Philosophy is about universally interesting questions: What makes a life good? How should we pursue wisdom? What is it to be human? However, people outside of college classrooms rarely receive support in thinking about philosophical questions. The Philosophy Outreach Program of Colorado (POPCO) aims to change this by building bridges between academic philosophy and other communities.

POPCO members visit K-12 schools, nonprofit organizations, and other community-based institutions to provide programs, facilitate philosophical conversations, and more. These visits are free to participating organizations.

Current POPCO Programing

K-12 classroom visits

Through POPCO, philosophy graduate students visit Colorado K-12 classrooms to conduct custom-tailored philosophical discussions about a variety of topics. These discussions encourage students to think carefully and creatively about challenging questions such as the following:

• What makes something science as opposed to pseudo-science?
• Do the laws of physics and biology allow for free will?
• Under what conditions is war ethically acceptable?
• Do minds require brains?
• What are the limits of civil disobedience?
• Could robots have rights?

A POPCO discussion can also support teaching critical thinking skills, by challenging students to comprehend new ideas, analyze cause-and-effect relationships, and differentiate facts from emotional appeals.

Support for National High School Ethics Bowl teams

National High School Ethics Bowl invites students to engage in thoughtful, collaborative discussion on ethically complex cases. The regional competition takes place at CU Boulder during winter, before successful teams advance to the spring national competition. Area high schools interested in fielding an Ethics Bowl team can receive startup guidance and coaching assistance from POPCO.

Check out our website to learn more about POPCO or the annual Ethics Bowl.

Public reading/discussion group in collaboration with local library

In partnership with Longmont Public Library, POPCO instructors facilitate a monthly philosophy reading group for the public. Participants read a short work of philosophy, then meet to discuss it with one another. Facilitators gently guide the discussion, encouraging participants to think through the ideas raised in the text and consider their import. New participants are always welcome. Recommended for ages 16 and older.

The Longmont Public Library group meets on the 4th Monday of each month, 7 pm-8:30 pm (Mountain).  More information can be found at https://bit.ly/phil-reading-group

“Living Better with Critical Thinking”

Living Better with Critical Thinking is a program that teaches students how to maintain their mental health and live happier, healthier lives through the principles of logic-based therapy. Logic-based therapy is a philosophy-inspired therapy designed to change patterns of thought that are harmful to mental health by identifying and refuting the fallacious reasoning that underlies these thoughts. Our instructors are prepared to deliver lessons on managing harmful patterns of thought such as pessimism, perfectionism, and approval seeking. Living Better with Critical Thinking is supervised by a faculty member certified in logic-based therapy. This program is not meant to provide therapy or replace treatment from a licensed provider.

For more information on logic-based therapy, see this Psychology Today article by the president of the Logic-Based Therapy and Consultation Institute.

• K-12 classroom visits

  Additional Info

  Through POPCO, philosophy graduate students visit Colorado K-12 classrooms to conduct custom-tailored philosophical discussions on a variety of topics. These discussions encourage students to think carefully and creatively about challenging questions. Visits are free to partner schools/teachers.

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  Location 1

  in colorado

  Greeley

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

  ---

  Location 2

  in colorado

  Boulder

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

  ---

  Location 3

  in colorado

  Arvada

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

  ---

  Location 4

  in colorado

  Fort Collins

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

  ---

  Location 5

  in colorado

  Greenwood Village

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

  ---

  Location 6

  in colorado

  Lafayette

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

  ---

  Location 7

  in colorado

  Broomfield

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

• Community Reading Group - Longmont Public Library

  Additional Info

  This reading group meets monthly with the sponsorship of Longmont Public Library. Registration is through the library website. Details an be found here: https://sites.google.com/view/phil-reading-group/home

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  Location

  in colorado

  Broomfield

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Public Program (open to the public)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

  Event URL

  https://sites.google.com/view/phil-reading-group/home

• Guest Coaching and Startup Advice for National High School Ethics Bowl teams

  Additional Info

  National High School Ethics Bowl invites students to engage in thoughtful, collaborative discussion on ethically complex cases. The regional competition takes place at CU Boulder in winter before successful teams advance to the spring national competition. Area high schools interested in fielding an Ethics Bowl team can receive startup guidance and coaching assistance from POPCO.

  ---

  Location 1

  in colorado

  Parker

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

  Event URL

  https://sites.google.com/view/phil-reading-group/home

  ---

  Location 2

  in colorado

  Boulder

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

  ---

  Location 3

  in colorado

  Lafayette

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

  ---

  Location 4

  in colorado

  Lakewood

  Dates

  Ongoing

  Public or Private

  Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

  Program Fee

  No charge to attend/participate in activity or program