversations

Printable, Adobe PDF version of the one-sheet.

Printable, Adobe PDF version of the one-sheet.

The Shining Network SOPHIA Chapter at Kamala Nehru College at the University of Delhi launched their inaugural chapter meeting on the topic of The Nature of Good and Daily Life. They created a SOPHIA One-Sheet Document for their meeting that they have kindly shared with SOPHIA’s central office to offer for other chapters’ meetings and conversations. We are grateful to the Shining Network, to Professor Balaganapathi Devarakonda, head of the department of Philosophy at the University of Delhi and Dr. Geetesh Nirban. The One-Sheet Document is available by clicking here or on the thumbnail photo of the one-sheet on the right hand side.

The Shining Network SOPHIA Chapter gathered together to talk about The Nature of Good and Daily Life at Kamala Nehru College at the University of Delhi in August of 2018.

Dr. Geetesh Nirban and two members of the Shining Network SOPHIA Chapter at Kamala Nehru College in August 2018.

Dr. Geetesh Nirban and two members of the Shining Network SOPHIA Chapter at Kamala Nehru College in August 2018.

SOPHIA’s abbreviated name comes from a loose shortening of “The Society of Philosophers in America.” The “in America” is historical and identifies the nation of origin of the national non-profit organization. It is not, however, meant to limit our members or our friends to the borders of the United States. SOPHIA may be a national nonprofit founded and run in the United States, but we encourage philosophical discourse everywhere and are grateful and excited about our work together with the Shining Network SOPHIA Chapter in New Delhi.

Clutter

One-sheet for SOPHIA Conversations

This is a thumbnail image of the first page of our "One-Sheet" document on "Clutter" for local chapter meetings.

Click on the image here for a printable, Adobe PDF of our One-Sheet on “Clutter.”

SOPHIA has created our journal, Civil American, and our radio show and podcast, Philosophy Bakes Bread, in part to offer content for conversations among our local chapters. The Chairman of SOPHIA’s Board of Trustees John Lachs published his short essay, “Clutter,” in the 2017 edition of Civil American not very long after his wife passed away. The objects in our lives can seem mundane, but they can also bear great emotional weight for us. The leaders of the Lexington SOPHIA Chapter selected his essay as the focus of one of our “One-Sheet” documents, which will serve as the topic and guiding document for an upcoming chapter meeting. You can click on the thumbnail image of the one-sheet on the right hand side or you can open it by clicking here for a printable version of the “One Sheet” document on “Clutter.”

This is an image of a very cluttered space in warm-toned black and white.

SOPHIA is grateful both to Dr.  Lachs for his essay a well as to the leaders of the Lexington SOPHIA Chapter for drafting the questions that groups can use to jump easily into fun philosophical conversation. Thanks to Caroline A. Buchanan, Derek Daskalakes, Erik Jarvis, James William Lincoln, and Eric Thomas Weber. If any groups choose to make use of this one-sheet also, we encourage them to let us know how the conversation went as well as what thoughts their group has for possible improvement of this one-sheet or for future pieces.

John Lachs facilitating a SOPHIA symposium in Oxford, MS.

John Lachs of Vanderbilt University

This piece includes the full content of Lachs’s short essay, thanks to Civil American Editor Shane Courtland. The author, John Lachs, is Centennial Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.