HUFFINGTON
09.15.13
AP PHOTO/SCHALK VAN ZUYDAM
THE BIG QUESTIONS
every major American city — and
Death Over Dinner, a coordinated
series of meals that took place in
hundreds of homes last month.
The Adult Philosophy Club of
East Greenwich, R.I., was launched
just over three years ago by a drug
addiction counselor who recognized
what he called “existential crises”
among his clients. Today, the group
is open to the whole town.
For 90 minutes each Tuesday
in a community room at a police station, Bob Houghtaling, a
59-year-old counselor who studied philosophy as an undergraduate at Rhode Island College, leads
a roundtable of a dozen citizens
ranging from teenagers to retirees.
Sometimes, they’re discussing a
book, like Eichmann in Jerusalem,
the examination of the trial of Nazi
war criminal Adolf Eichmann in
which political philosopher Hannah Arendt coined the term “the
banality of evil.” Or they’re going
to museums and films, like the Tomaquag Indian Memorial Museum
in Rhode Island and a showing of
the feature film Lincoln.
“What constitutes morality? Are we moral? Is what’s
right something natural or is it
something that we’re taught?”
Houghtaling said, recounting
Archbishop Desmond Tutu was awarded the 2013 Templeton Prize
for his work advancing principles such as love and forgiveness.
some of the club’s recurring
themes. “People come in with
strong convictions and religious
views. It can get heated.”
Oftentimes, the conversation spins off of the news. With
international controversy over
revelations about the National
Security Agency’s extensive spying programs and amid increased
tensions over the Obama admin-