Asking a question is, above all, questioning one's acquired knowledge! 👀 Every question pushes the individual to venture into the unknown. But why this hesitation, this fear of emptiness, of judgment or of the irreversible?
It is in the reference work of Mohammed Ben Totoch : "From brief to design”, that Pia Lauritzen, philosopher, author and entrepreneur, explores the power and fragility of human questioning. 💡 Because questioning is essential in philosophy, but also in design, take advantage of this creativity lesson.
When a designer questions or wonders about a subject, his approach is very close to problematization in philosophy. However, (…) why do we always have so much trouble asking or asking ourselves the first question?
It's interesting that you start with this question, because this is exactly what I address in my book, "Questions." I ask myself the question of who asked the first question in human history. I do this from a biblical perspective because it is impossible to find documents or data to determine this. So I have to rely on the oldest myth, and that is the creation story. So, do you know who asked the first question?
It's the snake... In fact, the first question, in addition to being intimidating, is very dangerous because it lays the foundations for what follows. There is clearly a before and after. The front is safe, controlled and known: it is the Garden of Eden where everyone walks around naked and serene. Then comes the first question, and that is the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, the moment when we became human. We now know that we don't know everything and that terrible things can happen. I know this is just a metaphor, but I draw on the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard who said that the myth of sin applies to every human being, to every one of us. It's not just Adam and Eve, every one of us goes through this transition. We are walking quietly, and then a question is asked, which teaches us something. We don't know everything, but we now know something, which leads us in a specific direction.
This existential angst, addressed by philosophers such as Kierkegaard and Heidegger, reflects our birth into a world full of uncertainties without ready-made answers. This basic human condition invites constant curiosity and exploration that fuel our ability to learn and grow. Accepting the discomfort of not knowing and understanding the dark side of our quest for knowledge are essential to unlocking our creative potential. In short, a conscious practice and the recognition that challenges accompany the joys of discovery and creativity.
The first question, besides being intimidating, is very dangerous because it lays the foundation for what follows.
So how can we get over this first question?
It has to do with being a child, because as a child, you just ask questions. You ask them over and over again because you're not aware of that anxiety, and you don't realize that something can be dangerous. We simply ask: Why does this exist? What is this? What is that?
But then you grew up, and now you have this awareness that Every time you ask a question, you risk putting yourself in a position that can be extremely awkward. Our task is therefore to work to create a climate of trust such that people are uninhibited by this first question (…). We can be tempted to want to direct them too much with examples and guide them all the way, or on the contrary choose to give them only an initial question. But I think that we would train better designers by not giving them the example.
Indeed, if you don't give them the initial question, but spend a little more time creating the space where they can feel comfortable asking their own first question, you are doing something that is instrumental to them and opening up so many more perspectives that free up so many different ways of looking at a problem, of doubting, of going backwards, of going forwards... So I think we have to opt for doubt. otherwise you remain confined to the shallow end. Doubt allows you to stay alert, it allows you to move forward instead of giving up and makes you want to jump in the deep end.
Doubt keeps you alert, it allows you to move forward instead of giving up, and it makes you want to jump in at the deep end.
What's so scary about asking questions, or why do many people not dare to ask questions?
Indeed, this is something that we must take very seriously as educators, as leaders, as project managers. We are required to be mindful that asking questions is extremely existential. So, asking someone to ask a question is like asking them to share something with you, and perhaps something very personal. Asking a question reveals us, as well as showing our limits on what we know and what we don't know.
(…) It is therefore essential, before asking someone else to ask a question, to make sure that we are in a state of mind where we are ready to take that step, that leap of conviction towards the revelation of who we are. How do we put ourselves in such an uncomfortable situation as someone having to ask a question in public? ?
(…) To truly engage and inspire, you have to be willing to be vulnerable, admit the unknown, and explore difficult questions together.
Asking a question reveals us, in addition to showing our limits on what we know and what we don't know.
So what would be the solution to create this environment conducive to questioning?
Sharing what you think before you have had a chance to think about it is scary and most people like to have a moment to think, to write things down. So we have to create this space, that is to say create the place where we feel comfortable to dare to progress. The ideal would then be to start by giving everyone a time of reflection alone, in a real bubble of silence. (…) We have this preconception that questions can be good or bad, that they can be right or wrong, that they can tell us to move forward or backward. And this idea is a huge problem because it feels like you have to be good at asking a question. But we're not supposed to do it to show that we're good, we're supposed to do it to take a step forward.
The ideal would then be to start by giving everyone some time to think alone, in a real bubble of silence.
What do you think then of a catalyst for ideas?
To be honest, I see things differently. Rather than disconnecting from a brief to better reconnect with it, I think I need to connect more on another level. There is something to think about… This way of doing things can indeed be anxiety-provoking. What if my questioning disconnects me too much and I am catapulted to the moon on a journey from which I will never return? Whereas if you simply say: you are not a spaceship, but rather an onion, it is less frightening. By questioning, you are just removing layers to reach the central essence, the philosophical essence of the problem: What is it? What is the key thing that we are trying to understand? I think it's another movement that has the same purpose but is less stressful. Some people probably like to connect, disconnect, reconnect.
But I think some people are like, "Oh no, that's the last thing I want to do. The last thing I want to do is disconnect," so (…) the little bath, would be better for them before they are able to better control this disconnection. In questioning, I had to explore my own experience before trying to find an answer. I'm not even sure if this is a good answer or if it's THE right answer, but it's the answer I'm able to give now. To be able to continue to develop and refine my questioning towards a problem.
By questioning, you are just peeling back layers to get to the central essence, the philosophical essence of the problem.
