Socratic Seminars

The seminars are text-based (maximum 50 pages per half day session) and Socratic, owing to the Institute's cornerstone Executive Seminar tradition. The seminars are text-based for a reason: the texts provide a common context for a disciplined group discussion versus a cocktail party bull session. The role of the moderator is to facilitate an exploration of the seminar topic among the participants; not to provide a series of expert lectures.

The seminar conversations are private, so that participants feel free to explore morally challenging issues without concern about being quoted out of context in someone's blog. The conversation belongs to the participants. The moderators' questions provide a starting point, but participants can pose new ideas and questions that are relevant to the topic under consideration or a given text. It is up to the moderator to strike the right balance between the texts and more free flowing conversation, bringing the seminar back to the text when the conversation strays. When it comes to the participants’ values, there are no right or wrong answers. There may be when it comes to citing facts or the texts, but not when it comes to values.