Lectures, Publications and Books in English:

Detlef Staude, Eckart Ruschmann (eds.): Understanding the Other and Oneself, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne, 2018; With a selection of papers from the ICPP 2016 in Bern. www.cambridgescholars.com/understanding-the-other-and-oneself

Detlef Staude, The enchantment of the common: Ivan Illich’s Philosophical Practice / El encanto de lo cotidiano: la práctica filosófica de Ivan Illich, in: HASER - Revista International de Filosofía Applicada, 9-2018, pp. 129, Ed.: José Barrientos Rastrojo, Universidad de Sevilla, ISSN: 2172-055X.

Aphorisms as Stimulation in Philosophical Dialogue, in: Lydia Amir, New Frontiers in Philosophical Practice, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017: http://www.cambridgescholars.com/new-frontiers-in-philosophical-practice

Protagoras - A Cultural Theorist and A Philosophical Practitioner? The Korea Society of Philosophical Practice, Philosophical Practice and Counseling Vol. 7, 12/2017, 65-12.

Detlef Staude, Philosophical Practice as Mind-opening Dialog Towards Freedom and Vivification, in: Journal of Humanities Therapy: Humanities Institute Kangwon National University, Korea, Vol. 6, No. 2 (2015)

The Path of Consideration. Philosophical Practice in Dialogical Life Accompaniment; in: Michael N. Weiss, The Socratic Handbook, 2015: Lit-Verlag, Münster/Wien/Zürich; pp. 35-43.

Protagoras: Well-travelled Philosophical Practitioner as Orator, Constitutional Scientist, Political Advisor, Teacher and Anthropologist? (World Conference of Philosophy Athens 2013)

Body, bare Life and good Life (Conference on Philosophical Practice Carloforte 2008)

Get people involved (Conference on Philosophical Practice Sevilla 2006)

The 14th ICPP in Berne

Retrospective:

Looking back on the 14th International Conference on Philosophical Practice

4th to 8th of August 2016 in Bern, Switzerland

Even despite of some philosophical practitioners who did not manage to come although they had intended to join the 14th ICPP, the meeting became one with a great number of interesting high-quality presentations. We are convinced that it has been a good impulse for our exchange and for the professionalism of our work. Many of those who had presented a paper, a poster or a workshop, liked to publish this as well, and so we decided to publish some of them in this special volume of the APPA magazine and others later in a special book on the conference.

The overall theme of the conference was “Understanding the Other and Oneself”. The subjects of most presentations were near to this, some just touched the periphery of it. The philopraxis.ch network who was responsible for organizing this ICPP intended a varied conference to bloom with a diversity of different ways of understanding philosophical practice. Nevertheless, there should be a clear impression, that all these different ways belong together. Everyone who attended this ICPP in Bern, would admit – as many voices mirrored us – that this aim was reached. Perhaps two successful innovations – besides the engagement of all helpers – made this possible as well: We very early defined to have long pauses during the day in order to let the most important to happen: the spontaneous interaction between each other. The second was the introduction of poster sessions. They allowed a focused, vivid presentation of a theme, not sitting but standing and with illustrations and text, which one could read during the whole conference.

To give you an idea of my attitude to this meeting, I want to share with you my introducing words to the conference:

Some months ago I found in a library a small philosophical book printed in 1947 and named, Little Manual of Philosophy“ by Paul Häberlin,1 at his time (up to the Sixties) a famous Swiss philosopher and psychologist. The very first sentence in it puzzled me: “Philosophy is the attempt to assure oneself about the unconditional truth.”

Just 70 years ago a well-known professor of philosophy could without any doubt in his voice write this not only explanatory but defining sentence. Since some decades most philosophers are far from formulating such convictions when talking about philosophy. We have become a little more Socratic, so to say. The “Little Manual of Philosophy” seriously tried to answer the 60 most profound philosophical questions on 150 pages. This booklet is a testimony of the dying extensions of the metaphysical age, in which philosophy was responsible for searching the truth. Originally, as we all know, it was seen as a search for wisdom, and therefore connected to living experience and realization as well.

If it is just 70 years ago that the metaphysical age really began to fade away - despite of some extraordinary thinkers in the 19th and 20th century who already had realized its end much earlier - then also philosophical practice is a product of the end of the metaphysical age. Philosophical practice responds to this challenge with a new Renaissance. It looks back to antiquity, to the offspring of philosophy, and sees an understanding of it which is much broader than the one I cited above. Not truth is looked for, but a coherent, good way of life. Even for Plato, the grandfather of the metaphysical age, not only truth was searched, but beauty and goodness as well.

Some years ago, when I still lived in the neighbor town of Bern, Fribourg, I occasionally met an old philosophy professor of the traditional university of this town, originally founded by the Dominicans and being a catholic institution for very long. He told about the good old times at university when all professors had one basis of philosophy in common, the official Thomistic one. In those days, he told, there was all the time much of discussion going on about different things, but now at university everyone goes his own way, and the discussions stopped. That was, what the 1 Paul Häberlin (1947). Handbüchlein der Philosophie, Schweizer Spiegel Verlag, Zürich. metaphysical age allowed: to share a common ground, to build on it, and to discuss different interpretations. Today everyone is an island with his or her own philosophical basis. But we can’t go back, the metaphysical age is gone.

Also in philosophical practice we will never find a common ground of what is the true understanding of philosophical practice and what not. Nevertheless, the basis of the challenge for every understanding is difference. If there wouldn’t be difference, there would be no need for searching understanding. But if there is difference, something we have in common, something familiar helps us to make the effort of understanding which never is for free. So the old professor in my story is right when he feels sad about the starving discussion between the academic colleagues because there is no common ground any more. But rather than wishing a common ground we should remind ourselves to the fact that the days of a seemingly common ground of ideas shared by all are gone. As philosophical practitioners we feel challenged to establish an open discussion about our tasks, goals, experiences and concepts instead. Hereby we might find out that we share a common affinity and enthusiasm.

The International Conferences on Philosophical Practice are from the very beginning of this movement on one of the most important chances to do so even on a global level. We, the Network for practical philosophizing philopraxis.ch, were proud to host the conference this year and hope that the next conference in Mexico City will be a similar success.

 

Material to download:

Contact data/links:

• philocom philosophical practice
• Detlef Staude
• Olivenweg 9
• CH - 3018 Bern
• +41 (0)31 534 07 66
• +41 (0)78 909 43 81
• philomail@philocom.ch
•