Technology seems a neutral instrument; in reality, the design of technology is full of assumptions.
Socratic Design™ applied by CTO innovation department Amsterdam
Pre-assumptions materialised in our technologies and cities!
The assumptions which are shaping our technologies, date out of our recent philosophical past.
Assumptions such as; man is a rational being, the body is a machine, the mental world is subjective, nature is a mechanism, we are all unique egos, reality is measurable, reality consists of facts, science has access to truth and labor gives sense to our lives.
Many of these assumptions are hidden in our environment. They are materialized in our and technologies and cities; they are ingrained in our cultural systems such as education, science, religion, politics, and governments.
We have fully incorporated this system of thinking in all facets of our life and environment; we think, according to these presuppositions, they are thought addictions.
Free the team from blocking assumptions and create new ones
When we are aware of our presuppositions and thought addictions, we can free ourselves from it. Free from these blockades, an innovative and creative view becomes possible.
Usually, when we enter a debate or have discussions topic, we stick to our own beliefs. We barely listen to the other; we are “locked-in” our neuron circuit; while we think that we are thinking.
When we speak with a colleague from our organization, we see the other through a “screen of thoughts.”
To make this invisible system at work visible, we use the Socratic Design method. Through a disciplined dialogue, we engage in “the art of listening,” we form collective attention with the whole team and can, therefore, perceive the system from the outside; if you are in it, you can’t. We can suspend our judgment and create entirely new assumptions that realize humanizing technological applications. The newly created assumptions concern the world around us and our inner self.
CTO wants a continuous dialogue with the citizens of Amsterdam. A critical criterium for them is the effect that technology has on relationships between citizens.
Mastering a reflexive attitude in the organization
The Socratic Design method makes the CTO collective a real change-maker because we can innovate our ideas about humanity by changing our technologies.
Through various exercises, training, rituals, and collective habits, it becomes possible to master a reflexive attitude permanently.
The narrative of every employee, is an important basis for the analysis of our condition in the world and for the potential of transformation.