So, what is philosophical consultancy? 

A philosophical consultation resembles a one-to-one coaching session or a workshop, except that I draw on methods more typically used in facilitating philosophical discussions.

My default structure is something I call ‘philosophy as sewing’. We begin with a topic of personal (or professional) importance, and then ‘push the needle up’ into abstract questions that connect to it. We address those questions in the abstract: analyzing concepts, drawing important distinctions, and questioning assumptions. Then we ‘push the needle down’ again, contextualising it back into the client’s own experiences. For example:

I’m very prone to feeling guilty

- (needle up) -

What is the moral function of guilt? When does guilt become scrupulousity?

- (needle down) -

What does that tell me about my own experiences of guilt?

This would be a single ‘stitch’. By moving up, and then down, we’ve moved forward. Sometimes a single ‘stitch’ is enough, and the next time I have a session with the client, we’ll talk about something completely different. Often, though, the client’s new perspective on their personal experience gives rise to another question, in which case we ‘push the needle up’ again and repeat, creating a chain of stitches: insights that connect to one another.

This process can include me suggesting reading materials, but it doesn’t have to. Some clients prefer the sessions to be self-contained, in which case I just explain the concept, and we put it right to work. For others, especially those undertaking writing projects, finding suitable readings and talking about them in depth is a large part of the process. Clients may also lie somewhere in between, wanting to read the occasional chapter or article but without these being the primary focus of the sessions. In this case, we can move between self-contained sessions and sessions informed by reading, depending on the client’s requirements at the time.

I offer corporate consultations, as well as private ones.

For corporations, I offer both one-to-one coaching and workshops.

My one-to-one coaching sessions have the same structure as my private consultations, but we focus on topics relevant to the client’s career. For example, we might analyze the concept of ‘meaningful’ or ‘fulfilling’ work (needle up), and then explore what that means to the client personally (needle down). Or, we might discuss the client’s ethical values, connecting them firstly to broader ethical traditions (needle up) and then to their professional responsibilities (needle down).

My workshops draw on my joint specialisms of social epistemology and philosophy of education, applying these traditions to issues in knowledge management and staff development, respectively. The ‘philosophy as sewing’ structure is transferred to a discussion format, alternating between discussing abstract ideas and applied examples. The applied examples are developed in collaboration with the individual company, to ensure they are relevant to the group’s experience. and the company’s goals. The overall process enables the participants to express their ideas and concerns as clearly as possible, recognize ambiguities, and minimize the risk of being misunderstood.

My current workshops include:

• ‘How Not To Think Like Sherlock Holmes’,

• ‘Why Socrates Hated Writing (As Written by Plato): Communication Preferences and Meaningful Compromise’,

• ‘Thinking For Themselves (But Not By Themselves): Mentoring and Autonomy’

I am very happy to design new workshops in response to my client’s interests.