(NEW) Giancarlo Marinelli (Italy)

In philosophical practice, the "practical part" is likewise the outstanding moment of our philosophical perspective. I've created this exercise to show, through 7 steps, how in our experience ideas are more relevant than both sensations and thinking. The participants are requested to recollect inspiring and vital ideas from two moments of their life: one from the childhood, one from the teenage years and his youth. Initially the first two steps are dedicated to let the memories flow from the participants minds. This operation is leaded by the facilitator who invites the group to focus only on personal situation in which they felt being "activated" on their energies and resources. So the participants are demanded to focus on two moments in their life where they felt some kind of well-being originated by a deep connection between their mind and the moment they were living. At the end of each recollection of the positive memory, the participants should transcribe in a notebook the most relevant ideas that lie behind this two moment of deep self realization. In the following step the participants should pay attention to find common elements through all the two experiences: the general idea. After that all the group members are asked to elaborate a personification of these general ideas. The aim of the personification is to create an iconic representation that is a intensification of the individual character of every idea. Afterwards, all the participants have to set up a dialogue with the representation they've created. They have to interact directly with their own "symbol" proposing it an issue they're experiencing in order to figure it out. The final step is about elaborating a feedback to the problem. At the very end of the exercise all the members of the group should share freely their experience one another in particular about the last two steps of the workshop and about the common elements of ideas present in every participant (the idea of the community).

Philosophy of imagination: imagination and thought in philosophical practice (Panel discussion)

Moderator: Giancarlo Marinelli

Invited speakers: Lydia Amir, José Barrientos-Rastrojo, David Sumiacher