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Dialectical thinking has a long history of both practice and neglect. In modern times, its renewal was brought about by Roy Bhaskar (1949-2014). His theory of MELD, four degrees or moments of dialectic, not only allowed him to show the flaws of hegelian and the depth of marxian thinking, it also grounded his ARA metaphysics which added to the real world of Meld a layer of ethical and aesthetic depth. The pedagogy of dialectical thinking that is on my mind is strictly one of MELD, thus of the real world seen from a scientific perspective. This pedagogy is based on a very simple connection explored in my work in adult cognitive development and organizational complexity, namely that between Bhaskar's Moments of Dialectic and Basseches' dialectical schemata or, as I say, thought forms (TFs). In my conception, expanding logical thinking by breadth-first search leads to four moments of dialectic, while extending this search into depth leads to an unfolding of moments by dialectic by TFs. This connection of moments of dialectic and associated thought forms is the crux of DTF. Mastering DTF is commensurate which understanding and mastering this connection. The pedagogy I have in mind is therefore based on DTF,... Read More...

In this article forthcoming in the Integral Leadership Review in May, 2018, Jan De Visch and Otto Laske give examples of the benefits of focusing on complex dialogical thinking in leading and coaching teams, regardless of the specific topic a team is addressing. Their developmentally informed strategy of team intervention is based on insights deriving from working with DTF, Laske's Dialectical Thought Form Framework (2008). DTF sheds light on, as well as delivers cutting-edge tools for, turning around team collaboration in the direction of an upward spiral. The article is a review of the authors' book entitled "Dynamic Collaboration: Strengthening Self-Organization and Collaborative Intelligence in Teams". The book is the first to fully incorporate findings about adult development over the life span into the literature on teams, and in this sense pioneering. Review of "Dynamic Collaboration: Strengthening Self-Organization and Collaborative Intelligence in Teams" (De Visch & Laske 2018) For an introduction to the book click on Introduction-to-Dynamic-Collaboration. The book can be ordered at https://connecttransform.be/dynamic-collaboration/   For a summary of the most important topics and insights of the book see below:  Perspex Scenes Template (copy) on Biteable. Read More...

Otto Laske's contributions to social-science, process consultation, and the teaching of & mentoring in developmental thinking and listening extend from 1999 to the present day. Many of his articles, keynotes, and teaching materials in English and German, as well as translations into Spanish and Italian, have recently been posted on this website under individual BLOGS as downloadable pdfs. They are organized in the form of thematic collections. These writings are 10 or more years ahead of our time. Licensing of his work is available; so far, it has been adopted in Malaysia. The prominent topics in Laske's writings are: 1. Complex, dialectical, thinking as the peak of adult cognitive development, and its relevance in society today. 2. Pedagogy of dialectical thinking (methodology of learning complex dialog), exercised, taught and certified at the Interdevelopmental Institute, IDM, since 2000. 3. Theory and practice of evidence-based developmental coaching; its missed chances caused by neglecting adult cognitive development in individuals and teams by all those who boarded the social-emotional triumphalism train in the 1990s. 4. Team Coaching framed by Laske's social-emotional team typology (2005) and based on dialectical thought form tools, for unlocking team members' internal dialog (the basis of external team dialog as... Read More...

The first workshop on CDF, the Constructive Developmental Framework, was held in Rome in 2011, carried out in collaboration with the Italian Society for Coaching Psychology (Ida Sirolli organizer). In the texts below, Italian readers find teaching materials and commentary for learning CDF. Translations are by Marco Di Monte and Dr. Alessandro Rossi, both students of the Interdevelopmental Institute (IDM). So far, attempts to bring knowledge of CDF into Italian organizations have failed despite a good understanding of humanistic approaches in Italy (manifest, e.g., in Marco Minghetti's work).   Forme di Pensiero Dialettico (Sirolli 2011) Sirolli's translation of CDF slides for the Rome seminar is too large for upload.   Italian Wikipedia Articel on CDF (Di Monte 2012)   L'Interdevelopmental Institute (Di Monte 2012)   Introduzzione a CDF (Di Monte 2014)   Nuove Strutture di Pensiero (Rossi 2016)   Como Sviluppare Nuove Strutture di Pensiero (Rossi 2016)   A Methodology for Creating a Developmentally Aware Society (Laske 2016) This text was written by Otto Laske as part of preparations for the seminar 'sviluppare nuove strutture di pensiero' (2016).   Read More...

The first workshop on the Constructive Developmental Framework (CDF), in Spain took place in 2012 in Girona, Spain.  It was co-sponsored by Instituto Ben Pensante, founded by Daniel Alvarez Lama in Santiago de Compostela. Below, the reader finds texts on the use of CDF (Marco Constructivo Evolutivo) in individual coaching written by Daniel Alvarez Lama between 2012 and 2015. Since 2013, Otto Laske has taught a 4-day workshop on CDF at Academia Inpact, Santiago de Chile. The first two seminar days center on social-emotional, the last two on cognitive, coaching. This workshop is part of the renowned Inpact Coaching Program founded by Paul Anwandter, where it is referred to as the Pensamiento Dialectico Program.   Aportaciones al Coaching de la Obra de Otto Laske (2012) Sobre el Marco Constructivo Evolutivo (Wikipedia 2013) El Coaching para el Desarrollo (2014) Precauciones sobre el Uso de la Teoría del Desarrollo Adulto (2014) Qué es el IDM? (2015)   Read More...

Cognitive interviewing is an art as well as science nowhere taught or practiced today. It is a kind of evidence-based interviewing that is anchored in dialectical listening. In focus in such listening are the thought forms a person uses as soon as s(he) opens her mouth, which are thus inescapable. Only a listener/thinker schooled in DTF (or an equivalent frameworks of complex thinking) can catch them, for a wide variety of purposes ranging from consulting and coaching to political debate and the comparative analysis of texts. Thought forms reflect the structure of mind-in-action in dialog, which is the only medium in which mind is truly mind (rather than a kind of control system). As this implies, cognitive interviewing is dialogical, meaning that while witnessing an individual's or team's social-emotional and cognitive process in real time, it is simultaneously guiding these processes from a detached and critical point of view informed by being aware of thought forms. Thought forms are patterns that guide "movements-in-thought" as they spontaneously and often unconsciously arise. But instead of focusing on the content thought forms carry (the "What" of speech), dialectical attention remains focused on the thought forms themselves (the "How-it-is-thought" of speech). As a consequence,... Read More...