Books
Socrates on the Market [1997]
In 1997 Jos Kessels published ‘Socrates on the Market’ [in Dutch]. In this book he described many examples of the application of the method of Socratic dialogue and explains the philosophy behind this method. Chapter 1 and 2 have been translated into English.
- Chapter 1 (pdf).
- Chapter 2 (pdf).
Free Space and Room to Reflect [2004]
In 2002 Jos Kessels, Erik Boers & Pieter Mostert published ‘Free Space and Room to Reflect’ [in Dutch]. The English translation was published in July 2004 by Boom Publishers.
This book describes how our practice of doing philosophy in organisations has been developed over the past years. It has been based on the three disciplines of the classical Trivium: asking questions and conducting investigative dialogues (dialectics); speaking and debating (rhetoric); and writing and reading (grammar). These three 'liberal arts' have, since classical times, focused on personal mastery and on inquiry into the essentials of professional conduct (ethics).
- Table of Contents (pdf)
- Preface (pdf)
- Chapter 1 (pdf)
You can also read a review on Free space (pdf)
Free Space. Field Guide to Conversations [2009]
In 2008 the same authors published ‘Free Space. Field Guide to Conversations’ [in Dutch]. An English translation was published in May 2009. This book makes a wealth of inspiring and practical guides available to anybody who wants to start and conduct conversations which are rich in content, depth and reflection. All the practical guides foster personal and mutual inquiry, in small and large groups, in formal and informal settings, ranging from the boardroom of the CEO to a local café around the corner.
This book offers an extension of the practical guides in their previous book, Free Space and Room to Reflect (2005). In their daily work with many different groups and in many different situations the authors have developed more than 80 different formats for practising and facilitating conversations. For the first time such an abundance of varying approaches has been collected in a single book – hence, a true “Field guide to conversations”.
- Table of Contents and introduction (pdf)
Learning conversations. The Value of Interactive Learning [2010]
The authors of this book – Pieter Mostert, joined by Meahabo Dinah Magano and Gert van der Westhuizen from University of Johannesburg – show how learners, through conversations, become active in developing their own understanding and improving their own ideas. This resource book for practicing and prospective teachers:
o explores conversation as a teaching and learning strategy
o presents a wide range of conversation types in a practical way
o shows how conversations can be used in formal as well as informal settings, across different subject areas.
The authors describe a variety of conversation types, drawing on Socrates, Vygotsky and other authors, as well as African oral traditions. They show how in learning conversations participants can explore a wide range of topics by working together towards a shared outcome: learning new ideas and learning about themselves and the world.
- Table of Contents and preface (pdf)
This book will be published by Heinemann, Cape Town (South Africa) in January 2010.
Articles
- What Questions would Socrates ask? On Dialogue and Ethics in Organisations pdf (Jos Kessels, 2000)
- Beyond Appearances; Plato's Myth of the Cave revisited pdf (Jos Kessels, 2000)
- On our Duty to Use the Socratic Dialogue in Business Organisations pdf (Erik Boers, 2005)
- Socrates meets Freud pdf (Erik Boers, 2006)
Workshops and lectures:
Development of discourse pdf (Jos Kessels 2006)
Unesco Conference New Philosophical Practices pdf (Erik Boers 2006)
Are you interested in a copy of 'Free space and room to reflect' or “Free space field guide to conversations? Then please contact Brunhilde Legeland: info@hetnieuwetrivium.nl
