FAQ About Group Facilitation
Q1: How do
philosophers work with groups?
Q2: Why are philosopher's cafes becoming
so popular?
Q3: Do
I need philosophical training to participate in a philosopher's
cafe?
Q4: Do I need
philosophical training to participate in a Socratic dialogue?
Q5: What are
the benefits of participating in philosophical group?
How do philosophers
work with groups?
Philosophers work with groups in several
ways.
Most commonly, they teach philosophy in
the classroom. Depending on the vitality and inspirational
ability of the professor, a philosophy lecture can change
your life forever, or merely put you to sleep. Between
these two extremes, at least it ought to make you think.
In any case, teaching is one way of doing philosophy with
a group.
But philosophers have other ways of
working with groups: informally, formally, and organizationally.
A popular informal method is the philosopher's cafe; a
popular formal method is the Socratic dialogue. Philosophers
also work with groups within organizations, delivering
such services as dilemma training, ethics compliance,
and conducting other specialized, goal-oriented workshops.
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Why are philosopher's
cafes becoming so popular?
There are several main reasons why.
They began in France, which is a definitive cafe-culture.
The French have a tradition of great poets, writers and
philosophers meeting in cafes, and scribbling their works
on napkins. The idea of a Renaissance is closely linked
with the cafe, as with the salon (another French invention.)
But philosopher's cafes are speading throughout
Europe and North America for larger reasons. To begin
with, there are substantial numbers of thoughtful people
who have been thoroughly alienated by tabloid culture.
Thoughtful people derive very little intellectual stimulation
from contemporary television and movies. Moreover, they
have almost no place to air and defend their views, and
to challenge the views of others. The philosopher's cafe
provides such a forum.
While the universities foster an intellectual
climate (or, as the case may be, an anti-intelletual climate),
their mission is to offer specialized studies often far-removed
from issues of daily life. Universities do not generally
offer thoughtful adults a time or place to philosophize
about issues relevant to their everyday lives. The philosopher's
cafe or forum serves precisely this purpose.
Thoughtful people need more than solitary
meditation, more than vacuous cocktail parties, more than
mindless television, more than special-effect movies,
and more than the gratuitious slogans, sex and violence
of tabloid culture. Thoughtful people need to spend some
time in a social milieu that offers intellectual stimulation
and exchange. That's what philosopher's cafes provide,
and that's why they are becoming so popular.
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Do I need philosophical
training to participate in a philosopher's cafe?
Absolutely not. You need only what
nature has already given you: a brain, and the ability
to think for yourself. A philosopher's cafe is not a philosophy
lecture; the philosopher presides only as a moderator,
to maintain the conversation on a philosophical footing.
The discussion is thoughtful but non-technical. You will
be challenged to defend your beliefs or opinions, but
you will not be asked to refer to a list of philosophy
books in order to support your views. In fact, the opposite
is usually true: instead of showing off your erudition
by referring to great works you may have studied, you
will be obliged to think for yourself, to give your own
reasons for the views you hold. The premise of the cafe
is that people can and should think for themselves. What
Plato or Nietzsche thought about some issue, and why,
may be important in the classoom. What you think about
some issue, and why, is more important in your life, and
in your exchange of views with others. Many people actually
enjoy thinking for themsleves, but are rarely given an
opportunity these days. Everyone is a philosopher in a
philosopher's cafe.
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Do I need philosophical
training to participate in a Socratic dialogue?
Absolutely not, for the same reasons
as above. A Socratic dialogue presupposes that you already
know the implicit anwers to certain universal questions,
and merely provides a vehicle for answering them explicitly.
For example, take the question "What is integrity?"
You might not be able to define "integrity"
off the top of your head, but you've probably had an experience
of integrity in your life, right? Aha! If you've had an
experience that you recognize as integrity, then Plato
would claim that you must already know what integrity
is, at least implicitly. The Socratic dialogue provides
an elegant and effective method for making that knowledge
explicit. By recourse to their experience and reason alone,
non-philosophers can precisely answer questions such as
"What is justice?", "What is liberty?,
"What is love?", and so forth. If the Socratic
dialogue is conducted properly, the group's answer to
a given question will be as good as any philosopher's,
or better. However, you definitely need a philosopher
to guide you through a Socratic dialogue--and not just
any philosopher. Specifically, you need one trained to
facilitate a Socratic dialogue according to the Nelsonian
method. But a participant in the dialogue can come from
any walk of life.
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What
are the benefits of participating in philosophical group?
As you can easily discover for yourself,
there are all kinds of benefits of such participation.
These benefits are quite independent of whether you spend
two hours in a philosopher's cafe, or two days in a Socratic
dialogue. They are also independent of the particular
question you are exploring. By investing some time as
a participant in a philosophical group, you will begin
to exercise several virtues that are indispensable in
other contexts too. Chief among these are thoughtfulness,
attentiveness, tolerance, and open-mindedness. By being
thoughtful, you develop the higher reaches of your big
brain--which is presumably why you have one. By being
attentive to what others are saying, you develop your
capacity to concentrate. By bring tolerant of views that
may differ from yours, you both develop your humanity
and set a humane example. Practicing these three virtues
helps you keep an open mind, which prevents you from making
rash or foolish judgements ("hardening of the categories"),
and grants you maximum scope for continued personal growth.
If you participate in a philosophical group, you'll probably
discover other virtues too. Please let us know!
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