This course provides a practical guide to reflective change. Drawing on philosophical examples, it explores the qualities and skills required for successful change. Classes introduce philosophers in their historical context. Each philosopher contributes a different insight into the art of reflective change. The lessons are distilled into practical exercises that consolidate the ideas and show participants how to apply them in everyday contexts. By doing these exercises, participants learn how to cultivate the resilience to deal with change, the agility to explore different aspects of their whole person, and the vision to use change to forge empowering new perspectives on the future. No prior knowledge of philosophy is required. Reading materials are provided.

Course Content

Introduction to Philosophy for Change

We start by considering change as a contemporary problem before reflecting on ancient philosophical attitudes towards change. In the second hour, we run through an introductory exercise to acquaint participants with the practical nature of the course.

Existential Courage

This class looks at the work of Existentialist philosophers, including Kierkegaard, Heidegger, and Sartre, and Camus, to formulate the idea of ‘existential courage’ – the courage to change. Exercise one outlines an Existentialist meditation to inspire a passion for positive change.

Stoic Self-Control

This class looks at Stoic philosophy as a means of achieving centeredness and self-control in situations of change. Exercise two leads participants through a Stoic meditation designed to show them how to cultivate the focus and tranquility they need to deal with change.

Nietzsche and Empowerment

This class looks at Nietzsche’s philosophy of will to power and how it can help us identify our personal sources of power. I introduce Nietzsche’s key ideas and discuss how they provide a framework for thinking about personal empowerment. Exercise three leads participants through Nietzsche’s ‘Eternal Return’ to show them how to identify their unique forms of empowerment.

Spinoza, Friendship, and Agility

This class explores Spinoza’s philosophy of affect and how it can help us diversify our powers in social contexts. The more diverse the set of powers at our disposal, the better placed we are to tackle change in an agile and creative way. Exercise four shows how to use Spinoza’s ideas to discover new and diverse powers in the context of unlikely social relationships.

Leadership and Change

This class explores how to play a leadership role in collaborative group contexts. Drawing on Searle’s ‘speech act’ theory and Derrida’s philosophy of ‘deconstruction’, I discuss the unique mode of speaking that leaders require to facilitate collaborative innovation. Exercise five uses Spinoza’s idea of the multitude to explore how to create collective powers-in-common, and promote quality collaboration in the workplace and elsewhere.

Damascus Road Moments

Philosophy for Change can be used to trigger Damascus road moments in life, inspiring empowering new visions of the future. This class considers how Heidegger’s notion of ‘lived time’ presents insight into Damascus road experiences. Exercise six reviews the lessons of the course to establish how to use Philosophy for Change to grasp new opportunities in change.

Foucault and Enlightenment

This class looks at Foucault’s idea of enlightenment and how it can help you clarify the social changes that are happening today. Exercise seven presents a Foucaultian approach to transformative social change: how to change your life while participating in changing the world.

Course Outcomes

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Discuss insights of major figures and schools in the history of philosophy relating to change
2. Use philosophy to chart a more effective course through change
3. Reflect philosophically on the value of change for life