Every year in July, in the little village of La Chapelle St André (Burgundy - France), gather about 20-30 persons involved in philosophical practice (students, teachers, professors, counselors, trainers) in order to reflect on their work and improve professionally. For seven days, in English, these philosophy practitioners coming from the five continents will participate to different workshops, run workshops, analyze and evaluate them, theorize about the different issues involved.
In this context, philosophy is not any more an academic activity centered on the history of ideas, and one does not come simply to narrate what he does in his home country, but get acquainted with the many ways that philosophizing is an activity constitutive of the mind and the self. Philosophy with children, philosophical consultation, philosophy workshops, Socratic dialogue, etc., one is introduced to the many forms and variants of such an endeavor. It is not so much knowledge that is at stake here, but acquiring and developing skills. How to conceptualize, how to problematize, how to deepen understanding of given ideas, and especially how to create a situation where this activity can be induced, is the main focus of the work.
Of course, Socratic maïeutics is a key methodological point, but as well dialectics, analytics, community of enquiry, constitute as many entries and matrices to define the work. If they wish so, participants can facilitate a workshop, a situation which provides an occasion for a practitioner to show how he works and get some critical feed-back on his work and his methodology, so one becomes more conscious of his own options and activity. Since the atmosphere of this seminar is open, inclined to both rigor and openness, it creates a context where one can really express his view instead of hiding behind the usual pseudo-consensus where "everything is fine and we are all great". In this sense, the idea is to recreate the context of antique philosophical schools, or the gymnasium as described by Plato, where one could challenge other's ideas and himself be challenged. In the peaceful atmosphere of a small French village, accompanied with good food and good wine, walks in the beautiful surrounding woods and visit to the medieval site of Vezelay, one can truly devote himself to philosophical encounters and reflection.
The duration will be one whole week, from July 12th to 18th, and the cost will be 500 EUR, including the workshops, food and accommodation in a private room. For people who are on a tight budget, this can be reduced to 300 EUR if you accept "camping style" accommodation. Our Institute can accept some people free of charge who have financial difficulties, but are highly motivated.
This seminar does not require previous philosophical training. It can be an initiation to philosophical questioning, or a deepening of the practice. Participants come from different parts of the world, and come for professional or personal reasons, to work on a practice that is applicable to many contexts: teaching, management, N. G. O. activities...
On the Website,
http://www.brenifier.com/, you can read texts and watch videos of the practice.
For more information : alcofrib@club-internet.fr
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