Association “Petit Philosophy”
INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC
– What exactly is philosophy?
– Why does this philosophy last for at least 2600 years?
– What happened to philosophy after the digital revolution?
– What is the purpose of philosophy in the digital world?
– How can philosophy help us in the digital world?
If (student) responds in the workshop to all questions, he or she will learn what type of philosopher’s digital dream is.
LESSON OVERVIEW
This workshop is a classical Socratic dialogue with stimulus in the digital world. The main objectives of this workshop are:
- to show the meaning and importance of philosophical discussion in the contemporary world
- to point out the importance of developing digital literacy (knowing how to choose the right information)
- show how the digital world has a lot of important philosophical questions closely related to everyday life and life as a whole
- use of critical thinking skills in a digital world
Materials that should be issued include: it would be good if every student could use his or her mobile phone (with internet connection), computer, projector, and paper for the students.
Learning outcomes that will be attained through workshop:
- to comprehend the meaning of philosophy in a digital age
- improve digital literacy
- adopt some basic skills for selecting useful information on the Internet
- to know how to differentiate useful from useless information on the Internet.
LESSON BREAKDOWN – WORSKHOP ACTIVITIES
Part I. What is philosophy?
The facilitator asks the students if they know what philosophy is. But he does not demand answers from them but directs them to Google to try to find the best possible definition of philosophy on the Internet. Let them use all their digital search skills. Students have five minutes to find the best definition of philosophy on the internet. While the students explore, the teacher plays music (you can listen to Friedrich Nietzsche’s Eine Sylvesternacht, for violin and piano (1863)).
After ten minutes, the teacher encourages the students to present their found or created definition of philosophy. The teacher writes three to five definitions on the board or word document. There the teacher opens a discussion, which is the best of the written definitions.
Let the discussion last up to ten minutes. After ten minutes, the students vote to choose the best definition. Other definitions are deleted, so that only the selected one remains, so that it will be visible to the students until the end of the session.
Part II. Why do we need philosophy in today’s world?
The teacher/facilitator explains to the students how, with the help of Google, they have now defined what philosophy is. The students get a new task, which is to determine what philosophy is needed for today. What is the purpose of philosophy in the digital world? This time, the students have only 5 minutes to offer their answers.
Negative answers are prohibited. After 5 minutes to think, the teacher opens the discussion by choosing a few students to answer the question: “What is the purpose of philosophy in the digital world today?” Following the discussion, the teacher selects the most useful answer at his discretion and allows the students to decide, together with him, what the purpose of philosophy in the digital world is based on the selected example.
Some of the answers can be:
- A philosophy supports an intellectual framework, including that which we are now experiencing.
- Philosophy is rethinking the values and functions of the digital world.
- Think ethically and philosophically about our current rush to outsource decision-making to computers, their owners, and programmers.Information ethics (IE is concerned with ethical, legal, and societal aspects of using information and information and communication technologies).
- Rethinking values in the digital world.
Part III. The philosopher digital dream come true
On the begging student watch short movie – stimulus:
Scenario:
A typical philosopher (beard, etc.) sits on a bench and thinks. Once upon a time in antiquity, philosophers had their own schools. They explored the world and answered questions about the philosophy of nature. With Socrates, they started thinking about the relationship between people, how to behave correctly but also how to think correctly. In the Middle Ages, they tried to explain what God is and the relationship between philosophy and theology. In the early modern period, they thought about science and what the true scientific principles and methods were that would make our lives easier. Philosophers also considered how to have a just state, happy people, and what art is. Thinking like that, the philosopher fell asleep.
When the students watch the movie, the facilitator divides them into groups of two or three students, who are given the task of writing scenarios in which they describe the end of the philosopher’s digital dream, in which the philosopher discovers what his task is in this digital age. It reveals what philosophy is and how it is needed today, as well as in all other times since 640 BC.
After the students have created short scenarios, they present them to their colleagues and the teacher. Then everyone together discusses the importance that certain scenarios have determined for philosophy in the digital world. They also choose the most original and best scenario. The best scenario, if the school has money, can be filmed.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Online article “Philosophy and Digitization: Dangers and Possibilities in the New Digital Worlds” [https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/sats-2021-0006/html?lang=en]
- Online article “The Fourth Revolution: Philosophy to Survive in the Digital Age”
[https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/humanities/beliefs/the-fourth-revolution-philosophy-to-survive-in-the-digital-age/]
- Online article “Unit information: Philosophy in the Digital Age in 2020/21” [https://www.bris.ac.uk/unit-programme-catalogue/UnitDetails.jsa?ayrCode=20%2F21&unitCode=PHIL30132]
- Book: Soames, S. The World Philosophy Made: From Plato to the Digital Age Princeton University PressOnline, 2019
- Online article “Socrates As A LifeLong Learner In A Digital Age” [https://elearningindustry.com/lifelong-learner-in-a-digital-age-socrates/]
- Paper “”Socratic Questioning” is the Way the World Functions Now” [https://www.mintcopy.com/content-marketing-blog/socratic-questioning-is-the-way-the-world-functions-now]
- Ep. “Socrates” (dubbed) – Animated…Philosophers” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk0oSfivOyc]
ANNEX
Sleep and Dreaming: Do You Dream Every Night? And Other Fascinating Facts About Dreams, By Kendra Cherry October 02, 2022 (Medically reviewed by Claudia Chaves, MD)[1]
We spend roughly one-third of our lives sleeping – and during that time, we dream. Many theories exist to explain why we dream, but researchers still don’t know for sure. Some believe dreams have symbolic meaning, whereas others believe that they relate to waking life.
What scientists do know is that just about everyone dreams every time they sleep, and those dreams can be fascinating, exciting, terrifying, or just plain weird. Here are 10 things to know about dreams.
[1] Article is from Verywellmind.com and can bee seen here: https://www.verywellmind.com/facts-about-dreams-2795938