(June, 2020)
Although Aristotle said that philosophy begins with wonder, the kind of philosophical coaching and advising I do typically begins with something more urgent, such as a career challenge, a relationship issue, a major life change, or a desire for greater meaning and fulfillment.
Following the ancient Greeks, I call such an experience an impasse (ἀπορία). My preferred approach to addressing an impasse is dialectic, which Aristotle developed to work through intellectual impasses and which I have adapted to work through personal impasses. (Aristotelian dialectic steers a middle way between the two most common approaches to philosophical practice: pure Socratic dialogue and the correction of critical thinking errors.)
In my adaptation to action-oriented reflection, dialectic encompasses six phases, which guide you to full understanding and resolution through appropriate questions at each phase.
In the impasse phase you take stock of where you are, how you got here, and the blockages you’re experiencing on the way to fulfillment and the achievement of your goals. The subtleties of your emotions are important clues at this time: how exactly you might feel frustrated, perplexed, surprised, thwarted, off balance, denied, derailed, brought up short. Here are some of the questions you might ask yourself:
The perspective phase is a time to gather more information and reflect on assumptions underlying your experience. It’s also a great opportunity to consider insights from a wide variety of wisdom thinkers and traditions (e.g., what does Aristotle say about friendship or what does Thoreau say about simplicity?). We might also consider the results of scientific research in fields like evolutionary psychology and personality theory. Questions in this phase might include the following:
During the analysis phase, you start to make sense of your experience by winnowing out perspectives that don’t fit with your values and goals, eliminating contradictions, and finding deeper harmonies on the way to a greater synthesis. Here are some relevant questions to help further your analysis:
In the synthesis phase you begin to put it all together, modifying your worldview if needed to account for your impasse experience and to incorporate insights from the intellectual and emotional analysis you’ve completed so far. The objective here is a forward-looking vision for where you can go next in life, clearing the roadblocks for the next stage of personal growth. Some questions to ask yourself now are:
A clearer vision generates a wider field of action. This is a time to plan your next steps and make commitments consistent with your updated worldview, balancing the excitement of new possibilities against the risks of future obstacles to personal fulfillment. Now your questions turn from the philosophical to the practical as you prepare to take action:
Taking action might seem purely practical, but it too has its philosophical aspects. Most importantly, you need to maintain awareness of your newfound vision and commitments so you can keep from going astray. Furthermore, action is not a one-time event, but a series of actions that over time will form new habits and practices. Each time you take action is an occasion for reflection, in which the questions you ask yourself lead to further self-development:
As you continue to take action, you can make subtle adjustments to your course, applying the same method on a smaller scale. And if you ever hit another major impasse, this method will work for you yet again, without needing a coach to guide you. Congratulations, you’re on the road to becoming your own philosopher!