I'm tired of not being able to go where I want, when I want.
--Andy

Or, as Mr. Big Food put it the other day, “I want my life back.”

And thus was birthed The Farm Circle.

As a team– as partners– Mr. Big Food and I are pretty darned good problem solvers. On those occasions when we encounter a problem we are not able to solve on our own, we are blessed to have problem-solving kids and friends– including the sons-in-law– to whom we can turn. So when Mr. Big Food needed art work for a small annual conference call for abstracts, he emailed Daughter C. When the new smart TV arrives and I cannot figure out how to hook it up, I will call the J-Man. When we needed urgent help locating medical services for the in-laws, we turned to Kat & Tony. On all matters of style, grammar, etiquette, and literature, Miss M is the go-to. Thanks to one & all.

But “I want my life back”– well, that’s on us.

Of all the disciplines with which I am familiar, I think Philosophy– Good Philosophy– is by far the most socially interactive. Virtual Philosophy is not Good Philosophy. May be fine for those philosophers who do not do Good Philosophy (and they are everywhere) but it’s not good enough for Good Philosophers. Good Philosophers need to argue with one another, they need to challenge and be challenged on every premise, every argument, every conclusion. They need to raise their voices. They have to stand up there in the front of the room until every question is answered, or it’s 5:00. And then they need to go to the bar and have a drink.

That is just the way it works. That is the life Mr. Big Food wants back. And since all of the Fall conferences are in the process of being cancelled, as has been the Fall Guest Speaker Series, that’s officially not happening. But as I said, Mr. Big Food and I are problem solvers.

The Farm Circle– a knock off on The Vienna Circle— will be an informal gathering of (fewer than 12) philosophers (and possibly a few others) from the region who will meet for a few hours here at the Apartment every couple of weeks. There will be a ‘speaker’ who may present work-in-progress, or a conference presentation that didn’t get given last Spring, or a paper he or she needs to revise. There will be coffee, soft drinks, and cookies– very important. There will be discussion which will no doubt get heated at times. And then, when the final clap has been clapped, they will walk down the hill and go to The Bunkhouse Bar to continue the conversation.

Problem solved (as best as we can).