The art of philosophising
What
do I propose with these webpages?
I present a quite unknown method for stimulating a youngster's effort to
improve his/her position. Philosophizing can be a tool for youngsters, who
pursue ways of foreseeing changes in their environment and controlling
them to their advantage. In this case somebody's drive to philosophize is
considered to be of a practical nature. The basic motive for such a quest
is not practical but lies in his/her intellectual curiosity.
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What are the didactic approaches?
In every approach I interrogate ideas. Most ideas seem obvious to
us, but not while philosophizing. The questions challenge the youngsters
to give form to their ways of thinking. Whoever says that his or her way
of thinking has already been paved, does not dare to continue thinking.
The process of acquiring knowledge should remain active and not become
passive.
A. The Socratic conversation is a group
dialogue. The youngsters are practicing the art of reasonable
conversation. A question is formulated and the implications of that
question are being discussed and evaluated during some sessions with a
limited amount of participants. The participants talk to one another,
accompanied in the process by a philosopher. The main task of the
philosopher is to make sure that the conversation keeps track and stays
within the rules. The most important rules are: one should not try to
psycho-analyse and one cannot become personal. The participants will be
stimulated to convince one another with rational arguments and fight
against the tempation of using impressive language. Sometimes the
philosopher will ask the participants to elucidate tacit arguments.
B. The philosophical practice is a dialogue
between a youngster and a philosopher as an adviser. It has nothing to do
with psychotherapy. The youngster is being aided by the adviser to
thematize the problem. The aim of the conversation is that the adviser
stimulates the youngster's self-reflection. New insights should give new
perspectives towards the problem. The youngster will also be made aware
that the attempt to broaden his or her mental horizon will change the
nature of the problem. It is not so much the attempt to give a good answer
that is satisfactory, but the attempt to ask a good question; for in a
well-formulated question one can find an answer already.
C. The training called 'Philosophizing with
children' actually is a derivation from the two approaches mentioned
above. The philosopher is in front of an audience and asks questions to
individuals. The aim is the logical clarification of the thought of the
participants, not so much by the philosopher but more by themselves, who
try to answer the question. The trainer will only deal with the content of
the answer and must be able to block out his knowledge (of philosophy that
is). The questions should lead towards the exploration of the limits of
self-imposed convictions and claims.
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What are the objectives to be realized?
Philosophizing means doubting obvious reasons, commonly accepted
convictions, everyday-beliefs. It is deconstructive: the destruction will
open new constructive ways of thinking. Philosophizing can therefore be
considered more as a therapy than as a method. It does not seek either a
meaning or a final satisfactory conclusion. Philosophizing reveals
multiple meanings unconsciously at war with each other during a
conversation.
The individual participant is to obtain primal knowledge of philosophizing
and be made aware that philosophizing is a tool to clarify the vague
underlying ideas that somehow lead to certain points of view. Questioning
should more or less lead to confessions about one's ignorance as a result
of dogmatic thinking. But the philosopher cannot force a breakthrough in
any form of habitual thinking. Emphasis should remain on the stimulation
of spontaneous thinking. The Socratic method may here be considered as a
(quite irritating) art of leading young minds to freedom of thinking.
Freedom of thinking? Well, let's say that thinking about the way one
thinks is a safeguard against self-deception. The participant will soon
realize that philosophizing is not about jumping from one conclusion to
another while, along the way, establishing crystal clear results. The
objective is that the participant wil learn to appreciate this kind of
self-guidance instead of obtaining commonly accepted ideas too quickly.
The training gives the participant the time and mental space to employ his
or her faculty of judgement, which - though a natural gift - can be
strengthened only by exercise. Only through the employment of this
faculty, combined with the power of will, can the elasticity be obtained.
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Which method is the main drive?
The Socratic method is applied while philosophizing. It is the art of
teaching not philosophy, but philosophizing, the art not of teaching about
philosophers, but of making (part-time) philosophers of youngsters. The
method makes sure of contemplated regress to principles. Because of its
regressive nature, it produces no new knowledge of facts or laws.
Reflection merely transforms into clear concepts what always had seemed so
obvious to us. The trainer can do no more than show his or her
participants how to undertake the laborious regress that should lead
to insight (into principles for examples). The method will inspire the
youngsters to test their own conclusions and their subjection to the rules
of logic. By trying to develop the critical minds of the youngsters, they
are led to criticize their own ways of reasoning.
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What is the difference between philosophy
and psychology?
The difference between a psychological and a philosophical approach is
implicit in the concept of philosophy: the latter isn't an empirical
science. But it isn't a metaphysical science either. Philosophy is here
considered to be a critique, which is an investigation of the ground of
possibility of metaphysics.
Secondly, the two approaches cannot be mixed, since apodictic conclusions
cannot be derived from empirical premisses. Psychologists would ask: why
are you saying this?, and concentrate on subconscious drives. Philosophers
ask: how are you saying this?, and concentrate on everyday beliefs.
filosoferen
met kinderen - robert de vos