Philosophy Café : What Friendship Means in Today's Tumultuous Times

Hi, it’s Vanessa, your ENLIGHTENMENT host.

With more polls showing how polarized this country has become, and how hard it is for people of all ages to make friends and keep them — and because we’re nearing the holiday season meant for spending time with friends and family — I’ve planned this Philosophy Café to be about friendship, what it means and how to experience it, in the world we live in now.

Garret Merriam, a philosophy professor at Sacramento State, Sacramento, will talk with us about the meaning of friendship according to philosophers, and how it has changed over the years. We’ll also discuss how 21st century innovations like phones, social media and gaming have shaped friendship. Also, what should we do to build and maintain good friendships? And how do we determine if some friendships just aren’t good enough to keep?

This will be an interactive conversation, so you’ll be asking the Professor your questions. Then we’ll talk amongst ourselves about the meaning, purpose and value of friendship, and how we can make them work best for us.

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We’ll be in Room 10 at the Sierra 2 Center in Curtis Park. I’ll bring some light refreshments; please feel free to BYO food and nonalcoholic beverages.

For more information about ENLIGHTENMENT and about California Groundbreakers, go to californiagroundbreakers.org

Photo: Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos