FAQ

What is A.L.P.S.?

Dr. Max Flapan in the early ‘70s was a latter-day "Renaissance Man" involved in a wide range of interests; his active mind attracted many friends from diverse professions and careers, resident in the City of Fairfax area. Max was a WWII Army officer who had come to the U.S. as a Russian immigrant boy; on retirement in the 1960’s, Max completed his doctorate. Among other projects afterwards, he gave courses on such subjects as the Soviet Constitution, portraying it objectively as a Leninist ploy, excessive on human rights promises beyond the U.S. Constitution in some respects, but criminally deficient on any delivery of promise.

Max felt that there was a useful civic role in the area for a discussion or learning group which could meet regularly, presenting, in modes of debate, serious written papers on current and passing social concerns of citizens: thus A.L.P.S. was born in the early ‘70’s with about a dozen charter members invited from professions of law, science and engineering, government, seminaries and education, etc.; monthly night meetings were held in members’ homes in a beginning fraternal environment for which the door was explicitly open for future women presenters. Venue of meetings later shifted to City of Fairfax facilities as host for our monthly papers; these have accrued to well over 200 in our record for this new Millennium, covering a wide range and variety of topics of contemporaneous concerns.

That record begins with a paper by A.L.P.S.’ first Secretary, doctoral candidate Col. Bill Cover: "Towards a New Cosmology"; given re a former "Jubilee Year". Copernicus wrote in Latin, "sotto voce" to a small literate audience of about 1% of Western Europeans; this astronomer challenged a concept of mankind’s centrality in God’s plan. The earth indeed orbited around the sun, contrary to Church interpretation. Analogously in our own times, in a half-millennium since were identified many similar icons to be challenged in our national and worldwide societal Gestalt, then barely emergent from ravages of global warfare. Papers since have paralleled history and headlines.

Early A.L.P.S. papers dealt with the "energy crisis" then consuming early ‘70’s news; a DOE author noted dominance of coal resources in our own country, later confirmed. Human biological/ethical and moral considerations were then and remain major concerns. China’s emergence as a rival power was discussed soon after Nixon’s entente with Peking. A GMU Dean related Democracy with Foreign Policy. A local Federal Judge discussed the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution. Superpower disarmament was a recurrent subject of members from ACDA, State, the Armed Forces and intelligence communities. Legal issues with privacy were a continuing theme of papers. Satellite communications and worldwide impacts of space were topical. A WWII-Nisei, Hiroshi, discussed civilian encampments of Japanese in the early 1940’s. Contrasts in treatment of slavery by Latin cultures were compared with ante-bellum America. A former missionary to India discussed experiences with Asian sub-continent mores. A former State Department Assistant Secretary wrote of the initial design of a Cold War "hot-line" between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.

More recent papers have treated: evolution, advances of medicine, war, crime, early Americana, experiences in post-depression America. Selected biographies and literature segments were presented. World hunger with its pervasive implications related to universal health care was argued. Antarctic research is a recurrent topic along with the new Moscow regime and related security issues. A paper critiquing Hume’s philosophy was later published in the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society; other papers were published by authors in ASEE (Engineering Education), in JMT (Medical Technology), and others. A.L.P.S. serves as a terminal medium for criticism of "pregnant authors" and their papers, serving to provide last-minute modifications to texts in the interests of better communication and presentation.

In summary, A.L.P.S. has had meetings during the past quarter-century on the last Wednesday of each month (barring holiday conflicts). Presently meetings are held at 7:45 p.m. in the City’s "Old Town Hall" on University Drive. All are invited, particularly those students interested in a multidisciplinary and interactive audience. Dues are not required. Our WEB SITE – alpsociety.blogspot.com/ (formerly www.alphaliterary.com) – contains writings on a gamut of current events of U.S. history (with many ancient lessons), put together by active participants from top-to-working level positions, for the last 25 years. Papers generally contain an in-depth study of problems faced by society. Questions from the general public are referred to the A.L.P.S. Web Page, but if more detailed queries arise, they may be relayed to GRODG82505@AOL.COM.

Where and when do you meet?

The Alpha Literary and Philosophical Society meets in the Green Acres Center of Fairfax, Virginia (4401 Sideburn Road, Room 112, Fairfax City, VA 22030) at 7:45 PM on the last Wednesday of every month (see Schedule). During each meeting, our members present and discuss their individual works.

Who is allowed to attend?

Anyone who is interested in the original purpose stated by the founder of ALPS.
"To engage in moderate debate, discussion, and exchange of views and opinions on timely affairs or on social and political theories of earlier thinkers with dissenting and diverse views that are intellectually credible and expressed in reasonably civilized form." - Maxwell Flapan, Ph.D., (1906-1973), Founder.

How do I access the archives?

The archives are currently not in use. They may be resurrected if the ALPS steering committee decides to publish past papers from the physical archive.