Testimonials
The following feedback is from clients who have participated in IPP’s individual or group trainings, workshops, and seminars.
Yiting (Taiwan)
Mathias (Sweden)
Arissa (Taiwan)
- I became able to describe the ideas.
- I realized sometimes i do not understand myself either then through the repeating my answer and rethink twice to express clear.
- make clear with observation and analysis.
- i can see where are my own problems such as confusing idea or too subjective, which leads me to see, then through the exercise to avoid this old pattern.
- i found that i always react by intuition but thinking, these sessions let me slow down the reaction and provoke me try to see from different angles.
- i realized that reason and logical thinking sometimes are combine together.
- presupposition practice – to check the hypothesis, i can list down some presupposition but check the probability or possibility.
- i made a lot of idea shifting , the sessions makes me to think about link of two ideas.
Cristian (Romania)
Improvements and Flaws. During these sessions I improved my reasoning skills and discovered some of my reasoning flows. More specifically, I improved my ability to formulate an argument, and understood that it should be formed of the main idea, support and evidence, my ability to problematize by finding an example or the contradictions within a statement and my ability to analyze a philosophical consultation session. Also, I uncovered a number of flows in my reasoning. For instance, I often use vague terms and ideas, I do not answer directly the questions, I am afraid to reason, and my thinking is messy at times.
Strong points and enjoyments. The easiest and the most enjoyable task for me was to analyze the Oscar’s session. I see the tactics used by Oscar and the client and can easily describe them. When I analyze how other people are acting or their interactions, outside the sessions, I can easily grasp the essence, as well.
Weak points and disappointments. The most difficult part was to come with my own reasons and to problematize. And this is noticeable in my daily interactions, as well. I am afraid that I may not use the philosophical practice and reasoning skills properly, I am not confident in my skills and I am not sure how to use them in my daily life. For instance, when I use my argumentation and problematization skills with my highly intelligent friends that I appreciate, they say that I am a reductionist, that I miss the point, that I ignore the context, that I oversimplify.
Confidence. This lack of confidence is most obvious in me when I talk, but is less obvious when I write. Thus, I felt at ease while writing compared to talking, and using Google docs compared to verbal communication.
Future. In the future I intend to work more on my reasoning confidence both in verbal interactions, as well as in writing, make stronger my strong points, and improve the weak ones.
Alex (Romania)
The main thing that happened during the 10 week sessions is that it made me more aware about myself and others. I started the sessions with the intention of learning more about myself and about human behaviour. I did get that. At first I thought that I would also get more scientific information. But this is not what it’s all about. At first I was expecting to learn more in the land of techniques of manipulating psychology. The sessions did change the way I was, but more important it changed the way I look at things and acknowledging them. In my case I think this type of practice suited the way I was operating before and made me grow. I think that more people should do something like this in order to learn how to better rationalize.
The google doc practice is very good. There is a saying in my language: What is written, is holy. In this case, you can’t hide when you are writing. And when you will have a fresh mind you can come and re read the text and you will see the flaws of your thinking. You can’t do that if it was just a spoken conversation, because you will be biased by default because the conversation will only exist in your head.
Acceptance: The ability of looking and embracing your flaws.
Rationalizing: Capacity of conceptualizing and extracting ideas from a situation.
Objectivity: Ability be above emotions while thinking.
Observing: Ability to look into yourself and others.
Growing: Reaching a better version of yourself.
Expectations: A bad way of projecting the future.
Petra (Holland)
I’ve tasted different aspects of philosophising: questions, presuppositions, interpretations, dialectics, aphorisms, concepts.
I’ve learned that I take things for granted in my thinking. I assume that everybody thinks the way I do and understand what I mean. I must make my arguments more specific and concrete. This is surprising for me, because I always think I’m clear but that is because I find certain things so obvious.
I’m afraid to do that because I think people find me dumb. Because I myself think I’m dumb when I don’t have the answer or don’t understand what somebody wants or asks from me.
The ‘revelation’ that I don’t answer simple yes or no on questions, made that I’m thinking longer before I answer.
I found it nice that the more sessions we had, the more I began to do better for myself. The advice Leila gave me by building my arguments step by step, literally by writing them down, the way I’d advice pupils, worked for me.
The session with Oscar was good. He forbid to wipe out parts of the answers I’d given and made me think about them.
For my feeling of control and my background as a teacher I’d would have liked a clear start and end but I know that the heart of philosophy is not THAT. And this ‘freedom’ and not having a dogmatic structure is what makes me happy and at the same time confusing. Because there is no right/wrong.