Facilitation and Socratic Dialogue
Facilitation and Socratic Dialogue I enjoyed reading Steven Werlin¡¯s essay on difficilitation and Harold Stone¡¯s response about naming (Promulgates, #¡¯s XII 7 and 11). I found myself asking how it might have evolved that at Shimer¡ªwith our avowed commitment to Socratic education¡ªsome of us have come to use the term ¡°facilitation¡± as the name for what faculty do in the classroom dialogue. I began wondering about the claim Socrates makes in the Theaetetus¡ªthat his role is that of a midwife¡ªand whether the mid-wife¡¯s art might be called ¡°facilitation. ... Was it perhaps invented by Plato for its symbolic value as an expression of what gives birth to the Socratic spirit¡ª¡°arete¡±¡ªor virtue? ... Socrates also explores two other related aspects of the art of midwifery as analogous to his skills in dialogue: the knowledge of miscarriage and matchmaking. ... Still, this skill is important for Socrates because it is analogous to knowledge about the nature of dialogue through which souls associate. The midwife of the soul must be able to judge what we might call ¡°fertile¡± or productive dialogue between people. Just as a midwife may need to abort a birth, or prevent a miscarriage, so the Socratic educator may need to abort a foolish notion or protect against the miscarriage of a fruitful idea. ... Having outlined above the analogy in the Theaetetus between midwifery and Socratic dialogue, could we call this art of the practice of dialogue ¡°facilitation?¡± Does it make sense to say that a midwife facilitates birth in the way a Shimer faculty member facilitates dialogue? In his essay, Steven emphasizes the central tone of ¡°facile¡± at the root of facilitation. ... And while he recognizes that sometimes this might be so, he thinks this is too one-sided, since often a Shimer faculty member (and all members of the dialogue) should be making things difficult¡ªby, for example, challenging us to question unconsidered assumptions or comfortable dynamics. But the word ¡°facilitate¡± is also related to the word ¡°facility¡± as in ¡°she has a great facility for genuine dialogue.