English

International Winter Seminar 2013
"Practicing Philosophy"
Argenteuil - France
February 18th -23 rd, 2013

Last summer, after increasing the attendance of our seminar to the maximum number allowed by the local facilities, about forty persons, we had the regrettable obligation to refuse quite a few later applications for attendance. This meant already that we had to hold numerous workshops in two different halls, in order to give everyone a chance to show his work and not crowd the halls too much.
Because of this, and because we do not wish to go beyond this size of attendance, we have decided to hold a winter seminar, not in La Chapelle St André (Burgundy) where the season creates harsh living conditions, but in Argenteuil, at the seat of the I.P.P., in the suburbs of Paris. Of course, persons that were denied attendance at the summer seminar will have a priority. Again for practical reasons, we do not wish to receive too many persons, in order for the seminar to remain a seminar and not become a conference.
So we intend to receive maximum 20 persons, interested or involved in philosophical practice: students, teachers, professors, counselors, trainers, etc. Like in the summer seminar, the purpose will be for these participants to reflect on their work and improve professionally. For seven days, in English, these practitioners coming from very diverse countries will participate to different workshops, lead workshops, analyze and evaluate them, theorize about the different issues involved.

In this context, philosophy is not an academic activity centered on the history of ideas, and one does not come simply to narrate what he does in his home country, but get acquainted with the many ways of philosophizing, as an activity constitutive of the mind and the self. Philosophy with children, philosophical consultation, philosophy workshops, Socratic dialogue, etc., one is introduced to the many forms and variants of such an endeavor. It is not so much knowledge that is at stake here, but acquiring and developing skills. How to conceptualize, how to problematize, how to deepen understanding of given ideas, and especially how to create a situation where this activity can be induced, are the main focus of the work.

Of course, Socratic maieutic is a key methodological point, but as well dialectics, analytics, community of enquiry, constitute as many entries and matrices to define the work. If they wish so, participants can facilitate a workshop, a situation that provides an occasion for a practitioner to show how he works and get some critical feed-back on his work and his methodology, so one becomes more conscious of his own options and activity. Since the atmosphere of this seminar is open, inclined to both rigor and diversity, it creates a context where one can really express his view instead of hiding behind the usual pseudo-consensus where "everything is fine and we are all great". In this sense, the idea is to recreate the context of antique philosophical schools, or the gymnasium as described by Plato, where one could challenge other's ideas and oneself be challenged.

All practitioners interested in presenting their work and holding a workshop during this event are invited to send in their proposal. The purpose of this seminar is to exchange, discover, experiment and develop practices.
This seminar does not require previous philosophical training. It can be an initiation to philosophical practice, or a deepening of the activity. Participants come from different parts of the world, and join for professional or personal reasons, in order to work on a practice that is applicable to many contexts: teaching children or adults, management, individual consultation, N. G. O. activities…

The duration will be almost a week, from February 18th – 23rd 2012, and the cost will be 500 EUR, including the workshops, food and accommodation in a private room. For people who are on a tight budget, this can be reduced to 300 EUR if you accept "camping style" accommodation. Our Institute can accept some people free of charge who have financial difficulties, but are highly motivated.

7 th International Summer Seminar
"Practicing Philosophy"
La Chapelle St. André - Burgundy - France
August 6th - 12th 2012

http://www.pratiques-philosophiques.com/summer-seminar.html

6th International Summer Seminar
"Practicing Philosophy"
La Chapelle St André - France
August 1st - 7th 2011

Every summer, in the little village of La Chapelle St André (Burgundy - France), gather about 25-30 persons involved in philosophical practice (students, teachers, professors, counselors, trainers) in order to reflect on their work and improve professionally. For seven days, in English, these philosophy practitioners coming from the five continents will participate to different workshops, lead workshops, analyze and evaluate them, theorize about the different issues involved.

In this context, philosophy is not any more an academic activity centered on the history of ideas, and one does not come simply to narrate what he does in his home country, but get acquainted with the many ways of philosophizing, as an activity constitutive of the mind and the self. Philosophy with children, philosophical consultation, philosophy workshops, Socratic dialogue, etc., one is introduced to the many forms and variants of such an endeavor. It is not so much knowledge that is at stake here, but acquiring and developing skills. How to conceptualize, how to problematize, how to deepen understanding of given ideas, and especially how to create a situation where this activity can be induced, is the main focus of the work.

Of course, Socratic maïeutics is a key methodological point, but as well dialectics, analytics, community of enquiry, constitute as many entries and matrices to define the work. If they wish so, participants can facilitate a workshop, a situation which provides an occasion for a practitioner to show how he works and get some critical feed-back on his work and his methodology, so one becomes more conscious of his own options and activity. Since the atmosphere of this seminar is open, inclined to both rigor and diversity, it creates a context where one can really express his view instead of hiding behind the usual pseudo-consensus where "everything is fine and we are all great". In this sense, the idea is to recreate the context of antique philosophical schools, or the gymnasium as described by Plato, where one could challenge other's ideas and himself be challenged. In the peaceful atmosphere of a small French village, accompanied with good food and good wine, walks in the beautiful surrounding woods and visit to the medieval site of Vezelay, one can truly devote himself to philosophical encounters and reflection.

The duration will be one whole week, from August 1st - 7th, and the cost will be 500 EUR, including the workshops, food and accommodation in a private room. For people who are on a tight budget, this can be reduced to 300 EUR if you accept "camping style" accommodation. Our Institute can accept some people free of charge who have financial difficulties, but are highly motivated.

If you wish to be informed of the seminar and workshops of the Institute of Philosophical practice, you can send an email to Isabelle Millon at the following address:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Training at distance with I.P.P.

For those who are interested in training in philosophical practice with the I.P.P., this is now possible at distance through the utilization of the Skype technique. Anyone willing to engage in such a program can contact us at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
The work can take place either on an individual or group basis.

Video: Workshop of Philosophical Practice of Oscar Brenifier at the X International Conference of Philosophical Practice - August 2010 (Leusden - Netherlands)

Videos: 5th International Summer Seminar of Philosophical Practice 12.07 -18.07.2010
Oscar Brenifier 1 2 3 4 5 (Philosophical Workshop)

Isabelle Millon (Philosophy for Children Workshop)
Comparing Workshops of Philosophy for Children
(Isabelle Millon, Hreinn Palsson, Peter Harteloh)
Peter Harteloh (Philosophical Counseling Workshop - 42 min)
Philosophical Counseling Demo-Workshop Richard Anthone

Hreinn Palsson (Philosophy for Children Workshop)
Oscar Brenifier: Philosophical Counseling to Johann
Couching a Counselor: Oscar Brenifier & Silvia Benschop
Rayda Guzman (Philosophical Counseling Workshop)
Oscar Brenifier: Comparing workshops of philosophical practice
Kapittelen: Philosophical Practice Workshop by Peter Harteloh

Oscar Brenifier: Philosophical Counseling to Carmen
Carmen Zavala: Philosophical Counseling to Oscar
Daniel D. Novotny: Philosophical Counseling to Oscar

Last Updated (Friday, 22 March 2013 00:39)

Oscar Brenifier, holds a Bachelor of biology degree (University of Ottawa) and a PhD in Philosophy (Paris IV – Sorbonne). For many years, in France as well as in the rest of the world, he has been working on the concept of ‘philosophical practice’, both from a theoretical and practical viewpoint. He is one of the main promoters of the project of philosophy in the city, organizing philosophy workshops for children and adults and philosophy cafés, working as a philosophy consultant, etc. He has published about thirty books in this domain, including the ‘Philozenfants’ series (Editions Nathan), which has been translated into over twenty-five languages. He founded the Institut de Pratiques Philosophiques (Institute of philosophical practice), to train practical philosophers and organize philosophy workshops in various places: schools, media centres, old people’s homes, prisons, social centres, firms, etc.

He is also one of the authors of the UNESCO report La philosophie, une École de la Liberté.

Website: www.brenifier.com

millon_isabelle-8f1f7 Isabelle Millon Philosopher-Practitioner (Philosophy workshop facilitator for adults and children), Trainer (teachers and social workers), Director of the Institut de Pratiques Philosophiques (since 1994), Editor and Documentalist, Sub-Editor of « Diotime – L’Agora » (French journal of didactics of philosophy), co-author (Collection « L’apprenti-philosophe », 8 books for young adults and adults, Nathan school editors).
She works mainly on projects with children and teenagers (from 4 to 18 years old): France (principaly suburb of Paris and Pau, south-west of France) ; she had worked also in foreign countries, among others, Burkina Faso, Niger, Peru, Belgium, Italy, Algeria.

Gabriel Viallet Philosopher-Practitioner (Philosophy workshop facilitator for adults and children) and Teacher of Physics

Audrey_CV Audrey Gers Philosopher-Practitioner (Philosophy workshop facilitator for adults and children). She likes to seize oppositions and understand their stakes, she is interested in making participants becoming aware of the choice of their words.

Jérôme Lecoq has a Master’s in business with a speciality in international affairs. He also has a Master’s in Philosophy which he did as a hobby on distance learning, with emphasis on German philosophy. He wrote his master’s thesis on a french 18th century philosopher, Maine de Biran, who re-discovered the relationships between mind and body in his main book, “La décomposition de la pensée”.
Philosophy was always a passion for Jerome since he was 16. His second passion is swimming and Jerome was also a competitive swimmer on a french national level. Jerome always wanted to combine practical philosophy with the corporate world. After meeting Oscar Brenifier two years ago and joining the I.P.P he decided to help companies in France and abroad to improve team efficiency with team coaching through philosophy and set up his own practice, DIALOGON (www.dialogon.fr) for that purpose.
Jerome is 38 years old, lives in Paris, is married and has one daughter.

Last Updated (Monday, 29 August 2011 13:41)

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