Head of School Christopher Nikoloff discussed the topic of goodness in the second session of “The DNA of Thought,” this year’s philosophy seminar, during long lunch yesterday in the Main Conference Room.

“Last year, I moved to the conference room, and the smaller environment is more conducive to deep discussion and dialogue,” Nikoloff said.

After a brief review of truth, the topic of last month’s session, Nikoloff posed the question of whether goodness was objective or subjective and examined examples of both types of goodness.

“It’s not the kind of thing that a lot of people would probably want to be spending their free time on, but if you appreciate these kinds of thoughts and ideas, then I think it’s really good time well spent,” Corey Gonzales (12) said.

Nikoloff also discussed the views of philosophers Benedict Spinoza, Socrates and Aristotle.

“I most agree with Socrates’s idea of apparent versus real goods,” Arnav Tandon (10) said.

Students and teachers who attended the session found bowls of food on the table. Some bowls contained raspberries, blueberries and strawberries, while others held assorted candies.

“I was more interested in the philosophical discussion than the food that they offered,” Andrew Tierno (10) said. “It was certainly very interesting.”

In coming years, Nikoloff plans to discuss other eastern and western philosophies.

“These are all kind of central issues in life, and very, very foundational, common to everybody. They raise questions that everybody faces just by virtue of being human,” he said.

Nikoloff will hold four more sessions of “The DNA of Thought” throughout the year, each focusing on a different idea. At the next session on Dec. 10, he will discuss the idea of beauty.