The Rookery

On Friday, our Socrates led the class in a discussion about "Why Are We Here?"  Using a model from Christopher Phillips, we asked what at first appeared to be a simple question.  But, as students began to try and answer, they realized how hard it is to define many common ideas.  The conversation ranged from the concept of being alive to imagination to desire to self-determination to the nature of existence.  At one point, a child exclaimed, "We might not even be here…someone, some big thing out there… could just be dreaming all of this!"  There was a long pause for thought at that point.

Some of the Herons were exhilarated by the debate.  Others were confused ("Just tell us the answer!").  Others took it in quietly.  Many were frustrated that Socrates and I just kept asking questions.  I wish I had more skill in the Socratic method, looking over the transcript below I keep finding better questions I should have asked.

I hope that you got a taste of what we did at your dinner table, but, if not, here's an excerpt from the very beginning of the conversation when Cathy was able to be our scribe (unattributed quotes are from me or Socrates:

Topic: Why Are We Here?

Proteus: We are here to have a discussion, a decent conversation. For everyone to have conversations with you, Socrates.

Pythagarus: No, alive.

What do you mean by alive?

Pythagarus: living

What is it to be living?

Kalekrates: You live just to die

What does it mean to die?

Pythagarus: To rot

Hessiod: The reason why you die is because your body gives out

What is a body?

Deucalion: So we an move and talk and do things.

What does it mean to do?

Some:  To move around

Proteus:  Energy

Is a sunbeam alive?

Proteus: It’s alive, like, if you were to describe a sunbeam, it’s alive, it’s so bright

Hessiod: we are here because a bunch of gases in space formed

What is here to you?

Hessiod: somewhere to walk on

Diokles: Here is life. Everything around us is life.

Can you explain a little bit more?

Hippocrates: Here is a place we call Greece. Athens.

So here is Athens? How do you know that it’s Athens?

Fotios: the universe

What is the universe?

Elpidius: We are here because atoms and neutrons and stuff [gestures]

That is our purpose?

Elpidius: to build technology

Proteus: What is technology? Technology it sounds so, it is very, what is technology?

Yorgis: I thought we were going to have grape juice with this.

Aristarchus: Can I ask something that’s completely not relating to?

No.

Aristarchus: Why do we have seasons? Why do plants grow?

What does why mean?

Kastor: It means you’re asking the question and you want to know the answer

Is there always an answer?

Do you feel like wanting an  answer is the reason we’re here?

Hessiod: We’re here because after all the gases formed, there were monkeys on earth. How could humans form if there wasn’t something that could turn people into people?

So when you say we, are you including all species? What does we mean? 

Hessiod: Everybody on earth.

Others: everything that has a brain. (Deucalion)

Deucalion: Anything that’s alive, like the carpet we’re sitting on, it doesn’t really have feelings and it doesn’t think

Other: plants don’t have feelings and they’re alive

 Deucalion: Plants are alive in a different way. We move and speak[missed some of this] Everything is alive in a different way than evertying else. Everybody has a different purpose to be here.

 To clarify, the we includes everything that has a brain? And everything that has a brain has a different reason/purpose for being here?

What does it mean to have a purpose?

Aristarchus: Purpose is like, you have, you have, like, um, you have like, um, like, the gods have a purpose. Everything has a purpose. We have a purpose to be on earth to spread our knowledge.

Who’s we?

Aristarchus: Everything. With our without a brain.

So, the plants are here to spread knowledge?

Aristarchus: Yes.

Hessiod: Not everything has brains. Why would everything spread knowledge if it didn’t have a brain or antyting to build knowledge on

Hessiod: You have to have knowledge first in your own mind, in hour own body, to spread knowledge.

Does a baby have knowledge?

Pythagarus: I’m forgetting everything because the questions are so rapid. I have a question for you. What is the purpose of this conversation?

What do you think it is? Is there a purpose? What does it mean to have a purpose? 

Hippocrates: The gods have a purpose. They are in Greece because people believe, because we believe that gods, zeus, ..all gods have a purpose to be here [hard to hear!] They are born with some special talent that they eventually use in their life

 Are you just talking about the gods?

Hippocrates: Everyone.

 So, you feel like the gods have given you a gift to use?

 Efimia: Are we supposed to be thinking like our characters, or like we would?

 Either

 So the gods give us purpose?

 Hippocrates: No, we are each born with a purpose, like things we like to do. We are not all alike.

 Kalekratesandfra: a purpose is what we were meant to do, why we were born, what we were meant to do.

 Does that ever change?

 Proteus: it can

 Nikias: Like a purpose is to do whatever you want.

 What does it mean to want something?

 Nikias: like you go somewhere and see something really cool and you want it.

 What makes you want it?

 Nikias: Your brain.

 What determines if you want it or don’t want it?

 Nikias: Your brain.

 Your brain decides?

 Nikias: no, you decide.

 Who are you?

 Nikias: You means like, there’s somebody else next to you, if there’s somebody next to me, if they don’t know their name, they would call it “hey you”

 Do you exist if there’s nobody else next to you?

 Yes

 How do you know?

 Nikias: Because if I don’t exist, then I’d be able to put my hand through my head

 Have you ever had a dream? Were there people? Did they exist?

 YES to all

 Hessiod: If you want something, your brain thinks, “I need this. I need it to make an instrument” for example. I need this to eat. If you don’t need that, then you won’t get it, because it’s pointless to get stuff you don’t need.

 So are we here to fulfill our needs?

 Some: yes

Deucalion: Everythign has a purpose, you don’t have to have a brain, you don’t have to be able to move, but everything has a purpose. You dn’t have to technically be alive.

 Socrates: Our purpose is to fulfill something?

 Deucalion: Not necessarily

 Hippocrates: Like a clock ahs purpose to tell time

Deucalion: theres a purpose for every word

 Elpidius: On the want subject, when you want something, you have like imagination, and your imagination will be like, Oh I want that to make it into something, or you could think that everyone else thinks it’s really cool, so you want it

 What is imagination?

 Chara: Something in your mind, like you could think about a magic world, if you’re thinking of something that ‘s not really real, but thinking of something like a pirate ship or something

 Fotios: being in a fake world and having real fun

 Yorgis: Things are just going on in your head that could or couidn’t happen in the real world

 How do you know that it’s your imagination and not the real world? What makes something real?

 Yorgis: Okay, I’ve never seen a car fly, but I have heard that cars can fly

 Proteus: If I were to look at Diocles, I would think that he could have three eyes, two arms and hundred noses. I’m seeing that on him right now. I see it but not see it. [missed some of this]

 Proteus: he is in my imagination right now. I see him jumping off of something.

 So he’s not real?

 Proteus: He is real. I don’t want to insult a navy captain. I can see him in front of me right now.

Do you need to be able to see something to know that it’s real?

Many voices: No [lots of talking]