The Socratic Society is the oldest student organization of The University of West Florida, founded by Robert Armstrong, one of the first ten "Charter" faculty of the university, in 1973. It remains among the most active ones of those with a strictly academic mission. According to the preamble of its Constitution, the Socratic Society is "dedicated to the discussion of philosophical, social, and moral ideals…in their relation to the vital issues of contemporary society." To this ends, it maintains an active speaker series, organizes conferences, discussion groups, debates, travels to conferences, as well as holding the occasional mixer.
Its speaker series is the centerpiece of its efforts. Over the years some of the biggest names in Philosophy have spoken at UWF, including internationally renowned thinkers Angela Davis, R.M. Hare, and Peter Bertocci. It draws philosophers from the region on a regular basis: Alan Soble, Research Professor of the University of New Orleans spoke in the Fall of 2003 on St. Augustine's sexual ethics; Herschel Elliott, Emeritus Professor of UF, this Spring on environmental ethics. Other speakers of late include professors form local community colleges (Mark Cobb and Ray Dupree, philosophy faculty of Pensacola Junior College have addressed the group on Herbert Marcuse's philosophy and Existentialism, respectively, as has Judith Golding of Okaloosa-Walton Community College). UWF's own professors Jim Marsh (Physics) Terry Prewitt (Anthropology), Bill Mikulas (Psychology), and Sally Ferguson (Philosophy) among many others, have shared their research with the group.
The campus community and public are always invited to these functions, sometimes with remarkable results: 250 people attended a debate on Creation Science it organized in 2001, and 50 people attended a forum and panel discussion on the War in Afghanistan (which included faculty from Religious Studies, Government, and other constituencies). In the Spring of 2004, members of the Socratic Society and members of the Philosophy faculty read aloud Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spake Zarathustra on the campus greens. On the retirement of faculty member Daniel J. Herman in 1997, it organized a daylong ethics conference which attracted submissions from all over Florida. John Whelan of Lycoming College, Pennsylvania gave its keynote address, with approximately 75 people in attendance.
It regularly organizes trips to local conferences also, and last year its Vice President, Dave Monroe, won the "Outstanding Undergraduate Paper Award" of the Florida Philosophical Association, and read his paper at Eckerd College in St, Petersburg, at its 49th annual meeting, a first for UWF Philosophy! Four of its leaders and members attended the American Philosophical Association's annual meeting in Atlanta a few years back, and several more tagged along with their professor, Nick Power Department Chair, as he presented a paper in New Orleans at the Southern Society of Philosophy and Psychology Annual Conference. This is what gratifies Power the most: "In Atlanta, it was the sesquicentennial celebration of Rene Descartes' death, and the APA organized a day-long session devoted to his thought and influence. To see my students exposed to the best Descartes scholarship in the world, having lectured on these topics myself, was tremendous. They left the conference feeling part of a vibrant and important research program, and philosophy students need to feel this sometimes." Its reading groups have met off campus, in a local café, as well as on campus, are led by faculty, and open to the public. The first such group-the Pensacola Squares-grappled with John Rawls' masterwork, A Theory of Justice. Such works do not get this sort of in-depth attention in our program's curriculum, and are a fruitful sort of town-and-gown partnership. The department has plans to engage a major bookstore in solidifying this sort of community service.
The club's current President is Janos Takacs, Vice-President is Ryan Lewis, and Secretary-Treasurer, Ian Arnold. The group maintains an active web-page, at http://uwf.edu/socratic which lists its bylaws and constitution, current officers, and members, lists upcoming events, links to state and national professional organizations within Philosophy, and a list of "Famous Quotes" to which anyone can submit their favorite philosophical quote. John Meador, past president and webmaster of the club, submitted the following jewel of Immanuel Kant: "If there is any science man really needs it is the one I teach, of how to occupy properly that place in creation that is assigned to man, and how to learn from it what one must be in order to be a man."
Former leading members of the club include graduate students seeking PhDs in Philosophy at the University of Memphis, University of Western Michigan, Theology at Yale Divinity School, and EdDs at UWF. Several have gone on to law school, and one past President, Jason R, Mosley is a prominent lawyer working in the area. Shelley Davis-Smith, another former president, has served on the faculty of the University of New Orleans. Others work in business and health care Obviously, the Socratic Society enhances the education of UWF's students, and furthers the professional development of its 35 Philosophy majors. It also adds depth and richness to the intellectual atmosphere of UWF, and is a tried and tested means of serving the community of Northwest Florida.
A former graduate of UWF, Mr. Dave Monroe, currently attending graduate studies in philosophy at the University of Western Michigan, will again be presenting a paper at this year’s Florida Philosophical Association Annual Conference. Mr. Monroe’s paper is entitled “Two Problems About Human Agency Reconsidered: A Reply to Bratman.” Two faculty members of UWF’s Philosophy/Religious Studies will also present papers at the conference. Dr. Toby Howe will present his paper entitled “Conflating Erotica and Pornography: Revisiting the Aesthetic Attitude”, and Dr. Nicholas Power will present his paper “Sexual Liberation from the Freudian Left to Foucault.”