TY - JOUR

T1 - A new purpose for Socratic questioning in coaching

AU - De Dominicis, Stefano

AU - Stelter, Reinhard

N1 - CURIS 2023 NEXS 141

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Socratic questioning in coaching is a dialectic method, whose object is to bring to light the objective ‘truth’ behind a given matter, using questions that unveil what is implicitly known or disentangle the contradictions of a person’s beliefs. This method is central in cognitive-behavioral coaching, and is effectively used in therapeutic, educational, and leadership settings. Given its pragmatic focus, Socratic questioning has been applied on individuals’ specific challenges, goals, and behaviors. However, reflecting on the Socrates persona and the individual and societal challenges of the post-modern society, we suggest that this method could be re-interpreted to serve a twofold, hierarchical purpose in coaching. At the lower-level, and in the short-term, Socratic questioning’s goal is to unfold objective truths over given matters and to guide discovery in the interlocutors, as it helps coachees to overcome specific challenges. However, drawing upon a Third Generation Coaching perspective, we suggest a higher-order, long-term purpose of Socratic questioning. Third Generation Coaching claims that meaningful dialogues are collaborative and co-creative in nature, and emerge when moments of symmetry and resonance are experienced by the dialogue partners. Notably, Socrates practiced boêtheia (partnership) and maieutikós (midwifery) in his dialogues, clearly denoting his ethics’ collaborative and co-creative orientation. Accordingly, the high-order purpose of Socratic questioning is to create partnership, moments of symmetry, and resonance in the dialogue partners, which allows for meaning-making, self-reflection, shared-reflection, and shift in narrators’ perspectives. In this light, Socratic questioning helps fostering long-lasting, value-based personal growth in all dialogue partners.

AB - Socratic questioning in coaching is a dialectic method, whose object is to bring to light the objective ‘truth’ behind a given matter, using questions that unveil what is implicitly known or disentangle the contradictions of a person’s beliefs. This method is central in cognitive-behavioral coaching, and is effectively used in therapeutic, educational, and leadership settings. Given its pragmatic focus, Socratic questioning has been applied on individuals’ specific challenges, goals, and behaviors. However, reflecting on the Socrates persona and the individual and societal challenges of the post-modern society, we suggest that this method could be re-interpreted to serve a twofold, hierarchical purpose in coaching. At the lower-level, and in the short-term, Socratic questioning’s goal is to unfold objective truths over given matters and to guide discovery in the interlocutors, as it helps coachees to overcome specific challenges. However, drawing upon a Third Generation Coaching perspective, we suggest a higher-order, long-term purpose of Socratic questioning. Third Generation Coaching claims that meaningful dialogues are collaborative and co-creative in nature, and emerge when moments of symmetry and resonance are experienced by the dialogue partners. Notably, Socrates practiced boêtheia (partnership) and maieutikós (midwifery) in his dialogues, clearly denoting his ethics’ collaborative and co-creative orientation. Accordingly, the high-order purpose of Socratic questioning is to create partnership, moments of symmetry, and resonance in the dialogue partners, which allows for meaning-making, self-reflection, shared-reflection, and shift in narrators’ perspectives. In this light, Socratic questioning helps fostering long-lasting, value-based personal growth in all dialogue partners.

KW - Faculty of Science

KW - Socratic questioning

KW - Socrates

KW - Meaning-making dialogues

KW - Third generation coaching

KW - Values

KW - Partnership

M3 - Journal article

VL - 8

SP - 21

EP - 32

JO - Philosophy of Coaching: An International Journal

JF - Philosophy of Coaching: An International Journal

SN - 2371-5251

IS - 1

T2 - A New Purpose for Socratic Questioning in Coaching

Y2 - 19 April 2023 through 19 April 2023

ER -