Jacques Dufresne, well-known Quebec philosopher and social commentator, is editor of the independent French language magazine of ideas and debate, L'Agora, and director of the evolving L'Encyclopédie de L'Agora, on the internet. For 30 years as a thought- provoking journalist and lecturer he has been at the center of social debate in Quebec on issues as diverse as suicide, sport, the health system, and agriculture. He is a founder of Philia, a Canadian organization dedicated to the promotion of dialogue encouraging of civil society. He did his doctoral work on Simone Weil.