Conference Program

Contemporary philosophy and education increasingly recognise the importance of dialogical approaches such as philosophical debate, Philosophy for Children (P4C), communities of inquiry, and deliberative practices. Within this broader field, Neosocratic Dialogue—developed in the tradition of Leonard Nelson (1882–1927) and Gustav Heckmann (1898–1996)—offers a distinctive way of practising philosophy collaboratively by connecting personal experience with philosophical inquiry.

Historically, Neosocratic Dialogue emerged in the context of intellectual resistance in Germany during the Weimar Republic, the Nazi period, and the years of exile and reconstruction after the Second World War. From its origins, the practice has been closely linked to the aspiration to sustain and promote democratic culture—even in circumstances where democratic life appeared to be under threat.

Today, Neosocratic Dialogue has developed into a widely used philosophical practice supporting democratic education across diverse contexts, including adult education, schools, universities, civil society initiatives, business ethics, and health care. It represents a distinctive form of collaborative philosophical inquiry in which participants, guided by a facilitator, explore authentic beliefs grounded in reflection on personal experience. This dialogical process—often described as Miteinanderdenken (“thinking together”)—encourages slow and reflective thinking, critical examination of assumptions, mutual understanding, and a shared search for truth and consensus. Dialogues typically begin with the careful analysis of a lived experience proposed by participants, which becomes the starting point for conceptual clarification and philosophical investigation without appealing to authority.

By recognising the dignity of each participant as an autonomous subject and fostering highly organised collaborative thinking, Neosocratic Dialogue creates meaningful opportunities for engaging with values, perspectives, and shared understanding. In this way, theoretical reflection and practical experience, rational argument and emotional engagement, inquiry and mutual respect remain deeply interconnected.

The presentation draws on the Erasmus+ project Development of Competences for Democratic Culture through Neosocratic Dialogue (2020–2023), implemented by Sokratovské rozhovory z.s., Collegio Arcivescovile Celestino Endrici, and Plovdiv University Paisii Hilendarski. The project explored how Neosocratic Dialogue can contribute to the development of democratic competences in education, particularly in relation to the Council of Europe Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC).

One of the key outcomes of the project is the handbook The Power of Consensus, which introduces teachers to the principles of Neosocratic Dialogue and provides a set of educational activities designed to cultivate dialogical attitudes and democratic competences, together with practical guidelines for facilitating philosophical dialogue in school contexts.

Building on this project experience, the presentation offers examples of how Neosocratic Dialogue can be implemented in educational settings with teachers, students, and pupils. It also discusses how activities from the handbook can support the development of democratic competences at different educational levels, using the RFCDC as a common reference framework. These experiences point to the potential of Neosocratic Dialogue as a pedagogical approach capable of strengthening democratic culture in education and suggest directions for further research and implementation on a broader scale.