Philosophical Consultations

1. What are Philosophical Consultations?

   Philosophical counselling or philosophical consultations present a guided dialogue between philosopher and their clients, by which using philosophical methods (such as maieutics, argumentation, conceptualisation, etc.) concrete, everyday life problems are solved. Though philosophical dialogue is old as philosophy itself, philosophical counselling as method has developed more intensively in last 30 years, since Gerd Achenbach started his philosophical practice. Today there are several different schools or approaches to philosophical counselling/consultations. The mere difference in terminology with these two terms - counselling and consultations - tells us about the nature of approach to clients and their problems. While some philosophers name this practice as counselling, others insist on using the term consultations. Usually, if philosophers do counselling, they give counsel/advice on how to solve the problem, or what clients should/shouldn't do when faced with the problem, which makes philosophical counselling similar to psychological or religious counselling, with certain differences in content. On the other hand, during philosophical consultations philosophers do not give advices to their clients, but rather question their clients, using socratic dialogue, enabling clients themselves to find the solution. Philosophers posses certain dialogical skills, which are connected with logical, analytic and synthetic thinking and also with questioning skills, which is a key problem solving skill in guided dialogue. During philosophical consultations, philosopher uses those skills in order to guide his client trough possible situations until clients reach final solution. Problems which clients have could be connected with any life situation or simulated/hypothetical situation, like: lack of sleep, problems related to job or family, bad self conception, relationship problems, decision making, moral dilemmas, personal loss, etc. Clients for philosophical consultations could be children, teenagers, adults or senior citizens. Also, clients could be of any profession, whether they are students, PhD's or common workers, with or without any background in Philosophy. Unfortunately, we all have problems.

2. How do Philosophical Consultations work?

   Using method of guided socratic dialogue, especially by guidelines by French philosopher Oscar Brenifier, philosophical consultations start in a way that a client states his/hers problem in form of a question. For instance, if a client has trouble with sleeping, they could ask 'Why do i have problem with nightmares?', or if they have relationship problems 'How can i overcome jealousy?', or if it's personal problem 'How can i be more open to others?', etc.

   After they state their initial question, clients do not ask any more questions, but rather they give answers to philosopher, which will eventually lead them to solution. By doing that, both engage in socratic dialogue, as seen in Plato's dialogues, where one of interlocutors states certain problem to Socrates. After the problem is defined, Socrates continues the dialogue where he asks the questions, while interlocutor answers to him, using various philosophical methods, until they both reach solution. However, the solution isn't always pleasant to clients, because it is possible that solution demands certain sacrifice or renunciation, or change in approach towards the problem, but by doing consultations we can always reach the solution. Philosophical consultations usually last for one hour, during which we examine different approaches to a problem and possible solutions, while after the consultations itself we leave some time to evaluate where client has a chance to grade philosophers work and the process of consultations, but also the solution to their problems and future actions which could lead to realization of proposed solution.

3. What do you get by doing Philosophical Consultations?

    As said before, unlike psychologist, philosopher won't give you counsel on what to do when confronted with problem. Philosopher won't tell you how to solve your problem. Philosopher will talk with you and guide you to discover solution to your problem on your own, no matter what the problem is. Mostly, clients know the answer to their problem, but they can't see it for some reason. Philosopher is there to point the best possible way to finding solution. Often we block ourselves and we don't allow ourselves to think, which would solve our problems - philosopher is in better position to perceive the situation and enable clients to think clearer, to find arguments or present clients with hypothetical situations which all leads toward solution. Philosopher will never blame someone for a problem, nor will he/she search deeper traumas in order to help you solve the problem. Philosophical consultations help clients in process of thinking, in overcoming the blockade, in finding  optimum solution - but that doesn't mean they are miraculous. Philosophical consultations do not promise happiness, love, well being or wealth. Philosophical consultations are used to question what is happiness, why do we need love, what would we do with wealth, etc. After one answers these questions, new questions will arise, with new possibilities, new answers, new solutions. At the end, philosophers are there to guide you with questioning, it is up to you to find the answers.

4. How to get in contact with Philosophical Consultant?

   This is the easiest part. If you are determined to do philosophical consultations and you think it is the right way for you, you can contact Zoran Kojcic on any of social network profiles. 

   Zoran Kojcic has masters degrees in Philosophy and Philology. Zoran is philosophical practitioner, teacher, workshop facilitator and philosophical consultant, attended Oscar Brenifier's Philosophical Practice summer seminar at La Chapelle st Andre in France in 2012, and holding Philosophical Counselling International Certificate by Portuguese Gabinete Project@.

 

You can contact Zoran Kojcic to schedule consultations via Skype or Facebook:

email - zorankojcic@gmail.com

Skype - zoran.kojcic

Facebook - facebook.com/zoran.kojcic

Twitter - @zorankojcic

 

Practicing Philosophy on a Bicycle

As promised, today i will write more detailed post on how philocycling, or philosophy on a bicycle, excercise works.

   Today i did a solo philocycling route for about 2 hours. This time i connected it with previous practice of philosophical walks, by Dutch philosopher Peter Harteloh, whom i met last year during a seminar in France. His method connects philosophical concepts with space and place. Before the philosophical walk, each participant is given a piece of paper with a quote by some famous philosopher. Participants should find a philosophical concept related to this quote, walk in silence and during a walk find a place which reminds them most of the chosen concept. Philocycling could be done in same manner, perhaps when done in group, but since i've done it alone this time, i deceided to choose a concept for self analysis before cycling. 

   My main concept was related to work. As i cycle from my starting point to first resting stop, i thought about my next direction in professional life - since i just finished a course on philosophical counselling, i examined my choices, possible solutions for starting own business and where this may lead me in future. After about 15 minutes of cycling, i came to my first stop.

   My first stop was in the fields, next to the road, exactly where i stopped yesterday. Main concept which i related to this place was 'change'. Yesterday i was really sorry i didn't bring my phone so i could take some photos of beautifuly shaped clouds. Today, of course, clouds were completely different. For a moment i thought about Hegel, and his explanation of how we can't speak about beauty when it comes to nature, precisely because it is all time changing. According to Hegel, beauty lies in unchangable things, but when i come to think of it, something can be beautiful even for a moment, whether it's a cloud, a song, or a painting.

   Continuing on my cycling route, work was still my main analysis object. This time i thought about my current work and how it can be really rewarding. Being a teacher is truly hard work, but if one gives himself to others in his work, sincerely and honestly, others recognize it and they give something back. Now comes the question whether it is selfish or not, to expect something in return. More on that after the next stop:

   My second stop was just after a long climb uphill. Here, i thought mostly about a concept of goals. Hills usually have a challenging effect on me, maybe because i live in plain area. Each hill, whether it's lower or higher, represents a challenge for me and i have some kind of urge to climb it, where it's top represents a goal. In life we tend to do the same, we set our goals up high and make an effort to achieve whatever goals might be up there.  

   As i continued my rout, i returned to the concept of selfishness. I have come to conclusion that i am a selfish person when it comes to my professional efforts, but i always make sure that out of my selfish needs comes something useful for others, too. In fact, being selfish isn't something utterly wrong, as some religious teachings told us, but a basic human animal instinct. What makes us a bit different from other animals is the ability to say 'No' when needed, to stop acting when our selfish golas can harm others in any way. Unfortunately, some of us humans aren't always ready to stop themselves when it gets to that point. 

   My third stop was by the river Danube, which at this point represents natural border between Croatia and Serbia. Also, in last few days, Danube is flooding the area, making a lot of damage in Central Europe and soon to come near my village, maybe even setting new record in water level. This reminded me of concept of power, and mostly of the power of nature over men. We may set dams in order to protect our property, but if things get wild, there isn't much we can do about it. I asked myself, how far will people go untill they completely conquer nature, and will we ever be able to.

   On my way home, after a long ride, Danube reminded me of my childhood, because i grew up by this great river. Wanting to connect my previous concept of work and my childhood, i tried to remeber what i wanted to be when i grow up. Most of the children want to be firemen, policemen, doctors or vets, they want to help others in best possible way, but i really couldn't remeber wanting any of that. I remembered that my grandmother wanted me to be a priest or a doctor, in her own words, so that other would respect me; and my father wanted me to be a farmer, like him...then it came to me - at first i wanted to be an astronaut, and then archaeologist. I don't know why i didn't achieve that, but i do know that i didn't stop asking myself the same questions since then, questions maybe nobody knows the answer to. Questioning, i guess, was what i always did, and probably what i will always do.

Zoran Kojcic

Philocycling - Philosophizing on a bicycle

   Lately, the World economic crisis made us all...well, made most of us think more on how we spend and manage our money or resources. That was one of the main reasons i got involved in DIY hobbies and activities, starting with some failed solar heating adventures, followed by garden decorations and some other useful thingies for my mobile devices. Few days ago i bought a bike, first one after more than 10 years, and now i pretty much enjoy cycling as a useful hobby. 

   At first i liked the bike, but i wasn't satisfied with what was written on it. It looked like this: 

   CyberRock!?!?! Whatever that means! I wanted to change something but i wasn't sure what. After some web search on 'how to decorate your bike' i didn't know what to do, because nothing looked like what i wanted. Then it hit me - i asked myself 'if i were to get a tattoo, what would it be?'. Answer was so simple, and now i got it on my philocycle:

   Gnothi seauton, means 'Know thyself'. An ancient Greek imperative, written above the entrance to Delphi temple in Greece. An imperative every philosopher knows about and should stick to in every situation. On the other side of philocycle, it says:

   Memento mori - Latin imperative, meaning 'remember that you will die', which can be interpreted in many ways, but i like to use it as constant reminder of what we really are.

   Anyway, now that i have a philocycle, i am able to engage into philocycling, a method i am still developing. For start, philocycling could be done while cycling alone, in pair or in group. If alone, you would need to focus on silence, introspection and contemplation (meditation could also be applied here, but i didn't try it). If you would do it in pair or in a small group, your main focus should be on dialogue development and questioning each other.

   Philocycling could be done in whatever time period suits you, whether it is an hour, two hours or more, with approximately equal periods of time dedicated to self and to the environment around you. For instance, you can do 15 minutes of cycling with 5 minutes of rest where cycling period could be used for self analysis, and rest periods for analysis of the environment, or vice versa. Places for rest periods should be chosen considering their geographic uniqueness. Self analysis can be focused on contemplation on questions like: who am i, what is the purpose of my existence, why i do what i do, how can i improve my life, work, relationships, etc. Environment analysis can be focused on thinking about the nature around you, at specific places: the sky (or the universe), cloud chapes, mountains, fields, rivers, lakes or the sea, villages or towns, etc. It would be better if the environment is variegated and interesting. 

   And there you have it. A hobby which is useful both for you body and your mind, keeping both of them occupied at the same time, making them work hard together, for your benefit. Please, if you deceide to try it on your own, or with own variations, let me know. 

   Later on, i will make sure to write a new post with more photos from my philocycling trip, with comments on self and environment analysis related to specific places.

Zoran Kojcic

Reflecting on Philosophy for elders workshops

After three months, my first Philosophy for elders workshops program is over.

     Six workshops held in village of Bijelo Brdo, in Croatia, started in February with a simple idea that anyone and anywhere can do philosophy. Though I had my doubts about the whole project as we started, everything turned out even better than I expected. Now is the time to shortly reflect on everything we've been trough.

     The program itself consisted of six very simple workshops, dealing mainly with methods of socratic dialogue, argumentation, conceptualisation, questioning and debate. Participants took it very well, even though they constantly emphasized that they were not educated enough for that kind of practice. Sometimes i had a hard time explaining to them that backgroud in academic philosophy isn't needed for people to think for themselves, nor did i use any technical terms in order to explain a situation or a problem with which we dealt. For every topic i choose to mention some everyday examples which they could have experienced in their lives and i mentioned only Plato of all famous philosopher, just in order to illustrate a point, for which, again, nobody needed any academic backgroud in philosophy. We kept it simple untill the end and i'm sure that's what they enjoyed the most - dealing with some serious issues, based only on their own thoughts and views.

     We started with 15 participants at the beginning and ended up with 7 regular people by the end. There were some participants who couldn't find the time, or got sick, or just didn't like it so they stopped comming, but the ones who stayed were really pleased every time we meet and eager to know everything about our next meeting, in order to prepare better.

    Facilitating the workshops wasn't easy, because, as in every group of people, there were some who couldn't stop talking, no matter what the topic was, and there were those quiet ones, who speak only when asked something. The group was really friendly and they have known each other for quite some time, so there was quite a bit of laughs, but when it comes to work they have shown a great success in serious philosophizing on various topics. The methods which we used weren't hard for them, they accepted them really fast and played along with every task which i gave them.

     At the end, participants told me that from now on they won't consider philosophy to be an useless term, but rather usefull thinking skill for better expression of thoughts with meaning. Honestly, i didn't and i couldn't expect these workshops to be a lifechanging event for the participants, but i am really glad i had a chance to work and share bits of wisdom with them. I can say that we achieved my initial goals, with these workshops i wanted to prove that philosophy can be usefull and that anyone can do philosophy. Other than that, i got alot more - i had a chance to do what i love the most and with amazing people who, at the end, benefit more than i did.

Zoran Kojcic

Dealing with Death

   On February 24th my father died. This was the main reason i didn't write any posts for this long. Ever since his death, i've been trying to write something meaningful, but i just couldn't. Right after the funeral, i meant to write a post in his honour, but now it seems to me that i needed just a bit more time to reflect on everything that happened. 

   On February 25th 1999, my grandmother, on my mother's side, died. She and my father were very close during their lives. They both died in same hospital, on same floor, they were buried on same date, next to each other. A lot of people could find that interesting, at the very least, but i still can't grasp should i even cosider to give it some kind of meaning.

   Even before my grandmother died, i had some sort of panic attacks when confronted with thinking about my own death. They started when i was nine or ten years old. I was able to overcome those feelings or thoughts when i first read Plato's Phaedo, when i was 17. So i went back to rereading Phaedo after my father's funeral. No one can read it without admiring Socrates and his bravery when it comes to dying. What Plato basically writes is that there can be just two possible outcomes after a person dies: a) either your soulless body sleeps for eternity, and therefore gets a well deserved rest, or b) your soul, which is immortal, goes on to experience the eternal life and enjoys or suffers there, depending on what kind of life you lived. Which ever be the case, Plato says, death isn't something we should be affraid of, but a rather joyful moment and place where we should find our peace.

   Since i found out that my father had cancer, i tried to imagine what would his death look like, where will it happen, what will i be doing at the time, how will i take it, and so on. I thought about it every day for the past two years. I also thought of telling him how i felt about him. I wanted to tell him how proud i am of everything he's done for me, of everything he achieved, and mostly how i had the greatest luck to have a father who was a truly honest and hard working man, who did everything for his children's sake. I wanted to tell him so much more than these few cliches. But i couldn't. I couldn't because it would mean that i'm saying goodbye, and i wasn't ready for that. I sure the hell know that i'm not ready even now!

   Although i was worried for my sister and my mother, because i didn't know how they will take it, i was very calm at the funeral. We all went together to visit him to hospital, a day before his death. I've watched just enough drama movies and TV shows to know better when it comes to hospital visits - i knew that i couldn't miss it. The doctors told us on saturday that it isn't likely for him to live untill monday. As i couldn't say it, i had to do goodbye. We saw him at the worst. I couldn't hold my tears. He died on sunday morning, and i will never know for sure wether or not he was even aware of our visit. As i stood at the funeral, watching my father's lifeless body, i was calm. I repeated Plato's words in my head like a mantra - relief comes after the pain, relief comes after the pain!

   Few weeks before my father died, i read a post by Tim Lott, on facing death, with similar situation i was in (link). I wish i could throw some wise quotes i learned from my father, but i can't. My father wasn't a philosopher, he was a farmer. He was an educated man, with a graduate degree in agriculture, and an expert in his field, but he was happiest when he worked with his hands, on his land. I guess that some people are remembered by what they said, and some by what they did. According to Plato, only those who lived an examined life deserve to experience the place of Ideas. I actually don't believe in anything anymore. I know one thing, tho - i am proud of myself for trying to teach myself how to be a better philosopher and i am proud of my father for teaching me how to be a better man. I am not sure wether or not i will be able to follow this path for the rest of my life, but i know that i will try - not because i owe it to him, but because I want to!

   On the morning of Socrates' death, the prison guard unlocked his chains. Socrates turned to his students and told them how strange is this thing we call pleasant, because it always follows  what we call painful. Both of them seem to play a little game, where they always come one after the other, but never at the same time. So, whatever may be the case, whether my father just sleeps an eternal sleep, or his souls wanders in some sort of heaven, i am sure that he found his peace.

Goodbye, dad!

Zoran

Philosophy for elders, first time

As promised in my previous post (link) today i'm gonna write about first workshop in my Philosophy for elders program.

Our first meeting, and i believe this was first time that Philosophy for elders was held in Croatia, took place just few hours ago, in small village of Bijelo Brdo, Croatia. Workshop participants were retired senior citizens from different professions and backgrounds: policeman, graphic designer, teacher, truck driver, farmer and so on. They all were very cooperative and interested in our topic.

For our first meeting i chose a workshop based on Peter Harteloh's method of group philosophical consultations. Basic idea for this workshop is to develop questioning skills, as very important skill for any form of philosophical inquiry. This is where participants learn how to form meaningful and direct questions, actively listen to each other and develop a further sense for questioning the questions. Workshop begins with reading a zen riddle (koan), after which participants have to ask only one question about the story. P. Harteloh calls it The Ultimate Question, because he compared it with a question first asked by philosopher after his client in philosophical consultations has explained their problem. This first question is crucial. It shows how carefully you listened the story and what seems to be the problem you are dealing with within the story, what bothers you most. The thing is that only one participant can ask their question out loud, only if they think that they came up with the best question within the group. After that, everything comes down to facilitating the group. They have the task of questioning the (ultimate) question, asked by this one participant who dared to think their question was the best.

Of course, there are many other things within this workshop, but i would rather just shortly reflect on participants and their reactions to concept of philosophizing. At first, as i sat in that room at 5:10 pm with only three people who showed up on time, i had my doubts about the whole thing and i actually thought that it wouldn't work, but 10 minutes later, the room was full and i found myself explaining to people much, much older than me what philosophy is. As the workshop went on, i felt more secure and i got a feeling that they really liked this opportunity to discuss philosophically. The questions they asked were really good and made a lot of sense, and almost all of them were very active and opened. Even this one man, who forgot his hearing aid, talked loudly all the time so he can hear himself and who didn't maybe hear anything the rest of the group was saying (we had a good laugh, though), even he wrote down a mini Bible and was smiling at the end with a promise that he won't forget the aid next time. The rest of the group also gave a good feedback and expressed their interest in rest of the workshops, eager to hear what is next workshop going to be about and when is the next time we will meet. I think that they felt good with my role of facilitator, giving them little space, once in a while, for discussion, but we all agreed that they have problems with listening to each other without interruptions, which is something we surely will work on in future. Still, I also couldn't be happier with the group and with their engagement, and after one man stated that philosophical approach truly helps to exercise his mind, on which everyone else agreed, i am more and more certain that this program will prove that philosophy can be useful and that it can be done by anyone who is only willing to. 

Zoran Kojcic

Practicing Philosophy with elders

   My efforts have borne fruit. Since i first engaged in philosophical practice, i wanted to do it all the way and in every possible way. This week im starting to facilitate Philosophy for elders workshops program of my own, and i hope this will be a good way to start with practical promotion of philosophical practice in Croatia.

The program is actually quite simple and it consists of six workshops, mostly based on Oscar Brenifier's approach to methods of socratic dialogue, problem solving, argumentation and conceptualisation. Basic goals of these workshops are to do something useful for community and to promote philosophical practice as philosophy for everyone.

   Few years ago Petit Philosophy association (of which i am a member) started promoting and doing philosophy for children in Croatia. Today, we want to expand to all forms of philosophical practice and philosophy for elders is just a part of that. Public image of philosophy and philosophers isn't good in Croatia and we want to change it by doing something useful for community. In my opinion, key issues here are that philosophy can be useful and that anyone can do philosophy.

   As i grew up and developed great interest in philosophy to a point that i want to study it on university level, i've been told, by my friends, parents, teachers, that philosophy is useless, that it's not even a real job and that i especially can't make a living out of it. Everyone around me seemed to be very pragmatic, but somehow i still wanted to follow the owl of Minerva and here i am, eight years after i first announced to my parents that i want to be poor lover of wisdom for the rest of my life, now trying to share some of the things i learned along the way and show how this strange, ridiculed poppycock we so pretentiously called philosophy can be of any use in everyday life.

   Across the street from my parents house, there actually lived a colleague of mine, philosopher, who moved out a few years before i even started to think about studying philosophy. He could have been a good support to my efforts, but all i was left with were farmers, like my father. I couldn't get any support there, because farmers in these parts of country were called philosophers only to mock one another when they talked too much gibberish. But, now i am trying to merge these two irreconcilable concepts - farmers and philosophy. Since philosophy for elders workshops will be held in two villages, almost all retired elders here were or even still are farmers. And as for me, this isn't the slightest problem - every single man or women during their lives at some point does a philosophical questioning, at least in their own head. The problem is that they either don't know that they are philosophizing or they can't get a good or reasonable answers for themselves.

   So, i hope to promote philosophical practice in a way to show people how philosophy can be useful for their everyday problems and that philosophy is something everyone can do. I hope that workshops will be firstly educational for participants and also interesting, challenging and fun to do. Surely, i will report on this blog after every session on how it went and what were the participant's reactions and comments. I hope we will be able to meet once every two weeks for next two or three months and i hope both groups, in two villages, will be satisfied with what they learn during our meetings. Unfortunately, i had no experience with education for elders before, so i am also hoping that after this program i will be able to compile specific philosophy workshop just for them if there is need, which means that i also hope to learn something and use it in future. At the end, i am really looking forward to this program and i hope that all elderly wisdom lovers will find some meaning within it.

Zoran Kojcic

Teaching without textbooks

Last year i started blogging on different platform and one of my first posts was about teaching ethics without textbooks. Back then i just got started with this approach and i was developing the idea, so now i get the chance to share what i've learned from this experience so far.
To begin, i would like you to read this post on a link provided here.

Same as i felt back in October 2012, i feel now. It really is way better to approach Ethics in such manner that students engage in discussions, rather than just read or reinterpret what others said. Philosophical practice approach proved to be very useful here. Within it, the method of socratic dialogue shows best results. Lately, i've started to use philosophical cafe practice in classroom. The main idea here is to let my students choose for themselves which topic they want to discuss. Sure, they seem to have some difficulties in keeping the discussion going untill the end of the class, but this is where i come in. As soon as i notice they are having some trouble, i jump in with a question or statement, and the discussion goes on. This might occur few times during the class, it depends on students or on topic of discussion, but it is the point where you see how interesting this role change really is. Students are no longer just students, they are teachers as well. And teacher becomes mere facilitator, directing - not the knowledge students have, but the topic on which they should discuss. 

Socratic dialogue is very useful when you have specific topic in mind. Surely, as a teacher you should have annual plan and program of what you would teach in given subject. Similar to that, you should prepare for all your classes and do the research on topic you want to teach. If the topic is general and already known to your students, then you can begin with specific questions which will problematize it. If the topic is new to your students, then a short introduction is enough for them to grasp the possible views and to form an opinion. From that point on, directed questioning is all that matters. As you set your goals, questions should be directed in that way. Sometimes, i don't even tell a single statements during entire class, all i do is ask questions and students get to do the answering. While doing so, they should always be reminded to use arguments and if possible, also concepts. This type of discussion becomes extremely important for grading them.

Also, flipped classroom is new and interesting approach one can use with ease. With a little help of technology, we can do wonders nowadays. I prefer to use videos as sort of homework assignments. I usually pick videos on Youtube, or make my own videos (using iPad apps and posting them online), send the links to my students with additional tasks/questions to answer. This approach can be used both individually or in group and it works well, because they already watch videos everyday for fun, so it doesn't hurt to watch some for homework for change. I usually pick short videos, which they can understand, mostly animated short films which deal with a topic related to our subject. When i make videos, i make sure they get the most important facts in combination with examples, photos and directed motion, pointing out the most important connections. 

I've been asked a lot of times, by my colleagues, how do you grade your students then? One thing is interesting with this kind of approach - it's that there isn't a single student who will tell you during oral exam "I don't know". When they use textbooks, most teachers expect their students to repeat what's already written there. Based on correctness of repeated material, students are evaluated (in Croatia, numerically, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best grade). I find that there are many other ways in which i can grade students. It gets difficult when i have students who don't function well with this approach, because they are used to 'textbook - repeat' system for so many years. And they tell me 'Please, just tell me what to write down, i will write it down and repeat it for you on exam'. So, how to deal with those who were taught WHAT to think, instead of HOW to think? They just need time and you have to work with them gradually. Short, individual assignments are best way to grade them as often as possible. Yes, they will still have trouble with oral exams, because they aren't used to express their own opinion, but they will do the assignments as you tell them to and maybe a bit worse grade in oral exam won't look so bad with the rest good grades for all other achievements. With time, they will get the courage and liberty to express what they think, just like the rest of the class. And as for the rest, the ones who were doing well since the beginning, it's really easy to grade them, because they respond with reasoning, arguments and sense. When repeating the textbook material on exams, students are nervous that they will get something wrong and fail the exam because of that. But after my first oral exam, where they weren't quite sure what to expect, i didn't see a single nervous student standing in front of me when it comes to exams or any other grading related situation. I asked them once, how come that they aren't nervous, and one of my best students answered - Because i trust my reasoning.

Zoran Kojcic

Tweetosophy

'What's this rather queer looking contraption?', we might ask ourselves. Twitter and philosophy? No way!

Yes way! said the whole tweetosophers community, and there's quite bunch of us. I've noticed there are some people who follow just over one thousand philosophers on Twitter. And with each new day i follow or get followed by more and more philosophers, engage with them in discussions, comments or questioning every possible philosophical field or problem. 

Of course, by discussion i mean exchange of ideas formed within a tweet, which is quite different than what some philosophers are used to. Discussing philosophical issues has mostly been done in wide form of essays where each point of view could be dissected and presented as complicated or difficult to express. Philosophers would approach every problem with variety of arguments, examples, thought experiments and the like, just as we are used to read philosophical books usually written in more than two hundred pages. But what if someone asked you to express your arguments in 140 characters? How could philosophers deal with that? Quite recently @ATBollands  and i argued on solipsism and he stated that "Twitter is so useful (if a little frustrating) for philosophical debate. It forces you to be concise in the arguments you give" on which i replied that "Maybe every philosophical debate should be as concise in argumentation as a tweet". And i really meant that! What @ATBollands brilliantly stated means that Twitter forces you to think how can you state your arguments in best possible way in order to fit them in only 140 characters. This means that Twitter forces you to think - and not just when engaged in philosophical, but also in any other discussion. 

I wrote about this in one of my previous posts - Philosopher of Post PC era - where i stated that Twitter can be understood as sequel of Short Message Service, or text messages, used on mobile phones, where we had the same restriction in messages we wanted to send to others. But what does this restriction achieve? Why force someone into this limited form of communication? I think it was Einstein who said 'If you can't explain it simply, then you don't understand it at all'. Twitter makes it simple and it makes you wonder about the essence of communication, for it is really just an exchange of messages. Also, one of basic linguistic theories argues in favour of linguistic economy, which roughly states that we should spend less energy in production of better communication. Transleted into tweetosophy, this means that philosopher, or any other, should practice the ways of communicating simpler statements with same or even better results in interlocutor's understanding. By mastering this communication skill we will never again feel incomplete in argumentation. In fact, our argumentation skills can only become better, because we learn how to construct simple and crystal clear arguments. Unless, of course, you want to be more like Hegel...eventually ending up not understanding yourself what you wanted to say. As much as we may admire Hegel's incredible work, there aren't many philosophers who can understand him entirely. But, one might also ask, is this the purpose of philosophy, not to be understood, or the be understood by only a few who have enough time and energy to waste on continuous reading of one man's worldviews and imaginations? I really wouldn't call that love for wisdom. I prefer to be understood by others and then also agreed with or refuted by their reasoning on same matter, but from a different perspective. I want to...

- ...benefit from philosophy!

- But you can't benefit from philosophy. It has a purpose in itself.

- What? What the fuck does that even mean?

- Well, it can be understood as...

- No, i asked what does it mean?

- Well, according to Plato...

- Im not interested in Plato. I want to hear what you have to say!

- Well, i base my opinion on previous...

- I'm not interested in hearing the history of ideas! I don't have time for that! I want to live! Tell me what it means!

- What it means?

- Uggggghhh!!!

So, other than above stated, there is one more reason for you to become a tweetosopher. Simply put, Twitter is where all the philosophical action is. Facebook is more of a place for friends, family and silly Youtube cat videos. LinkedIn is a place for your professional connections and where you pretend to be serious, academic and stuffy. Which leaves you with Twitter as place where you can relax, meet new people from around the world and philosophize in any way you like. So, if you have your Home - Facebook, you have your Work - LinkedIn, then you have your Going Out - Twitter! Twitter is the new Agora for philosophers! Only this time nobody will make us drink poison...i hope!

Zoran Kojcic

Philosopher on Mars

Since last night i am intrigued by Mars One Mission. "Mars One is a not-for-profit organisation that will take humanity to Mars in 2023, to establish the foundation of a permanent settlement from which we will prosper, learn and grow", says their website. I started exploring what is it all about, and as i found out that there will be internet connection up there, i actually thought of applying to be among first astronauts to set foot on Mars, but later i figured that i probably couldn't give up smoking nor would i pass the medical exams.

Anyway, this mission got me thinking about lots of things. First of all, what would philosopher do on Mars? Seems to me that exactly philosophers are needed for this mission, as you can see astronauts qualification on this link. This could easily be the first reality show where the winners wouldn't be just beautiful, good looking possible pop stars, singers, actors or the like, but where you would vote for someone who has a deeper sense of meaning, mental and emotional maturity and who has really needed skills for survival in such harsh conditions. As i understood it, Mars One astronauts will be chosen based on the audience votes, so i am really interested to see in which way people will choose the next history textbooks heroes.

Heroes? Yeah, probably, since non of them is going to return to Earth...ever! Mars One Mission is a one way ticket to Red Planet. Out of it comes something philosophically interesting. Stated on this link, Mars One asks the question: Is this ethical? Is it ethical to send people on Mars, never to return? They do state some kind of arguments in order to justify their mission, but all of it seems to me like going to army - we will provide you with all the necessary equipment, training, we will pay you good money and provide your family, but it's up to you whether you live or die. Now, going to war surely is moral - if we take morals as human customs, and whether we like it or not, whether it is good or bad, war is a custom thing for humans - but going to war certainly isn't ethical. Going to Mars can also be interpreted as moral, since traveling is something we do everyday, it is human custom to explore new environments. So, is it ethical - depends on presumptions what is good and what can be bad about it, and which of it prevails. If one presumption is - We, as organisation, will provide you with everything you need in order to live a good life on Mars. - and the other presumption could be - You could die due to technology failure. - then we need to wigh on it. But, since Mars One already decided that it is ethical, everything is up to people who will apply for this mission.

The question here isn't whether it's going to happen or not, the question is when is it going to happen - or even better, when it happens, then what? Try to imagine that you are the first person to set foot on Mars. The whole world is watching you. Everyone is excited. And what are you going to say to them? You can't simply copy Neil, that's not cool. You also can't say that it's rather windy, or that the view is awesome. This is the next big world history textbook event, every living person will know your name and your first sentence as you take your first steps on Mars. In that moment nobody will think of their nation, politics or religion, everyone will experience it as human kind achievement. The question is, how strong will your message to human kind be, since you have the possibility to address the whole world and even influence them in a way.

Furthermore, this mission also rises the question of conditio humana, or the human condition change. Will the human condition really change after we populate the Mars? What will happen with our views of the world, once we are present on two different planets? How can we define the world then? Will our views on religion and philosophy change? Or will we simply go on as if nothing happened? And what if we really see a philosopher crew member up on Mars? Hannah Arendt wrote something about this, she said that most radical change in conditio humana would be human emigration to other planet, where human labour, production, action and thinking wouldn't make any sense. She was also wondering what becomes of humans when they create artificial conditions of living, such as Mars One will make in near future. And indeed, i  also can't wait to find out soon.

"Everyone's life comes to an end eventually", the magnificent truth stated on Mars One webpage regarding the question What if one of the Mars inhabitants passes away? Mars astronauts should be ready for this and well aware that Mars is their final destination. But what happens if Mars One itself comes to an end? Eventually, people will stop watching their live coverage of Mars settlement, because some next big thing will arrive on our screens, and the idea of spending sunday family afternoon watching people on Mars eating or sleeping will become less and less interesting. The Mars Big Brother fades away and the question remains - are we going to witness the most expensive failure in our history or the beginning of the most impressive civilisation so far?

Zoran Kojcic