In philosophical practice

A COURSE ON PHILOSOPHICAL PRACTICE AND TRANS-SOPHIA

INTRODUCTION

Lesson 1: THE CONCEPT OF ‘PERIMETER’ (PLATO’S CAVE)

Lesson 2: THE GOAL OF PHILO-SOPHIA

Lesson 3: THE STRUCTURE OF THE PERIMETER

Lesson 4: ON PATTERNS

Lesson 5: FROM PATTERNS TO CONCEPTIONS

Lesson 6: ON FORCES

Lesson 7: PHILOSOPHIZING IN PERIMETER EXPLORATION

Lesson 8: WONDERING ABOUT GOING BEYOND

Lesson 9: AWAKENING HIDDEN FOUNTAINS OF PLENITUDE

Lesson 10: OPENING AN INNER CLEARING

Lesson 11: CONTEMPLATIVE PHILO-SOPHY

Lesson 12: CONCLUSION: THE VISION OF PHILO-SOPHICAL PRACTICE

INTRODUCTION

For the following series of texts I decided to organize the basic ideas of philosophical practice into a systematic scheme. This was not an easy decision, because it meant imposing more order on the philosophical process than it has. Philosophy is, by its very nature, an open-ended endeavor which always goes beyond any pre-conceived structure. Nevertheless, through many workshops and encounters I have come to realize that an organized scheme can be very important for pedagogical reasons. Even though it presents a rather simplistic picture, it can help the initiate grasp the essence of the process. Later, after one has mastered the basic outlines of the scheme, one can step beyond it and open oneself to philosophy’s multifaceted nature.

The following lessons therefore present a step-by-step scheme of the philosophical process. This scheme should be regarded not as a summary of the essence of philosophical, but rather as its skeleton. The living body is always bigger, more complex and flexible, more alive than the skeleton around which it lives.

Lesson 1

THE CONCEPT OF ‘PERIMETER’ (PLATO’S CAVE)

My perimeter is my world as I relate to it—the world as I understand it, experience it, interact with it. It is, as Plato would say, my cave. It includes my usual experiences, my usual reactions and behaviors, my emotions and attitudes. It is the realm of my possibilities—the type of relationships I may have with others, what I might do and say, what could be (for me) interesting or pleasurable or frightening, what is (for me) the meaning of love or of God or of freedom. It is my world.

A perimeter is a form of limitation. It determines the kinds of stories that can happen in my world, and the roles that I might play in them. It determines that some situations are likely to occur in my life again and again (conflicts, for example, if I am an argumentative person), and that others are less likely, or are extremely unlikely. And it is relatively rigid throughout life—it does not change easily.

Where does my perimeter come from? Some aspects may come from my particular personality and my particular psychology. Other aspects may come from the influence of my culture on my way of thinking and feeling. Others may come from general psychological factors shared by all humans. Whatever these sources are, they join together to limit my world to a narrow slice of possibilities. They limit my life to a tiny region within the vast horizons of human reality.

Example

Jason is at a party. He leans against the wall, looking at the people around him who chat and laugh and flirt with each other. He feels himself so different from these cheerful people, and so clumsy—he doesn’t know what to do with his hands. Whenever somebody talks to him, he blushes and mumbles awkwardly.

He scoffs at those silly people who talk so loudly and stupidly, as if there was nothing better to do, nothing more sublime and important. He is not like them, he says to himself, he is a serious man. He stands erect and immobile, watching them silently.

An invisible wall separates him from the others—and separates his way of being from other ways of being which are beyond his horizons, beyond his perimeter. His repertoire of relationships to the world is limited to those of a lonely angry man.

In philosophical practice

The investigation of the individual’s perimeter is central to all forms of philosophical practice: the personal philosophical journey, the philosophical companionship, the philosophical workshop, and philosophical counseling. In all of these, the main goal of philo-sophia is to understand the person’s perimeter and its limitation, to transcend it and to connect to greater horizons of human reality.

In philosophical counseling the investigation of the counselee’s perimeter usually begins already in the first or second session, and often continues throughout the counseling process. In later sessions the counseling may also explore ways to go beyond the perimeter’s boundaries.

In the philosophical workshop participants investigate their perimeter using a variety of methods, such as drawing, play-acting, or contemplative exercises.

Exercise

Choose a familiar kind of situation, for example speaking with an authority (e.g., your boss or professor), being under time-pressure, finding your opinion contradicted by another person, waiting for a bus, etc.

During the next week observe yourself in this kind of situation. Pay special attention to experiences that tend to repeat themselves: common thoughts, characteristic emotions, bodily sensations and gestures, behaviors, manners of speaking, etc. Note also what does not happen to you in this situation.

At the end of the week, draw two concentric circles on a sheet of paper. The inner circle will represent the core of your perimeter. Inside it write the experiences that often appear in the chosen situation. Outside the outer circle write experiences that rarely or never occur in this situation. In the middle, between the two circles, write borderline experiences—those that occasionally happen.

The drawing represents your perimeter as you see it. Don’t judge yourself—this is not a matter of good or bad, only of self-description.

Lesson 2