# Code: The course ========================= ## Source: SPRING 2015/Socratic Dialogue reflection paper - Marion Sathicq.docx ------------------------- -If I fail at building a vision of who I want to become and hence NEVER take my responsibilities, if I fail at fighting my fear to choose this risky and difficult path and using them as a tool to design my own way, if I fail at forging solid relationships with others in order to share my inner wealth and mostly in order to grow it, I am convinced that I will not be able to understand the meaning of my life -As said in the class syllabus: Action is ALWAYS a result from thinking -The issue as a manager is that you are NEVER too sure that people’s opinions are not biased by the fact that you are hierarchically higher than them, and that they cannot be sincere anymore -Of COURSE, it depends on the person you consider, and someone smart and with a good education would NEVER become disrespectful, even if he feels that you are a nice manager -However, do I really want to become this person? This is another difficult part: when does savviness ends and hypocrisy starts? Of COURSE when you want to achieve a goal, you might have to give some smiles to people that you do not appreciate, in order to get to the top and finally have an impact on these kinds of fake relationships -Remembering that there is ALWAYS another way is hard because it also means there is no rest for you: you ALWAYS have to judge yourself, examine yourself, weigh the pros and cons of every decision and genuinely wonder if, given your responsibility to do good, this was the best choice -Of COURSE, fear can lead you to boost your intellectual capacities or your physical strength, but on the long term, it can only wreak havoc -To conclude, this class of Socratic DIALOGUE has helped me in many ways -This is a part of the meaning of my life (I am convinced that there are many other parts, but they are all interlinked…!): taking my responsibilities and act according to my ethics in a brave way will certainly not ALWAYS make me happy every day, but this is my only option -I am sure that happiness is like a seed and that wind ALWAYS changes his flow: when you try to plant happiness somewhere, there will be a wind that will bring it back to you! The way Socrates could have said something like “an uneducated life is not a life worth living”, I would like to add that questioning is indeed essential, but answering to these questions with good faith, a warm heart and an unwavering determination is also a necessary condition to lead a life worth living ------------------------- ## Source: SPRING 2015/Final Essay + Journal Carlos Manubens.pdf ------------------------- -Fall 08 Spring 16 Final Essay and Journal Carlos Manubens Mercadé S o c r a t i c d i a l o g u e What have I learned? How can I incorporate the philosophical theories that we have discussed in class into my job as a manager? And into my life in general?1 There are several things that I have learned in the COURSE and it is difficult to put it into words -There are people who are extremely rich in their interior but being more introverted NEVER let others share all that richness and to me those are not leaders, but really emotionally rich characters that probably get to live a really meaningful life -To succeed in this regard, it is also important getting someone to introduce you to these thinking, which in my case were my parents since they are both in my opinion really self aware and have ALWAYS tried to become as happy as possible by knowing themselves, their needs and their aspirations in life as an individual and as a profession One of the key takeaways of the subject for me was to also tackle fear in my life as a manager and as a person since it is a way to have a better life -And that builds fear towards committing those mistakes again or simply resignation from knowing some things will NEVER be exactly the same since there are mistakes that are sometimes irreversible -However, despite these bad feelings, it is ALWAYS in the hands of everyone to interpret these feelings, mistakes and consequences towards being better, and that leads us to the next topic, which is happiness -I like to carry with me the European Standards, these are the ones that have ALWAYS been with me and the ones that my family and my school transmitted to me and therefore those with which I feel comfortable -On the other hand, and as aforementioned, people make mistakes since life circumstances are not ALWAYS as good and proper as one would expect or desire for every citizen in life -That is maybe since a majority share of the population is ALWAYS doing good and hence it would be difficult to reward all the people that do good in life -Logically, Justice has ALWAYS to remain as the key organization to maintain order ALWAYS ------------------------- ## Source: SPRING 2015/Reflection Paper Juliette ten Brink.docx ------------------------- -For example when I did my SOCRATIC DIALOGUE with my mother, I asked her what happiness is and she answered ‘helping others and giving to others’ and without even knowing it, I think she had been working towards Aristotle's form of happiness basically her whole life -However, if you decide to see happiness as something related to the satisfaction of needs or desires, then I don't think you can ever be happy because there will ALWAYS be new desires -I think I need to keep in mind that nobody said it was easy to follow the virtuous path, and I ALWAYS seem to come back to Aristotle -I talked to Isabelle about courage in our SOCRATIC DIALOGUE and she said that courage is being able to stand up to your fears -She won the Nobel Peace Prize at 17, an achievement I think most 50-year olds will NEVER come close to because they have not and likely will not ever achieve the level of dedication and commitment to their principles as this young girl has -It was then that I entered your classroom Sira, and through our COURSE on business & society started finding strength and inspiration in wanting to help the world become a better place to live in -On justice ‘Equal starting points should govern our behaviour’ A topic that I have given quite a lot of thought to is justice, as it was indirectly the topic for my own SOCRATIC DIALOGUE -I am ALWAYS balancing selfishness & desire with generosity & happiness -Sometimes I think I know what the right choice would be, and I think that I will act on it, but then I don’t ALWAYS act, and then I start to doubt whether it was even the ‘good’ or ‘right’ act to begin with -Amongst this ‘not knowing’, I am constantly struggling to not DEBATE, but learn, to not argue, but explain, to not compete, but listen; the ‘Socratic’ approach basically ------------------------- ## Source: SPRING 2015/SD_FinalEssay_ViktorPenzinger.pdf ------------------------- -To this extent, keeping a learning journal was very useful in establishing this essay and I can only recommend it to future participants of this COURSE -Before I will try to answer this first question, I consider it to be of great value to review my initial expectations of this COURSE -Initial expectations, individual preparation and the first Socratic Dialogue session As soon as I got notice of my admission to ESADE, I immediately checked the online COURSE catalogue and found this COURSE, which seemed so different from all the “usual suspects” of courses taught at what one would call traditional business school -One the one hand, I was aware that my knowledge of the work of the great philosophers was at a level between little and average and that this COURSE could be a way to improve this level and myself in a challenging “Socratic” atmosphere -Nevertheless, I was ALWAYS keen on working on my general knowledge apart from business-related areas, and the idea to talk freely about some of the most philosophical questions in life with some of the most bright students I would encounter there seemed promising -Therefore, a quick hypothetical cost/benefit analysis resulted in a clear preference for signing up to this COURSE, and I was eager to hear how others would feel about the topics outlined in the syllabus -Another way in which this class differed from others was that the initial 30 minutes were not spent with re-reading the syllabus, but rather with an “Annoying Observation”, a tool entirely new to us and which would ALWAYS allow us a quick start into each session despite the typical Monday morning feeling -What then followed not only in the first session, but over the COURSE of the entire semester were constructive discussions, in which every student tried to build on what had been said before -In this setting, the latter tried to maintain the role of a moderator who only rarely evaluated what others said and almost NEVER provided own thoughts deliberately -What have I learned throughout the COURSE? First of all: I have learned a massive amount of names of philosophers from different epochs of time, whose contributions (especially with regards to the Hellenists) were not ALWAYS easy to differentiate at the beginning -Therefore, especially in nowadays times where individuals are ALWAYS performing in a multi-tasking mode, getting back into the so-called “flow” was crucial for finding the essence of a given reading -It was not ALWAYS easy to do so, but I really tried to minimize all the disturbing and interrupting factors in my environment, such as my mobile phone or the Internet itself -During our discussion around the flute dilemma, I saw myself entering it with a fixed opinion, which however was more than challenged as the discussion evolved until I realised that I had ignored the ARGUMENTS in favour of the other children to undermine my initial decision -If we transfer that into the world of managers, the latter should ALWAYS consider the two sides of the same medal (e -Nevertheless, being managers, we should ALWAYS strive for virtuous actions based on facts (Aristotle), rather than on intentions/ideas (Plato) -It is simple highly unlikely that we as future managers can ALWAYS find out the perfect career move, the adequate action for the company in every situation, or the right words to say to employees and stakeholders -Like doing business is about winning the hearts of customers, it is also ALWAYS about making mistakes and failing too -6 Socratic Dialogue, Final Essay Viktor Penzinger ESADE, Spring 2016 Last but not least, I would like to reflect on Hans Jonas’ suggestion to ALWAYS act in a way that the world that is resulting from our action is as good as the one before our action has been carried out -At the same time, I can show more patience when talking to others, giving them a chance to explain their points and ALWAYS letting them finish their sentence -With regards to this, this class has required me not to be missionary in supplying my ideas and convincing others (winning the DEBATE), but rather to build on what others have said (improving the DIALOGUE) -Of COURSE, these individuals did commit more or less severe crimes, but I assume that we only establish these prejudices to defend and confirm ourselves, rather than allowing ourselves to find some common denominators with almost every stranger once we get to know them better -The one-to-one session and some final thoughts Towards the end of this essay, I want to refer to one of my personal highlights of this COURSE, which was the one-on-one session with the professor and a fellow student as the final action of the COURSE -Lastly, both the person playing Socrates as well as the citizen can find new questions and maybe also new answer they have NEVER thought about before through having a Socratic Dialogue, even in the most remote areas like robots as in our case -As a consequence, I am highly confident that I will not abandon this method to discover answers to challenging questions but instead I will ALWAYS look for people with interesting personal backgrounds who seem promising for Socratic Dialogues ------------------------- ## Source: SPRING 2015/SOCRATIC DIALOGUES JOURNAL.pdf ------------------------- -Therefore, the duty of humans is to NEVER stop seeking knowledge, and the first step is to know thyself -What is happiness? After the Socratic DIALOGUE we had in class, happiness was described as being able to avoid the suffering -Coming back to Socrates, evil is ALWAYS a consequence of evil, but those who are in power are responsible for educating those who are ignorant -CEMS Spring 2016 Final Essay: Elisenda Sumarroca What have I learned? How can I incorporate the philosophical theories that we have discussed in class into my job as a manager? And into my life in general? The most important take away from this COURSE is to be able to use the tool of having a Socratic DIALOGUE -It has been proved thorough the COURSE how powerful it is in order to build the best opinions from different opinions, and how it helps to develop better solutions comparing it to a DEBATE -As the COURSE was moving on, I felt more comfortable with these reflections and I gave more and more importance to the concept of Socrates of know thyself, as it is the way to understand better the environment, others and also to better face the different situations I encounter thorough life -I also gained a lot of knowledge in terms of philosopher’s thoughts and theories that we explored during the COURSE -Moreover, it was very interesting to see how my opinions would change as the Socratic DIALOGUE with my colleges developed in class -The final Socratic DIALOGUE that I did with Dasha was very useful in order to realize the main take ALWAYS of the COURSE -After the COURSE this seems something “normal” for me, but I have to admit that I would have NEVER thought I would be able to have this kind of discussions and around this topic -In the beginning of the COURSE, at the time of being Socrates it was more an exercise of throwing different questions, but not paying so much attention about the answers, but actually as the COURSE went on I realized how important it was to listen with attention to the other’s thoughts, in order to be able to ask the best questions at the moment -CEMS Spring 2016 Elisenda Sumarroca I believe that there are three main takeaways from this COURSE that I will be able to apply in my job as a manager -During the Socratic dialogues in the COURSE, the solutions we reach were NEVER one’s person solution, they were build by all the group, and this is something that can become difficult in a company -In order to conclude, more in terms of my personal life, this COURSE helped me realize the importance of being able to stop and reflect on some issues and think about aspects we take for granted on our daily life ------------------------- ## Source: SPRING 2015/Final Essay.docx ------------------------- -Dylan What brought me in this COURSE? I guess that to give a little bit of structure to this paper I have to start with my background in order to make clear why I wanted to be in this COURSE and what were my expectations -Reflections on the COURSE topics that affected me the most All the topic of the COURSE and the discussions we had in class were really interested and I made lot of reflections about each topic inside and outside the class, but for some of them I maturated some ideas that I am sure are going to influence the way I will understand the world in the future and the person I will be -I have ALWAYS said that to me the meaning of life is to be happy but then I had NEVER tried to define what is happiness to me -I realized that possibly once I am able to define what is happiness to me and so indirectly what exactly is the meaning of my life, reaching it might be easier (even if it is not ALWAYS true that the more you know clearly what you want the more you are able to get there) -I was so surprised that in my life I reflected a lot about a lot of topics but I have NEVER seriously thought about how to be happy, that I guess should be the most important thing people should reflect on, given the fact that every breath we take, every action we take in our daily life, is implicitly directed to this higher scope of happiness, even if people can be not aware of this -For the FIRST TIME during the classes about this topic I saw the paradox, I was taking all my decisions and actions to reach happiness but without a clear direction, and that was a terrible mistake from my part -Clearly, despite keeping on running all the time, he will take much more time and has a higher risk to NEVER get to Girona than another athlete that, before start running, will take some time to check the street and plan the shorter route -Since the primary school I have ALWAYS be very sensitive and empathic towards the emarginated -It’s actually the FIRST TIME I am talking with someone about this idea, because I know I can be easily misunderstood, but this is an idea I would like to work on in the future -I am a Unicef volunteer since 2008 and in all my academic career I have ALWAYS been interested in NGO and social business -If it was not for this COURSE or this specific class, I would have NEVER be able to recognize that what has been my biggest fear in the last 5 years, losing my values and forget where I want to go, was actually happening -For the FIRST TIME of my life I realized how easy it is to forget about yourself and your goals and just get sucked into the others goals and desires -Meta-reflections on the COURSE itself This COURSE helped me a lot -I probably read more books (not related to business thanks to God) in this 3 months than in all my University life where I NEVER had the time -Third, I have already discussed in other essays the importance of the SOCRATIC DIALOGUE itself, how glad I am to have into my tools and how eager I am to use it a lot in the future -I will ALWAYS have the time to come back to the “normal” and “well defined” post business school path -What is next for me? Now that, thanks to this COURSE, I have clear what I don’t want to do and what I don’t want to be, I have to start consider different options of what I want to be and do -I will NEVER thank you enough for being able to open my eyes and my soul in this way -[2] I haven’t put emphasis on how this COURSE will help me to become a better manager simply because I am not sure that I want to become a manager ------------------------- ## Source: SPRING 2015/Final.pdf ------------------------- -SOCRATIC DIALOGUE FINAL REFLE CTION MARÍA IZQUIERDO PARDO ABSTRACT In today’s fast-paced world, where technology drowns us in an overwhelming amount of information and has even changed our way of communicating and perceiving the world, the Socratic Dialogue COURSE has provided a haven of thoughtfulness, a safe space to pause and rescue from the back of our minds transcendental topics that we ignore in our hectic daily lives -It has served as a space not only to explore and rediscover those topics through DIALOGUE with classmates, but also as a starting point for introspection -The immediate deduction that derives is that those topics are extremely relevant for human existence, and yet during the COURSE of this class we have confirmed that even a group of educated young people in the brink of a tipping point in their lives –the end of their higher education and incorporation into the labour market- do not give these topics appropriate consideration -This frustration is well exemplified I think by the expression used in business “paralysis by analysis”, which refers to our helplessness as human beings when we are overwhelmed by information; in this case, the Socratic Dialogue COURSE has overwhelmed me with doubts -Pleasant because, in spite of the lack of that sense of closure, one notices, while going over the topics and theories that have been covered throughout the COURSE, that all of them are somehow interrelated and the prior feeling of vertigo in front of an endless linear horizon of those topics suddenly becomes a circle, equally endless but somehow closed -I realised While later reflecting on Socrates’ maxim of living the examined life I realised that in spite of our opposing views about the nature of reality and truth, this did not degrade the socratic methodology of living the examined life, but actually that this multiplicity of reality could make socratic DIALOGUE even more valuable: instead of helping us reach one universal truth, socratica DIALOGUE can help us discover other truths and hence enrich our own experiences, perceptions and perspectives -I had also misinterpreted his theory by thinking that he was condescending, as what Socrates actually promotes through DIALOGUE is not only questioning other people’s thoughts, but most importantly, questioning our own and NEVER becoming complacent with and entrenched in our own thought -I also believe that human beings unconsciously ALWAYS think back when that we reflecting about happiness and consider of our whole personal journeys up to the moment when we are making that evaluation -In this respect, it was also very interesting to study Frankl’s theory of logotherapy and in particular, how his of pan- determinism defied the influence of the in environment and goes a step further affirming human beings’ control of their lives and happiness, as he states that man ALWAYS has a choice -This concern came to the fore during our DEBATE over how to control innovation when I voiced the concern that people who know might still not be the best to decide, as nowadays, people who make decisions about the something and people who bear consequences or the risks of such decisions are often not the same -forbidding General learnings I am grateful that we have to write this final reflection, because it gives an incentive to go over our daily notes and helps us, in hindsight, to gain a broader overview of the COURSE and to extract learnings that are generic enough to be applicable to our life and can contribute to improving it -I think the most valuable element of this COURSE is precisely having confronted us to these abstract, uncomfortable situations, to force us to think out of our comfort zone and not providing us with the shortcut of a clear cut answer -However, in line with the premise that with knowledge comes power and to remain truthful to FINAL REFLECTIO N MARÍA IZQUIERDO PARDO Socrates’ advocacy, we must understand Socratic DIALOGUE as a form of empowerment and this empowerment as our duty as future managers -Below I summarise the key learnings that I take with me from this COURSE and will hopefully help me progress in the socratic journey -§ In contrast with the difficult realisation that we will NEVER be knowledgeable about anything, Socrates has provided a very revealing learning for me, which is that if we truly have the motivation to learn, we can learn from anyone at any moment just by engaging in an unbiased, open DIALOGUE -§ Although it is still a work in process, I think the COURSE and the dialectic technique have helped me become a better listener, in particular, realising the importance of making sure that we understand what our counterpart really means; trying to identify the assumptions underlying their statements, and the importance of un- biasing ourselves and put our own opinions to the side while listening to other people in order to truly keep an open mind -§ Related to that, the only DEBATE we had throughout the COURSE sent a very clear message to me: the frame for communication really matters in terms of the outcomes -Therefore, I will ALWAYS try to keep in mind the dialectic technique, especially in situations meant to be confrontational, and try to engage other parties with the socratic approach -Again, DIALOGUE is a powerful tool to help us overcome our individual limitations and to reach a higher level of understanding ------------------------- ## Source: SPRING 2015/Final Essay - Dasha.pdf ------------------------- -Ying Tung (Dasha) Lin CEMS Spring 2016 Final Essay for Socratic Dialogue After the COURSE ended, the most prominent revelation for me was the importance of being a balanced person, mentally, physically and socially -Different from “debating”, we wished to assist each other to reach better understanding of our ARGUMENTS, rather than trying to convince each other that there was only one ultimate answer -However, when I was put on the spot and witnessed my answers being deciphered layer by layer, I realized that what I spilt out was something I had NEVER put much thoughts into and therefore was somewhat foreign to me -This maieutic method helps people to give birth to ideas, ideas that have been ALWAYS there waiting to be discovered -However, whether desires make us happier is still left for DEBATE, especially when we seem to have more and more complex desires as time proceeds, in both micro and macro sense -Then the question remained: What if we NEVER have to go through such suffering? Does that mean there is no meaning in our Ying Tung (Dasha) Lin CEMS Spring 2016 lives? Or if I went through less suffering, does that mean that my life is less meaningful? Then we extended the discussion on whether it is necessary for everyone to have a meaning of life -Assuming that there is a person that lives in total solitary and whose only contact is his/her parents, and has NEVER been exposed to a more complex social environment, he/she might remain in the kids stage unless the situation changes -However, human beings are ALWAYS subject to peer pressure to an Ying Tung (Dasha) Lin CEMS Spring 2016 extent we cannot even imagine -One of the topic that raised a heated DEBATE among us was the pursuit of personal goals versus family life -As I had mentioned in my final say in the end of the dinner, I was slightly concerned before the COURSE started -After this COURSE, I would not say that I know much about the different schools of philosophy now, since that takes years to master -And as Sira said in the beginning, we will leave this COURSE with not answers, but more questions, which is exactly how I felt ------------------------- ## Source: SPRING 2015/Isabelle Spicker_Socratic Final.pdf ------------------------- -Isabelle Spicker SOCRATIC DIALOGUE Final Essay The Impact of “SOCRATIC DIALOGUE” on my (Working) Life Someone I estimate highly once gave me a story of a fisherman to challenge my choice of profession -I knew I needed to settle this probing issue but I NEVER took time to actually do so until this semester -The FIRST TIME I felt closer to solving it is when I read the Nicomachean Ethics by Aristoteles -Although this sounds very clear and logical, it unsettled me that lying in the sun actually still makes me very Isabelle Spicker SOCRATIC DIALOGUE Final Essay happy -On the contrary, one cannot constantly fall in love and it takes a lot more of awareness to be as happy about seeing a flower for the tenth time as when you saw it for the FIRST TIME -” Incidences of injustice ALWAYS bothered me a lot, especially in the form of unfairness -I am fighting to break Isabelle Spicker SOCRATIC DIALOGUE Final Essay stereotypes, to show what women can do and ultimately to improve our standing at work -I therefore promised myself to pay close attention to whether the pull of my current meaning of life is fading and if so, to start doing SOCRATIC DIALOGUE with good friends and to take time to read philosophy and to contemplate on my own -Isabelle Spicker SOCRATIC DIALOGUE Final Essay The more I read about ‘glass ceilings’ and workplace discrimination, the more I recognize them in my environment and the sadder I get -Now that I had become clearer on why to become a manager, how to become happy and the meaning of my life, I wanted to challenge my weak construct of a theory in a SOCRATIC DIALOGUE with my good friend Sophie -However, during my DIALOGUE with her on the meaning of life, I realized that Sophie’s meaning is not just to lie in the sun happily -And what might look like an easygoing life is not ALWAYS paved by happiness -But I NEVER realized that some of those might stem from her ambitious challenges -Isabelle Spicker SOCRATIC DIALOGUE Final Essay Throughout the entire COURSE, I discovered how happy and enlightened I felt in our discussions in which we touched upon essential questions of live -Unfortunately, I didn’t know back then that there are such techniques as SOCRATIC DIALOGUE to help me find my own answer -So I am very thankful for the discovery throughout the COURSE that there is a lot of people that like to engage in philosophical discourse, even if you wouldn’t expect it at first -Dear Sira, thank you for leading this extraordinary class, for introducing me to philosophical thinking and the technique of SOCRATIC DIALOGUE ------------------------- ## Source: SPRING 2015/KGanko_paper.pdf ------------------------- -Socratic DIALOGUE: philosophy and narratives that improve our management skills What have I learned? How can I incorporate the philosophical theories that we have discussed in class into my job as a manager? And into my life in general? I will try to tackle those questions in the following paper -While signing up for the COURSE I became very hopeful that the class would help me in discovering myself and help improve my communication skills, since I have experienced difficulties and limitations in those areas -The COURSE was very eye-opening and helped with understanding my life as well as other people around me and their cultures, about the world and the injustices out there in it, as well as about the philosophical concepts that are helpful with discovering meaning -I observed that I tend to rely too much on theoretical philosophy, where it is necessary and helpful to focus more on a COURSE of action -” 1 Session 1: Know thyself The first session of the COURSE stared wit an introduction to methodology created by Socrates known under the name of Socratic DIALOGUE -It is also called maieutics and is a form of cooperative DIALOGUE between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presumptions -Instead of benefiting from gaining understanding through active listening and openness to different ideas they want to win the DEBATE and do not question their opinions nor are willing to change them -We also established some rules, and were told that the classroom will be our mental gym where we will learn how to DIALOGUE, and try to help each other to learn and become aware of our thoughts and beliefs -I observed that we were fighting and trying to impose our opinions to each other, rather than actively listen and DIALOGUE -It is this power of desire, to energise us towards a goal, that is truly transformative, and leads us as a species to be continually seeking greater heights, striving for a happiness which is ALWAYS moving a little further away -Session 6 – Talking about the right path During the last session of the Socratic COURSE we have discussed the concept of morality as well as theories that explain the stages of moral evolution -I learnt so much about the Socratic DIALOGUE and want to implement it in my everyday life despite my shyness and insecurities -However, what worries me the most is the fact that, even though asking questions and dialoguing has so many advantages, what should be our strategies for implementing that method with people who do not want to DIALOGUE? Who do not want to listen, because they think they are ALWAYS right? Would we be courageous enough to pursue despite receiving rejections? How can we teach others how DIALOGUE if they only know how to DEBATE? How would we know if we have some effect on others? Socrates was poisoned because of his efforts to educate himself and others, to question people and make them think – are people seeking the truth under the same threat? If yes is it worth to sacrifice oneself? (After studying philosophy we are left with more questions than answers) -However, I hope that at some point in life, when I develop my inner trust and more courage, I will look back on the COURSE and implement the learnings with lots of resilience ------------------------- ## Source: SPRING 2015/SD_FinalEssay_AlessaVogler.pdf ------------------------- -Socratic Dialogue – Final Essay Alessa Kristina Vogler Introduction Our COURSE Socratic Dialogue is not the typical COURSE a management student expects when attending university -Before starting ESADE in this term, I did not know what would expect me and I just chose it because people who took the COURSE during the last semesters highly recommended them -So in my final essay, I would like to explain why this COURSE has been the best COURSE I took in my almost six year university career and to what extent I will apply the concepts we discussed in my personal as well as my professional life -I have ALWAYS been interested in scientific subjects at school and wanted to choose a career path that was significant and meaningful and which would enable me to help and to have an impact on others -However, I NEVER really enjoyed my studies -Having completed the first session of our ‘Socratic Dialogue’ COURSE, I felt confirmed in my assumption that I have chosen the wrong career path -I was thankful for the opportunity this COURSE would provide us with but I felt like it was David against Goliath – us, 20 CEMS students sitting in that small room discussing how we could change not only ourselves and our own mind-set but also our personal and professional environment at least to a certain extent against traditional and deeply routed ways of behaviour -We were 20 students from around ten different countries and three continents and despite all the differences that we embody, the endeavour to think for ourselves, to be responsible for our own actions, and to be willing to ‘educate’ others in that matter were characteristics that united us throughout the COURSE -Socrates’ Good Life & Socratic Dialogue We started the COURSE by trying to identify what makes a life a good life -This metaphor was used again later in the COURSE and it raised the question whether we want to live as happy pigs or sad humans -What I learned during the COURSE is that all of us have some kind of knowledge inside of us, we just need someone who helps us discover it -We were lucky enough to have chosen this COURSE but we ALWAYS have to keep in mind not to take it for granted -We learned the art of having a Socratic Dialogue and we were also demonstrated the difference between a DIALOGUE and a DEBATE on our last day at class -One of the most important learnings I take away is to Socratic Dialogue – Final Essay Alessa Kristina Vogler encourage DIALOGUE -The output of DIALOGUE is way more diverse and often richer in content and higher in quality as it would be when debating -In our last session we were made aware that at some point during the DEBATE we got stuck, we were not listening actively and did not rethink what others had said -The atmosphere was hostile and some of the ARGUMENTS were disconnected from reality -All of this is proof that we should DIALOGUE more at work as well as with friends, family, etc -Dialogue can help fostering team spirit, enhancing interpersonal communication, and increasing creativity at the work place, which are some of the reasons for me to encourage DIALOGUE in my surroundings in the future -Desires have ALWAYS been eyeballed with scepticism by philosophers and so we talked about the different perceptions of desires -I am very impatient and stubborn, ALWAYS wanting things to go the way I want -Nowadays, we got used to consume too much of everything and we often tend to use the excuse that if we cannot be 100% environmentally conscious, if we ALWAYS leave our ecological footprint behind, we should not change anything about our consumer behaviour -So during the COURSE I thought that we have to start with something when trying to change our behaviour -Only thinking in black and white will rather lead to a DEBATE than to a DIALOGUE and in many cases will not result in diverse and qualitatively high outcomes -Responsibility To me, the most important topic we discussed in this COURSE was the topic of responsibility -were interesting to talk about as well, but I liked the responsibility class most because it implied a direct call to action to each and every one of us and somehow gave us a ‘task’ for out future as a take-away from the COURSE -She describes how Eichmann NEVER meant to become such an evil person, but rather did everything in his power to advance in his professional and personal status -She states that Eichmann simply NEVER imagined what he was actually doing -The class about responsibility was a pivotal moment for me throughout this COURSE -Conclusion Finally, I again want to say thank you , Sira, for providing us with the opportunity to take this COURSE -As I have stated in the beginning, this was probably the best COURSE I have ever taken at university and I know that many other fellow students feel the same ------------------------- ## Source: SPRING 2015/socratic final essay.docx ------------------------- -Emirhan Kaysi SOCRATIC DIALOGUE Final Essay I was a bit prejudiced towards the experience I was expecting out of this class at the beginning of the semester -At this point, I have seen the power of DIALOGUE and how willing people actually are to share things, how desperate we all are to be able to express ourselves and to be understood by others because especially in the “Business School” context we live by frameworks, standards that enhance efficiency and being fast paced -There are so many things in our daily lives that we NEVER question, topics that we have an opinion on yet we have NEVER even thought about -I ALWAYS used to think to myself -as a victim of puberty- back in the day, “How can people be okay with living in all these boxes, systems and rules?” and I would wonder if I were the only one questioning things (Yes, my later teen years were hard times) -I believe seeing the power of DIALOGUE, the common point of all of us being open to share and realizing how wrong my prejudices were, are among the top learnings I am taking away from all of this -I have ALWAYS been a self conscious person and I have been called an over thinker or a case of OCD by friends, family and professional medical people in various occasions -We asked the question of what happiness is in class and that made me realize that I had NEVER ever properly put in some serious thought about it -Since self awareness had ALWAYS been something I struggled with, describing happiness put me in a position where I had to think more about it and thinking more about it really helped me define myself -Defining elements of self awareness and describing the path towards it truly changed me and that as well is among the greatest learnings of this COURSE for me -I have ALWAYS feared what I can’t control and what is ambiguous -I believed I had defined what desire is in my life but I had NEVER thought about how to utilize desire to achieve happiness -We live in a world where morality is a hard thing to define and to live by, in this COURSE I was able to see how so many different variables affect the morality and ideology of a person that it each person requires specific attention to be understood, because morality or values are too complex to be defined by just a culture or a gender -I myself have ALWAYS been someone who obsesses over results, how I am perceived and what I have achieved -This has been very important for me because I have ALWAYS been more focused on results than processes -I have ALWAYS wanted success without actually having a dedication for a cause that would lead to success -I have ALWAYS struggled to find that passion of mine to create success out of -I can not say that I have a clear definition of justice or human rights in my head now, I have ALWAYS struggled with these concepts and my learnings from that session were not really about how justice should work but it was more about the power of DIALOGUE and prejudice -The power of DIALOGUE and the compassion that was shown to them really made the inmates open up their hearts and talk -Some of these people had very strange backgrounds, I could see that some of them had NEVER received love from family or friends -They NEVER had someone who would listen to them and guide them -I was raised by a good family who loved me and cared for my feelings, I was raised in a healthy social environment with good friends as well and I have NEVER imagined how it must be like to not have these things in your life -I have NEVER considered them as privileges but watching the documentary made me see that there are people out there who have been missing out on the most basic inputs of our live like love and compassion and someone to lean on -As I have said, I still think that justice is very complicated and I know that not all criminals are people who come from less fortunate backgrounds who would have been awesome guys if they had decent families and better conditions, but regardless of that, the film really made me see that we are taking a lot of things for granted in life and we NEVER think about not having them -The film showed me that justice is not achieved through institutions only but through DIALOGUE and compassion as well -Now are we to be held responsible for buying those things? I’m sure that 90% of the customers of these brands have NEVER even thought about it -Obsessions and overthinking had ALWAYS led to strange places in life but I feel a bit more confident now in defining things and being able to get over my obstacles -Being more peaceful and aware of myself will definitely affect how I will be a manager in the future because I don’t think a person who is not at peace with themselves can lead or manage properly it will ALWAYS be destructive, I am lucky to be in a better position with that now -I have seen the power of DIALOGUE and empathy -I think I will ALWAYS try to incorporate these two things in all of my relationships from now -All of our discussions taught me how everyone wants to properly express themselves and be understood and I will NEVER forget that in the future whenever I am working with a team or managing someone -I have ALWAYS had prejudices, I had prejudices when I started this class but seeing how bravely everyone expressed opinions and shared made me leave it behind -As an employee, a manager, a friend or a son I will ALWAYS force myself to have an open mind in any relationship I walk into and understand the person sitting next to me, because I have seen how powerful it is to have a white blank page when you are first starting something ------------------------- ## Source: SPRING 2015/Marek Medvesek_Final essay_ Socratic Dialogue.pdf ------------------------- -Marek Medvesek Session 1 Dialogue The first session introduced bus to the concept of SOCRATIC DIALOGUE, how it’s about picking the right questions in a conversation to help our discussion partner understand his or her thoughts better -Furthermore I would like to say it was very refreshing to for once in a professional / academic environment take part in a DIALOGUE rather than a DEBATE -It seems that biased by the very competitive environment we are surrounded by, we forgot how useful and fruitful the results may be once we decide to have a DIALOGUE rather than a fight -Having a closed mind will lead you nowhere and we should ALWAYS explore opportunities to learn from one another -Which of the three kids deserve the floor the most: the one involved in the production of the instrument, the one who can actually play it or the one, who would otherwise NEVER be able to afford one -Furthermore this class helped me appreciate the art of DIALOGUE and understand its superiority towards a DEBATE -It’s sad as we only have one life to live and we should ALWAYS strive to do what we enjoy the most -Before we embark on the NEVER ending quest of gathering more wisdom about the world we should start by trying to know ourselves -It may very well be that we will NEVER be able to answer the question, the effort to try and the process itself are extremely valuable -My last choice of the COURSE on the University before ESADE was made only because it seemed to be the most difficult and most promising one -I went through a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree and I NEVER really liked what I did -I NEVER wanted to study management, I didn’t see much value in it, but I decided to participate because it was a prestigious programme and everyone said it what I should do -There is no such thing as a definition of happiness because it’s ALWAYS subjective -This leads us yet again to the common theme and most significant for me takeaway of the whole COURSE - get to know yourself -He maintained that because our generation has NEVER had a chance to do so it is much more difficult for us to find the meaning of life -What this session taught me most of all is that I should NEVER take anything for granted -There is very little compassion or understanding, when you bring up the topic among people who have NEVER dealt with such an issue personally -Otherwise they enter a vicious circle of NEVER-ending crime involvement -11 Session 8 Responsibility The last session was a great comeback of the DEBATE, rather than the DIALOGUE approach to having a discussion -Moving on we set about to conduct a DEBATE about how to approach innovation, whether it should be subjected to a more strict control processes, so we can make sure it can only serve good purposes or not -Of COURSE we have to be responsible when innovating, but nobody should have the right to interpret for us what’s responsible and what’s not ------------------------- ## Source: SPRING 2015/AKBAR, Sumer - SD Final Essay.docx ------------------------- -SOCRATIC DIALOGUE: Final Reflection Essay Sumer Akbar S -By taking SOCRATIC DIALOGUE, I had the opportunity to self-reflect and push boundaries to challenge my norms and rationalize why I think in a particular manner -Throughout this COURSE, we explored topics related to happiness, fear, justice, and responsibility in addition to acknowledging who we are on a personal level and questioning our sense of morality -My motivation for taking this COURSE was a two-fold -The impetus behind this essay is to take the key themes of self-awareness, happiness, fear, justice, and responsibility and how my perception has changed over the COURSE of the semester -Too often, we see politicians debating and arguing for the sake of arguing rather than engaging in DIALOGUE -By engaging in DIALOGUE, we can responsibly manage our colleagues and give them a sense of ownership to propel new ideas forward -According to the Maieutic method of DIALOGUE helped give birth to ideas and the premise that knowledge is intrinsic -Of COURSE, there are granularities involved with that as some crimes are significantly worse than others -Truthfully, I have ALWAYS felt removed from it -I have ALWAYS sided with the community raising concerns of public safety -In the dilemma between using DIALOGUE and DEBATE, we argued whether society should innovate a technology if it can only yield positive benefits -We need to engage in DIALOGUE to build up each others' ideas not break them down as done so in a DEBATE -I started the COURSE knowing virtually nothing about philosophy and wanted to learn how it can be applied in a business context -In class, I sat quietly trying to understand the opinions of my peer group while trying to break down the preconceived notions I had before taking part in both Socratic DIALOGUE and traditional DEBATE ------------------------- ## Source: SPRING 2015/Laker, Maximilian - Final Essay.pdf ------------------------- -Final Essay Course: SOCRATIC DIALOGUE Professor: Prof -Sira Abenoza Student: Maximilian Laker ESADE | CEMS 2015 – 2016 SOCRATIC DIALOGUE | Prof -Sira Abenoza | ESADE | CEMS | Maximilian Laker INTRODUCTION Prior to the beginning of the COURSE I was mainly just curious about learning something about philosophy, as the topic came up with increasing frequency during my previous semester from several sides including family, friends and books that I had read -Having attended a catholic high-school, I NEVER really had any philosophy class before, so I was curious to learn more about what distinguished the ideas of great philosophers and what had made them survive for centuries -Moreover, the remarkably different set-up of the COURSE as a Socratic Dialogue made me interested in participating, on the one hand to learn from other students, and on the other hand to experience a completely new methodology -SELF-AWARENESS & REFLECTION On the most abstract level, what I’ve learned in this COURSE is a higher degree of introspection and self-awareness, as well as a higher attentiveness to the importance of reflection on one- self and others -To put it into perspective, before taking this COURSE I perceived myself as being a quite self-aware person knowing more or less what I want in life, thinking I had well-thought ideas or my own perception of concepts such as happiness or identity – which I NEVER had expressed explicitly though -What I previously considered as mature, fully-developed ideas about my life had actually merely been roughly outlined thoughts, that were NEVER truly put under 1 SOCRATIC DIALOGUE | Prof -Having the sessions of this COURSE as a recurring fixed time in my schedule and secure space to come to, in order to reflect and actually think rather than do, powerfully demonstrated – at least for me – that I am considerably less self-aware than I previously thought -Many times we let ourselves be manipulated too much by what we perceive others think, although we are the people leading our lives, so why don’t we free ourselves from such external pressures? Alas, unfortunately all that does not mean that I have figured out exactly the answers for myself to the questions that were discussed during the COURSE -Quite the contrary, while I had been confident to know my personal answer for many of the topics previous to the COURSE, now I am quite certain that I don’t -THE SOCRATIC DIALOGUE AS A SKILL On a slightly less abstract level than a new perspective on self-awareness, the method of the Socratic Dialogue is a tremendously valuable skill, that I have started to develop throughout this COURSE -During all sessions we engaged in dialogues on specific topics and – unknowingly in the beginning – experienced first hand, how the exceptionally cooperative and open 2 SOCRATIC DIALOGUE | Prof -Sira Abenoza | ESADE | CEMS | Maximilian Laker atmosphere of this setting, encouraged everybody’s participation: We were genuinely listening to each other, referring to others’ remarks by building on what they had said and considering the different elements of their perspectives in a very differentiated manner, at times partially agreeing, at times partially disagreeing, but ALWAYS respectful and in a constructive way -The goal was ALWAYS to enrich each others ideas on the topic, not to win an argument over someone, to determine right or wrong, but rather to reach a higher understanding of a topic together, than everybody would have achieved individually -Gradually having gotten used to the more cooperative and open atmosphere of a DIALOGUE, the DEBATE in the last session was probably the most effective demonstration of the strength of the DIALOGUE -First and foremost – and as a radical contrast to the DIALOGUE – now neither did we try to achieve a higher or better understanding of the topic, nor did we attempt to build on each others ideas or reach some common ground -Instead, we tried to support each individual position with as many ARGUMENTS as possible to win against the opposing team -This, interestingly enough, is a very surprising observation in itself: How unlikely is it, that a preformed position on a topic corresponds exactly with what oneself is thinking about it? Consequently, isn’t it strange to simply support such a position, rather than critically examining and evaluating its elements, trying to improve it, so that it can be supported by many people, rather than trying to defeat another position in a DEBATE? Thus, in such a DEBATE it is almost certain that the ultimate outcome – whichever side wins – will be weaker compared to the result of a DIALOGUE -As hinted on before, besides reaching inferior results, the two approaches DIALOGUE and DEBATE differ greatly in terms of how the collaboration between us unfolded -The DIALOGUE was characterized by cooperation, respect, honest interest and mutual enrichment -In contrast, the DEBATE created a hostile environment of competition, interruption, no change of thoughts and the desire to be victorious over somebody else -Furthermore, during the DIALOGUE everybody was encouraged to express thoughts -This way, the whole group 3 SOCRATIC DIALOGUE | Prof -However, in the case of the DEBATE, the amount of speaking time varied greatly and concentrated among only a few people -From a personal perspective, I already found the deliberate practice of the DIALOGUE as being enormously helpful -On the other hand, if applied implicitly it basically is a form of active listening and better understanding others, as well as their views and emotions, which is ALWAYS favorable for personal relationships -Going forward the method of DIALOGUE will also be crucial for my professional success, may it be in a corporation or in an own company -Yet, many of the paths we can 4 SOCRATIC DIALOGUE | Prof -5 SOCRATIC DIALOGUE | Prof -6 SOCRATIC DIALOGUE | Prof -Sira Abenoza | ESADE | CEMS | Maximilian Laker A more stoic approach can help shifting the focus from un-reflected efficiency (doing things fast and well) towards effectiveness (doing the right things), breaking the vicious circle of business: On the one hand side, the stoic approach ALWAYS demands an evaluation whether or not situations are within or out of our actual control -Besides, getting to practice the art of the Socratic Dialogue and having an extremely interesting conversation with my brother, there was a third remarkable aspect of doing this exercise: Towards the end of the DIALOGUE, my brother raised the question whether happiness – notwithstanding it’s clear attractiveness – represents the meaning of live -7 SOCRATIC DIALOGUE | Prof -Especially today, with the omnipresence of technology that connects us to the world in an instant, that bombards us with notifications about irrelevancies continuously and is ALWAYS readily available to fill any gap in time -Even if one could NEVER really arrive at being able to verbalize what one’s meaning in life is, I am certain that self-reflection will bring one closer to getting an understanding of it -Thus, even if I myself NEVER arrive at fully understanding my meaning of life, I can have a meaningful life with focusing on the more tangible elements of it -As a consequence, as we could see during our discussion, some students argue that they doubt that it is necessary to formulate a meaning of life for 8 SOCRATIC DIALOGUE | Prof -This serves as a segue to the topic of responsibility, which we opened with two observations, “THERE IS NO DOCUMENT OF CIVILIZATION THAT IS NOT, AT THE SAME TIME, A DOCUMENT OF BARBARISM” & “WE ARE IN FACT LIVING ON DEAD BODIES” 9 SOCRATIC DIALOGUE | Prof -Alternatively, we can instruct and inspire others to benefit society, create environments that are more like the previously explained DIALOGUE, in which people can flourish and feel comfortable at the same time, and we can help others towards leading a more reflective, better life ------------------------- ## Source: SPRING 2015/Final Essay_Phillip Schmalzried.pdf ------------------------- -Module: Socratic DIALOGUE: philosophy and narratives that improve our management skills (15CEM05400) Assignment: Final Essay Student name: Phillip Schmalzried Student number: C8J1X2NPG Date: 22 -I will then conclude with the key learnings and an impression of how this COURSE has affected my personal development -I recognize that my ability to answer questions covered in this COURSE is constrained due to the limited studies I have conducted in the field of philosophy -I will therefore reflect on the topics based on memorable quotes I have stumbled upon, takeaways from the class discussions, the COURSE readings, the Socratic dialogues I have witnessed and conducted personally, as well as the realizations I have come to through extensive self-­‐reflection -Prior to taking this COURSE, I had NEVER spent much time on wondering how to be happy as I was quite happy with my life in general – maybe because I had not given it much thought -Prior to taking this COURSE, I had not spent a minute thinking about my own identity -It has NEVER occurred to me why I should become aware of my own identity -Does it matter what our real identity is if it NEVER appears the same to anybody anyways or if it changes constantly? If it really comes down to a pile of perceptions, is our identity then based on what others think of us? I like to think that we have control over our identity to a large extend, and that it is shaped by the choices we make, but also influenced by the experiences we make and that we have no control over -In real life, like seen in the documentary, there will ALWAYS be people who choose to commit crimes because they are foolish or simply greedy -A point that interestingly enough also came up during the “Playing Socrates” exercise I conducted for this COURSE in April -Unfortunately, there ALWAYS will be people suffering from injustice, but this is an issue every single person can impact and eliminate within their close environment, at the very least -I like how it points out that courage is not only the brave moments that ALWAYS come to mind, it is more than that -When coming to a decision on where to source material crucial to a new product from, as a manager, of COURSE, we have a responsibility to choose a supplier based on careful evaluation with regards to price and quality -From the perspective of a business student, I have found this discussion and reflection on responsibility one of the most important topics covered in this COURSE -If there is one thing, above all others, that I am taking away from this COURSE, it is the realization that it is not only good to question the status quo, when it comes to our personal development it is also necessary and crucial for expanding our horizon -But having learned about the art of having a Socratic DIALOGUE and having witnessed and experienced the personal development of so many, including myself, as a result of it, I am convinced that it brought us all a great deal closer to achieving excellence -I am truly grateful for having experienced the effect of a Socratic DIALOGUE – in the role of Socrates, but also on the receiving end as the citizen -The first Socratic DIALOGUE I experienced was an eye-­‐opening experience and every DIALOGUE of this nature since, has resulted in a broadening of my mind -Instead, we argue, we discuss, we DEBATE, we persuade, and we convince -Despite the significance of this realization, my personal takeaways from this COURSE can not be limited to this -I was amazed to see how students in this COURSE opened up, sharing personal matters and issues with the entire group that they very likely have not shared with many people they consider close -All my friends and family were surprised when hearing about my choice of COURSE and immediately they would ask what I learned, in both a sceptical and a curious way -I have ALWAYS found it hard to put a finger on the exact leanings, I just somehow felt good about this COURSE -I realized that I was learning, I just NEVER knew exactly what it was that I was learning -Now that the COURSE has come to and end, I have tried my best to outline my learnings in this reflection, but I do not believe that every learning can be put into words -As a result of this COURSE, I have spent hours reflecting on all kinds of matters, starting with more general topics to very personal traits -And as promised in the very first session, in the COURSE of this reflection process more questions arose than I knew how to find the answer to -I have written many COURSE reflections throughout my student life, and many times I have not only been critical but also quite flattering -This is not supposed to serve the purpose of an extended COURSE evaluation and this in no way relates to the teaching methodologies, it only relates to the result -The result in this case, is that I have grown throughout this COURSE on various levels, I have developed virtues and abilities previously unknown to me, and most certainly developed faster and more impactful than in any other COURSE I have ever taken ------------------------- ## Source: SPRING 2015/YelizSunay_FinalReflectionandEssay.pdf ------------------------- -In the following I would like to reflect upon my learnings and experience throughout the ‘Socratic Dialogue’ COURSE -Before choosing this ELECTIVE I was not really sure what to expect, as it was not a classical ‘Business School’ COURSE -Some of my fellow classmates told me that they really liked the COURSE; however it was really the name that gauged my interest and I was wondering in how far this COURSE will be about ‘ancient Greek’ dialoging and if we will have a DIALOGUE each and every session -I am very convinced that this is the most interesting COURSE I have taken so far and I have started to look at things in a different way -What particularly stroke my attention was that in the beginning a few of us were very shy to talk and this was the first ice breaking point where we knew this class really was about ‘DIALOGUE’ -It was the first formal introduction to the scholars and on every standpoint that we provided we knew which philosopher would support which standpoint and also it was the first time we tried to DIALOGUE with each other -It was very interesting to see the ARGUMENTS that were used during this talk and also try to step into somebody else’s shoes; but also to understand the difference between a DEBATE and a DIALOGUE -I personally have to admit that his definition of happiness strikes me the most among all the other definitions out there; because I believe that you are NEVER ‘solely’ responsible for your happiness -Back then I NEVER questioned why; I thought that’s just the way it is -If you haven’t seen something else or are able to compare I presume you will NEVER know -I NEVER questioned it back then-­‐ I guess I was too blunt or maybe not virtuous enough? Today I would say I wasn’t able to ‘rationalize’ very well -­‐ as my dear friend Marion explained during our Socratic DEBATE -But deep down I have ALWAYS wondered; are these people really happy or is it just a façade to make others believe that you are happy? In the end I believe that it is more about the experiences that make you happy and the non material things you are setting yourself in life in order to make you happy -About four years ago I decided to do my exchange in California, as it has ALWAYS been my dream to live there -Even further, my parents ALWAYS told me ‘money can’t buy happiness’, and yet I have to agree -I NEVER thought today I would be able to say I will go my own way and choose what is best for me -Given our academic background and ability to reflect, wherever we start working those days – we ALWAYS need to think about whether any of our actions cause harm to others and if we are responsible -If everything ALWAYS goes right you take it for granted but you would not question it -I NEVER fully understood it -­‐ now I do -I have seen a change in his behavior in the last couple of months and was ALWAYS wondering what I can do about it if he behaves bad – but I ALWAYS thought its his life you can’t do a lot -But after taking this COURSE I changed my opinion, I thought the best way is to talk to him and share my concerns -Epictetus, Hellentis schools and Buddhists regard desire as a source of pain and if we keep on desiring we will NEVER be happy -Therefore the only thing is to hope that he will find his right way but only time will tell… Well after all these months I can for sure say that from now on I will try to ‘rationalize’ even more and try to see the bigger picture, as Marion was referring to the idea of ‘rationality’ during our Socratic DEBATE -I ALWAYS thought I have to hide my society or personal values just to adapt to my environment-­‐ especially when I did my first compulsory internship in Turkey ------------------------- ## Source: SPRING 2015/Dimitrios Mitropoulos - Final Essay.docx ------------------------- -The Journal of SOCRATIC DIALOGUE A diary of sessions and reflections by Dimitris Mitropoulos Introduction Before I start with the first session let me just say a few words about taking this class -Most people will NEVER learn who they truly are because the simply do not look hard enough, do not take the time to investigate -The fight to fully understand who you are is NEVER ending (and thank god for that!) but the least we can do is not lose track of who we were in this undoubtedly twisted environment -One should not get frustrated when s/he cannot achieve excess and one should not get frustrated in the absence of certain things in her/his life, as s/he realizes that ups and downs will ALWAYS follow one another -This is what I’ve realized through this COURSE and by interacting with fellow cemsies: Establish a “walk away point” and when you reach it get out of the way -Incredible question, one that I have NEVER asked myself before -So the question is “can fear only be justified ex post”? I ALWAYS believed that fear to a certain extent is just a natural instinct -Through the discussion in SOCRATIC DIALOGUE I have come to question my “affection” towards some of my fears -I don’t know why, I suspect it is the images of my childhood and the narratives of the elders in my circle, but I ALWAYS feel somewhat sympathetic towards the “scum” of society -I remember as a kid I used to ALWAYS run red lights on pedestrian crossings -The fear of punishment NEVER prevented me from breaking that law -Now if I was in that room knowing that things will NEVER be the same, while my father kicked in the door once in a while just to remind me what a big failure I am then I might actually have turned my attention away from beneficial reflection and into crafting ARGUMENTS for why he is an even bigger one -The majority of criminals are first offenders who have had a relatively crime-free life up to the point where we put them in a cell and gave them a masterclass on the trade secrets of others crimes, the notion of “once a con ALWAYS a con” and the splendor of social ignorance and disgust towards them -Many ARGUMENTS were raised regarding the pros and cons of such a position but what seemed to be clear is that a leader is someone who is born from social approval rather than appointment -I guess in the COURSE of this semester we all have discovered middle grounds and fine-tuned our thoughts in a way that created harmony in the group -------------------------