Are We Our Own Slaves?

Tonight's Philosophy Cafe at De Vrije Ruimte was again a blast! Under the unmatched leadership of Pieter Mostert, we discussed the question "Are we slaves of ourselves?" using various techniques. We learned and practiced the six ways of refutation classified by the Romans:

1. ab incerto 
2. ab incredibili 
3. ab impossibili 
4. ab inconsequente
5. ab indecente 
6. ab incommode

Also we learned how to define things according to Aristotle, based on inclusion and exclusion.

I came up with this definition of a slave: Slave is somebody who is unaware of his/her true motives. In that sense, all of us are slaves to a greater or lesser degree.

There was a 15-year-old guy from South Africa at the cafe called Bernard. He spoke Afrikaans, which, although it is very similar to Dutch, I found hard to comprehend. Bernard was active in discussions and struck me as a sincere and intelligent young man.

By the way, tomorrow is Anne Sophie's second day at De Vrije Ruimte school! Her first day on Monday was a success. Even though she was quite shy in the morning, we had difficulty taking her home in the afternoon as she was so much enjoying playing with other kids!

Anne Sophie's First Day at School!

Monday 3 October was Anne Sophie's first day at school! She had been talking for weeks about going to school and telling other kids: "Ik ben groot geworden en ga naar de basisschool!" (I've grown up and will be going to the primary school!)

When asked which school she was going to, she'd say "a small school". It is indeed a very small school with a couple of dozens of children. The school is called De Vrije Ruimte (the free space). It is a democratic school based on the concept of natural learning, meaning that children learn best when they can freely develop their interests and explore the world around them at their own pace.

On her first day at school, she was wait-watching at first, clinging to her mummy, but after a short period of time she got involved in games with other kids and hardly noticed her mother any more. She took part in her first school meeting, at which she volunteered to help with the school newsletter. She probably didn't know exactly what that meant and raised her hand because other kids did. We came to take her home as she was playing the Quartet with 3 other children, and it took us some time to persuade her to go home with us. She was excited, but very tired. It was a beautiful and unforgettable day!