A brief introduction to the major thinking of each proponent is followed by a short expose of the impact of their philosophical thinking on coaching practice. In the process of setting out these ideas we have generalised, interpreted and selected information. We do not in this exercise intend to misrepresent or distort any wider history of ideas or any different perspectives. Quite the reverse. We believe strongly in opening up and challenging the thinking of all coaching practitioners. Too often that challenge remains located in universities and post-graduate courses. We invite readers, whether you agree or not, to engage with the following arguments and to use them to find more of their own philosophical thinking about their practice.
MAJOR PHILOSOPHICAL THINKERS
In this section we briefly introduce six major thinkers as potential influences on coaching practice: Socrates (via the writing of Plato); Descartes; Locke; Hume, Kant and Dewey.
Socrates (469 – 399) and Plato (423-347)
The importance of Socrates’ and Plato’s contribution to Western philosophy cannot be overemphasised: all the Western thinking that follows rests on their work. In this section we want to focus on the Socratic Method. The method was used by Socrates to elicit philosophical understanding from his pupils and although he left no writing himself, the method is illustrated in a number of dialogues written by Plato, his most famous student.
The Socratic Method is a structured discussion that begins with a series of related questions that build on each other in order to help a learner clarify and evaluate beliefs about a philosophical topic. The initial questioning is aimed at helping learners state clearly and, most importantly, to their own satisfaction, what they believe about something (such as the nature of knowledge or justice). If learners’ words were inadequate or their ideas not clearly formed, Socrates would then help them to formulate their understanding further by prompting them, sometimes provocatively, with suggestions. Only when ideas were clarified and the learner could say: ‘Yes, that’s exactly what it is’, would he move to the next phase.
A second phase of questioning was then used to evaluate the learner’s beliefs. Often Socrates’ learners got angry at this point (e.g., in Theateus), but this irritation or challenge was necessary in order for his pupils to complete their learning. Socrates referred to himself as ‘The Gadfly of Athens’ (Apowgy). The purpose of this evaluation phase is to check and challenge and to make sure the articulated assertion is veritable. The Socratic Method did not draw on a specific theory or body of knowledge; rather, like coaching itself, it was a modus operandi that questioned everything in order to test the coherence of ideas and beliefs and consequently arrive at and be able to articulate their foundations.
Descartes (1596 – 1650)
Some two thousand years later, Rene Descartes also developed a method for discerning knowledge. His aim was to begin philosophy “all anew from the foundations” (1980), based on a method formulated with mathematical precision. The method, he claimed, would offer the same certainty and elegance of mathematics. It is primarily this method upon which Descartes’ reputation as the founder of modern western philosophy stands.
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