Category: Dialectical Thinking

In this blog, I  point to the de-totalization of human consciousness that is presently  state of the art in research in adult development. This de-totalization occurs on account of the absence of research on the way in which the social-emotional capability, shed light on by Loevinger and Kegan, intrinsically relates to the cognitive capability researched by Basseches, Commons, and Bhaskar, as well as myself. This de-totalization shows the stark limits of present research in adult development. It reflects a broken humanism as we experience it every day now. Is there a Bridge Between ED and CD Read More...

My colleague and friend Jan De Visch has recently made enormous strides toward a 'dialogically savvy app', -- an app that triggers deep and critical thinking in order to foster dynamic collaboration. The app is accompanied by the Re-Thinking Game, an implementation of DTF, the Dialectical Thought Form Framework. DTF is an ideal framework for preparing yourself to become a Critical Facilitator because it enables a learner to acquire the skill of 'building complexity' with clients, a process by which clients become aware of the 'terrible simplification' they perform on the real world by way of logical thinking. Jan is an graduate of the Interdevelopmental Institute (IDM) where he learned to think in terms of the moments of dialectic and their thought forms (see the many blogs on this computer to learn more). Below, have a look at what Jan has to say about the difference between conventional and critical facilitation (facilitation based on critical thinking). In Jan's and my definition, the difference between a conventional facilitator and a 'critical facilitator' is the following: A facilitator functions from a 'participant perspective.' He looks at an organizational system as an outsider and intervenes in it to achieve certain objectives. S(he) is... Read More...

The Frankfurt School is well known, liked or not liked, due to its pervasive influence in the domain of culture critique. As on account of increasing threats to democracy its legacy is once more coming to the fore, there is a strong tendency to focus on the products and results of the school's activity while totally bypassing quite another legacy of the school, namely, rigorous teaching of complex, 'dialectical' thinking. In this blog, a veteran attendant of Frankfurt School Hauptseminars, directed by Max Horkheimer and Th. W. Adorno, from 1958 to 1966, Otto Laske, speaks up to remind those interested in the school of its huge promise for helping (young and young remaining) minds achieve new depths of reflection and circumspection, not only about society, but also about the cosmos at large and about themselves in their societal and ecological predicament. Otto Laske reviews the teachings of the school's Hauptseminar which focused on Hegel's Logic of 1812-16 as a vehicle for achieving fluid and holistic systemic thinking, more than ever needed in the world we live in, which we created without much further thought about the consequences of our actions supported by fabulous technologies. Taking a measure of Hauptseminar teaching... Read More...

Obwohl das Programm des diesjaehrigen Wiener Leadership Kongresses () keine Einfuehrung in CDF -- das Constructive Developmental Framework --umfasst, werden viele Kongressteilnehmer die sich aus der Benutzung von CDF ergebenden Fuehrungsvorteile wahrscheinlich kennenlernen wollen. CDF ist eine von Otto Laske erstellte Synthese von Forschungsbefunden der Harvardschule hinsichtlich Erwachsenenentwicklung seit 1975, die Dimensionen des kritischen Denkens der Frankfurter Schule mit denen des dialektischen Denkens von Roy Bhaskar verbindet.  Diese Methodologie ist seit dem Jahre 2000 am IDM, dem Interdeveopmental Institute, internationalen Studentengruppen in der Form von Zertifikatskursen angeboten worden. Sie wird heute von Otto Laske vorwiegend in der Unternehmungsberatung mit Fokus auf collaborative intelligence in teams  und neue Konzeptionen von 'human capital' eingesetzt. Der Leser findet unten (in downloadable form) eine kurze Auflistung von Vorteilen, die sich aus der organizationsweiten Benutzung von CDF ergeben, der auch eine kurze historische Vignette ueber die Entstehung von CDF beigefuegt ist. Geschaeftsvorteile und Anlass von CDF Read More...

Dieser Workshop der Firma Four Dimensions, Wien und Salzburg (), offeriert Personalverantwortlichen, Personalentwicklern, Beratern und Coachs eine Einfuehrung in Methoden fuer die Bestimmung des emotionalen und kognitiven Reifegrades von Individuen und Teams. Diese Methoden leiten sich aus Otto Laske’s Arbeiten am Interdevelopmental Institute (IDM), Gloucester, MA. her. Instruktoren sind Simone Rack, Rainer v. Leoprechting, und Otto Laske. Interessenten die an diesem Workshop teilnehmen wollen schreiben bitte an [email protected] Sketch of Workshop Agenda Wien Read More...

The future of work is not a topic for logical thinking as much as it is one for revamping logical into complex, 'dialectical', thinking. The difference between the two is explained and exercised in a workshop in Brussels whose program can be downloaded here. If interested in this workshop, held on January 18, 2019, near Brussels, write to [email protected], my co-author of a book on collaborative intelligence of teams entitled "Dynamic Collaboration" (2018). In the downloadable attachment, the program is commented upon from a dialectical-thinking point of view by Otto Laske. Program Jan 18 2019 Brussels Read More...