Today we'll start by writing our own questions about the section of the book you read over the weekend, pages 22-41. You can use any of these question starters:
- Frankl's book has me wondering...
- What does Frankl mean when he says...
- Why does it happen that...
- How does Frankl...
- (other - perhaps a quotation or a question he names)
Here is the structure for today:
- Open a new Google Document. Name for it “MSM dialogue” and share it with the person / people you will be working with today.
- I think it will also be helpful at this point to decide on a color or font for each person to use, so you can distinguish the different voices.
- Write an “opening statement.” This paragraph needs to include both an opening thought about the issue / question you have selected from the reading (what is Frankl saying) and a general sense of what it makes you think about at this point.
- Responder reads this and writes a paragraph that includes their answer to the question and reasons / justifications for it.
- Then, the responder will ask a question, trying to dig deeper into the beliefs of the writer. The responder may, but it not required, to use one of the following questions we've previously used to expand / focus philosophical questions:
- What are its assumptions and premises?
- What are its implications?
- What different types or contexts exist?
- When does / doesn’t it work?
- What do the specific terms mean?
- What are the reasons underlying the questions / answers?
- Who else shares this belief or perspective, and why?
- Writer now responds to this question with a combination of ideas, reasons, explanations, and examples. This should conclude with a question back to the responder.
- Dialogue continues this way for 15-20 minutes.
- Both sides are encouraged to challenge the ideas and beliefs of the other person. The idea behind that is to push the writer’s thinking, to consider new possibilities, and to potentially reach new conclusions.
- Feel free to add in personal stories or make up hypothetical situations ("would your beliefs hold true if...") - philosophy is always at its best and most challenging when it has to be specific and not just theoretical.
- You will be turning in this dialogue as is. Don't worry about the grade here - just have an authentic dialogue for the whole period.
- Enjoy the opportunity to have powerful, deep conversation!
