The SFCP aims to promote the Critical Philosophy through the linked activities of education and scholarship.

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FOURTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 

 28 JULY – 3 AUGUST 2002  

ETHICS AND SOCRATIC DIALOGUE IN CIVIC SOCIETY  

convened and supported by the  SOCIETY FOR THE FURTHERANCE OF THE CRITICAL PHILOSOPHY (UK) and the  PHILOSOPHICAL-POLITICAL ACADEMY(Germany) in  co-operation with the Dutch Socratic Network

  NEWMAN COLLEGE, BIRMINGHAM (Photo - kind permission of Newman College, Birmingham.)

This was a truly international conference, with 21 countries represented. It was also very participative - almost half of those who came contributed to the programme in one way or another. People so enjoyed meeting each other, the atmosphere was terrific (several people have commented on this). We are currently planning to produce Proceedings of this Newman Conference.

Some Highlights of the conference

The interview of Susie Miller by Pat Shipley. Said by many to have been very moving.  
  Links with the City of Birmingham. We were welcomed on the first evening by Councillor Roy Pinney, Birmingham City Council Cabinet Member, Education and Lifelong Learning. 
The two musical evenings. One was a performance of Asian music by Harjit Singh of the Birmingham Music Service, who is Head of World Music, on Asian instruments, and we were encouraged to gain hand-on experience after the demonstration; the other was community singing led by an outstanding man, David Lawrence, of 'Choral Connections'. Both events reflected the work of the City of Birmingham Education Service.  
  Open access to the many publications and practical philosophy materials was excellent.
The workshop about "Hospitals in the Community: Pastoral Care & Neo-Socratic Dialogue".   In addition to tackling the title issues the workshop suggested the way to deal philosophically with personal difficulties in life.    
  Informal get-togethers in the bar or over meals.
The Accelerated Socratic dialogue. A really successful experiment. This dialogue was much accelerated and shorter than the standard one, as it was divided into two parts - Socratic dialogue on a real-life experience and reflective dialogue in which the participants overview the method and strategies used by the facilitator.   
  The Socratic dialogue “What does it mean to show civil courage in the community” showed that through the method of Socratic dialogue cultural differences could be overcome and a consensus view agreed.