philo_faq

Philo Happy Hour and Philo Meal Frequently Asked Questions:

1) The Origin of Cafe Philo
The first philosophy cafe was founded by a few philosophers in 1992 in Paris on one Sunday morning. They then decided to have a regular meeting for philosophical discussions in a cafe setting. One reporter overheard the news and wrote an article about their regular meetings. Soon, similar philosophy cafes started to surface around the world and the Cafe Philo movement was born.

2) The Origin of the Hong Kong Philosophy Cafe (HKPC)
The Hong Kong Philosophy Cafe was started by a philosophy professor in Hong kong based on a similar concept as the original philosophy cafe in Paris. The first Hong Kong Philosophy Cafe meeting was held in June 1999 at a small cafe in Hong Kong Arts Centre, attended by only nine people. Since then, it has grown to over 350 members with several branches offering different style of philosophical discussions.

3) About the Philo Happy Hour Branch, also called the Happy Friday Branch (HFB)
The Philo Happy Hour was created in 2004. Its aim is to encourage people from all walks of life to experience philosophy and to promote individual and social self-understanding through open discussion of previously announced topics. Small discusssion groups in 8 - 12 people are divided into deep thinkers, beginners and a free form group. Each group is assigned a specific topic, however the free form group has no assigned topic and participants in that group can discuss any subject or not at all. Participants in the three groups are free to move among groups as they wish and they can order food and drinks, which are billed on a "pay for what you order" basis. The Happy Friday Branch meets on the last Friday of every month from 19:30 - 21:30.

4) About the Philo Meal Branch
The Philo Meal was created in 2005 with the aim of providing a cozy environment where people can relax over dinner while having a stimulating discussion on a previously announced philosophical topic. Participants are seated in tables of six to eight people with alternate male/female seating whenever possible. Such seating arrangement is designed to create a richly balanced discussion among the participants. At the end of the dinner, participants simply pay for what they order. Afterwards people can move to other tables if there're empty seats available.

The Philo Meal Branch organizes meetings once or more per month, normally on a Friday from 19:30 - 21:30. Venue can change from time to time depending on venue availability. The Philo Dinner is unique in that its meetings can be conducted in English (English-Philo Dinner), in Cantonese (Canto-Philo Dinner) or bilingual (1Country2Systems Philo Dinner). When it's a bilingual meeting, some tables are dedicated to English speaking participants and some to Cantonese speaking participants.