The Young Thinkers' Society Manifesto
by Founder Seanan Fong
The Young Thinkers' Society is founded on the observation that young individuals today do not have adequate opportunities for intellectual growth. The questions that have resounded among youth for millennia have become eerily quiet among our generation. There is little genuine conversation about the immortal soul; about the existence of God; about the nature of government and the nature of humanity. It seems that others have already answered those questions for us.
We have become another "fun" generation, where as long as our material needs are met, and as long as we are sufficiently entertained, we neither see a need nor have the will to grow intellectually. The previous generation fought against the perils of mass mentality and propaganda; we fight the dangers of intellectual apathy, where we cripple our very selves through the atrophy of our minds. We stunt our growth as human beings, as creatures of reason.
Society at large has reinforced this decay. We are brought up in a culture where adults place too much value on academic achievement, and where youth place too much value on fun. Admittedly, both are necessary, but their overemphasis has killed our minds. We are but mindless drones for which genuine intellectual growth has been substituted with adult-orchestrated "debate" and stilted classroom discussion. Both only reinforce the apathy that feeds our atrophy.
That our minds' growth is stunted as teenagers is shameful, because as teenagers we have not only the ability but also the imperative to engage in the pursuit of knowledge, truth, and intellectual growth. Socially and psychologically, we are in a unique position to explore where we otherwise could not. We are not children: we can exercise reason and independence; we can communicate and evaluate ideas; and we can successfully challenge the doctrines instilled in us during our childhood. Likewise, we are not adults: we are unfettered by the shackles of convention and vested interest; we do not yet have financial and career-related burdens; and we have idealistic minds receptive to new ideas and perspectives. We are teenagers, and we have freedom. We alone are able to challenge ingrained beliefs that children and adults cannot, for we alone bridge that gap between immature ignorance and grown-up petrification.
Because our teenage years quickly pass, and our unique capacity for free thought with them, we must feel a sense of urgency. Seize the day! The teenage years are a critical juncture that sets us up for the rest of our existence. Even if we are unable to develop a philosophy for our lives, we must develop an open, exploratory mindset to do so; we must build a sense of self; we must resist the tendency towards dogma. We have the imperative to ready ourselves for the lifelong pursuit of truth.
That is what the Young Thinkers' Society stands for when we state our mission: "To promote the intellectual development of young individuals for life." To carry out that mission, we state two objectives: (1) "To stimulate the thought of all high schoolers, members or not, through school clubs, public speaker forums, and other endeavors" and (2) "To act as a catalyst for connections, relationships, and discussion within the membership through activities such as the Salon or theyoungthinkers.org." Ultimately, we shall achieve our vision: "To create an intellectual community of young individuals in which ideas are openly shared and discussed."
Central to the way the Young Thinkers' Society carries out its mission is our belief that free peer discussion, unsupervised by adults, is one of the best means by which to achieve intellectual growth. Discussion trains the rationality of the individual while integrating him or her with the spontaneous dialectic of the group. Moreover, the individual is made outward-looking, and through tackling the same questions as those tackled by the philosophers and sages of today and yesterday, the young individual may even make a difference in solving such fascinating problems.
The Young Thinkers' Society emphasizes that its mission is for all young individuals, not just those of a particular mindset. We believe that every teenager can flourish intellectually. It is with that belief that we reach out to the teenage community through clubs, public forums, and, most recently, through this Young Thinkers' Magazine. Teenagers today need to raise their intellectual voices, and through this, we will learn to grow.
Young thinkers shall build an intellectual generation for tomorrow.
Mind Stretch: A Saloner's Testimonial
by Katie Kolodzie
It's a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, and several teens are sitting on a rug in their park's gazebo. They're all invested and interested in the conversation zinging back and forth: it's about ... the immortality of the soul. Every Sunday, I try to make this gathering of young minds to put in my two cents and listen to everyone else's ideas, and it might be the most refreshing thing I do all week. Our topics range far beyond the immortality o the soul; I love that we've covered everything from laissez-faire capitalism versus soft capitalism, cloning, and mandatory population control. Everyone has an opinion, nobody knows everything, and each one of us gives and takes. The fact that we can talk intelligently about important things is incredible to me. Even among my good friends, I usually don't stretch my mind, but at the Young Thinkers' Salons I find much-needed mental stimulation. We think hard about whatever we're debating, and although the atmosphere is non-threatening, ideas that lack substance stand out.
In the Salon, no one's afraid to have complex ideas and be an intellectual. We can each revel in our intelligence and own specialized areas of understanding. If I can see the historical take on an issue very clearly, someone else might see the economic global perspective much more clearly. I get a much more rounded perspective because of this cross-fertilization of minds; all of our horizons are expanded. I've met people I'm proud to call my friends: brilliant teenagers who I believe will make a spectacular difference in the world. I've learned to accept radically different viewpoints and recognize that what may be perfectly clear to me might be doubtful to someone else. I've learned that under the right circumstances, I can talk about basically anything without getting angry.
It's so rare in life to be able to have a conversation about something controversial without feeling threatened or hearing angry words. Yet in the Salon, we do this all the time. Religion is a hugely popular topic (especially with our esteemed Chair) and yet I've never heard an angry or insulting word. If we can debate the merits of Hinduism vs. Catholicism vs. atheism, anyone can. We've even touched on politics, the mother lode of disagreement, without going for each other's throats. This is possibly the best part of the Salon for me: the fact that we're defying all the conventional wisdom about sharing ideas and differing viewpoints. It can be done in an enriching, fun manner without anyone getting offended. Whatever anyone's told me, I know that I can speak reasonably about my own strong views.
The joy I get from stretching my mental muscles and seeing things from another side is tremendous. After an especially good Salon, my thoughts even _feel_ limber and stretched; they are faster and clearer than at any other time. From the fascinating conversations to the occasional epiphanies to the discoveries of so many views of the world, the Salon has expanded my mind - and taught me things I couldn't have learned anywhere else.
