The Dream Weaver
about Jack Bowen
The Philosophy Club
Ian's in Your World

 
 

"Jack Bowen's novel is like traveling with Alice to a Wonderland inhabited by the greatest philosophers and scientists who ever lived. This is must-reading for anyone who wants to understand how the teachings of the great philosophers apply to today's world."

"A triumph!"

— Wenda O'Reilly, Award-Winning Author and President, Birdcage Press

 


 
 
START A PHILOSOPHY CLUB :

Ian’s Philosophy Club exists to make philosophy fun and relevant in our world today. While it focuses on philosophical issues encountered by Ian in The Dream Weaver, it extends beyond that. The club function is designed so that you can go beyond Ian’s adventures and explore your own. You can discover answers to the greatest questions of history in your own neighborhood, at your school, at home, or with friends in a café. Use this brief outline and content on this site to get started and then take your own adventure!

For summaries of previous discussions, click here.
Want to start a Philosophy Club near you?
It's simple--here's how.

1. Contact friends, students, classmates, relatives in your area and let them know about it. Send them the website link to get them interested.
2. Pick a meeting spot: people's homes, coffee shops, book stores, classrooms--anywhere that people can relax and feel free to share their ideas.
3. Get The Dream Weaver: One Boy's Journey Through the Landscape of Reality.
4. Plan your first meeting and set a meeting schedule. The recommended schedule is to meet once or twice per month at a specific time (though this can vary according to schedules…some groups meet as frequently as once per week). Because there is so much in each chapter, it is best to pick 1-2 chapters at a time. There are Discussion Topics for each chapter in the back of the book to help guide your discussions.
5. Other activities: The link on this site, "Ian in Your World" provides more opportunities for philosophical discourse: Ian's Movie Picks, Ian's Musical Picks, Ian's World of Sports, and Current Events. This may be something else you want to incorporate into your meetings. Someone can bring in a song off of the list to listen to and then discuss. Or you can apply the topics you discuss at meetings to sports, cinema, or any current events. The more you look around you, the more you will find philosophy to be relevant and exciting.
6. Be open-minded...and have fun.
 
 
TOPICS FROM PAST MEETINGS :
"Knowledge and Reality (Prologue and Chapter 1)"
What is knowledge? How does knowledge differ from belief? From faith? Our senses often deceive us, our dreams seem real, and yet we often believe that we experience true reality. Do we experience actual reality or just something that is useful in our daily lives?
"Can Computers Cheat? (Chapter 2 and 9)"
What does it mean to cheat? Is it any action that breaks the rules? Must the rules be broken with the hopes of gaining an advantage? How important is “intent” in regards to cheating?
"Do selfless actions really exist? (Chapter 13) "
Is genuine altruism really possible? Is every selfless act really a disguised form of selfishness? What would it mean to do something that is truly not in your interest? As the chapter in Ian's Adventure mentions, some argue that we are biologically driven to be selfish--that because of our innate need to stay alive and reproduce our genes, to act UNselfishly would be unnatural.
"Living up to your Potential"
At a recent meeting, we considered what it means to fulfill one’s potential. We hear this all the time but what does it mean?
 
  Copyright © 2006, Jack Bowen. All rights reserved.