Minutes of a Monday #49

#minutesofamonday

Brain Food > Questions are the answers you might need

“The Greek philosopher Socrates, credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, did not teach a set of beliefs or facts. The Socrates dialogues that have come to us through Plato are not lectures. They are conversations in which Socrates asks questions. The questions reduced his fellow students to a state in which they realised that their preconceptions were illusions and they must start to think afresh - and in dialogue with Socrates established new undertakings.

The six types of Socratic questions are questions for clarification (‘Why do you say that?’), questions that probe assumptions (‘What could we assume instead?’ ‘How can you verify that assumption?’), questions that probe evidence (‘What would be an example of that?’), questions that question perspective (‘What are the pros and cons?’), questions that probe implications (‘What are the consequences of this action?’) and questions about the question itself (‘Why do we ask this question in the first place?’).

During last few years I have used variations of these questions when faced with important discussions - especially in more confrontational settings. Once we are forced to clarify our assumptions, we often realise that our position is just that - a position. Wisdom is not about having all the answers, it is often about asking the right questions.”

From The Serendipity Mindset by Dr. Christian Busch

Soul Food

“The answers you get, depends on the questions you ask.”

Thomas Kuhn

LOL

John Colleary speaking fluent culchie:

Appendix

“That photograph was mine to experience. But neither it, nor anything like it, was mine to make. Yet it took a decade to dispel the gnawing feeling that my work should do what that work had done. And more years still before I thought to question where the power of such art resided: In the maker? In the artwork? In the viewer?”

From Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland

AOB

Article #6 on why we need to keep the serendipity force field in our lives went out last Friday. You can have a read here.

Have a great week ya’ll - Niall