By Jon Gross

René Descartes once said, “One cannot conceive anything so strange and so implausible that it has not already been said by one philosopher or another.” A visit to Westborough High’s Philosophy Club proves his statement to be true. The ideas and concepts proposed during the meetings often border on absurd and unrealistic, yet every contribution is met by the rest of the group with great thought and consideration. However, the point of the discussion is not to merely conjure up crazy theories, but to think creatively and attempt to understand the multiverse more clearly.

Owen Smallcomb, a devoted founding member, had this to say about his favorite aspect of the club: “No matter how ridiculous an idea, you can express it and expect an intriguing and collaborative discussion to try and come to your own personal conclusion on that idea.” This shows the main purpose of the club; to create a place for students to collaboratively try and understand more about their existence. In fact, this quest for more knowledge and understanding is the reason the club was ever created in the first place.

Chinmay Joshi, one of the four founders of the club, discussed how the club came to be: “It was the four of us; me, Neil (Sullivan), Jon (Gross), and Quinton (Wong) who were in the same chemistry class last year and at the end of class when we had some free time we would often have deep and thought-provoking discussions.” Quinton Wong added, “The bell would ring and we really wanted to continue our conversations, so we decided to create an environment for us, and others like us, to do just that.” The club has done just that as every Thursday in Mr. Noonan’s room some of the most creative minds at WHS come together for a complex and profound discussion that often leaves more than just a few minds blown.

The founders hope to continue their early success with the club and hope that more students will come join the movement. Sullivan urged his peers to give it a try: “ If you’ve ever found yourself questioning your own existence or wondering about the great complexities of the multiverse, then it’s worth a visit to Mr. Noonan’s room after school on Thursdays to try and answer these mysteries.”