Summary

A philosophical mini-game can help the learners think more diversely and with a calmer mind in the future.

Step 1: Please read the scenarios and think the questions (4 min)

Scenarios:

My partner is always so calm they can’t give me emotional support;
I am always devastated when things go wrong;
I’m overly dependent on my mobile phone;
It is always easy to be affected by subjective emotions before making a decision……

Do you feel like something similar could be happening in your life and studies? How do you feel？

If it affect you, do you want to make some changes?

Don't PANICCCCC!!! Let me introduce a GREAT thinking method to you!

Step 2: Two-sided thinking method (4 min)

Please read the quotes which is famous in philosophy, it will help you to understand the method better.

Every coin has two sides.

A loss, no bad thing or a blessing in disguise.

The things you love most about your partner are also the things you dislike most about them.

“Opposites are things that are completely different or have completely contrasting qualities. For example, light and dark, hot and cold, or happy and sad. These are opposites because they represent two extreme ends of a spectrum. However, it’s important to understand that opposites are not always separate or in conflict. Often, they are connected and rely on each other to exist. Without darkness, we wouldn’t understand light, and without sadness, we might not appreciate happiness.“

Then, let’s look at the scenarios again:

Step 3: Please rewrite the scenarios within two-sides thinking method (3 min)

Example:  My partner is always so calm they can’t give me emotional support;
If the person is a calm person, then his need and understanding of emotions is also low or even unnecessary, so high emotional needs and low emotional needs are opposite and are difficult to exist in an individual at the same time.
I am always devastated when things go wrong;
_____________________________________
I’m overly dependent on my mobile phone;
__________________________________
It is always easy to be affected by subjective emotions before making a decision;
________________________________________________________________

Did any of these scenarios enlighten you?

So how can we apply this theory in our lives?

Please prepare a blank paper and a pen. In the following mini-game, I hope it can bring you new thoughts.

Step 4: Mini philosophy game (8 min)

Connecting PROs and CONs

① First, Prepare a piece of paper and write at the top what is troubling you right now, then write PROs and CONs  below the question with enough spaces.(1 min)

② Next, start to think about the PROs and CONs that this matter may bring to you from different perspectives and for different groups of people. (3 min)

③Then, connect the points by yourself or by asking someone else to do it for you, e.g. if the points in the PROs are the opposite of the CONs, then connect the dots.(1 min)
④ Now rethink the problem related to the results, and for the connected points, which will become one point, and then rethink and classify the whole as PROs or CONs. (2 min)

⑤ Write down the results of your thinking next to the thing that bothers you.  (1 min)

Conclusion (2 min): 

Further Reading: 

1：A brief introduction of general philosophy

2: This book is about the philosophy of ‘yin and yang’, which emphasises the dialectical relationship between opposites. Lao Tzu’s ideas of ‘doing nothing’ and ‘weakness overcomes strength’ reveal the two sides of things.

Dao De Jing – Chinese Text Project

3: This are two good songs that perfectly matched with the two-sides philosophy.

“The Power of Perspective: Embracing the Dual Nature of Everything” © 2024 by Marissa(Siyu) YANG is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 

References:

· https://wenku.baidu.com/view/9defdc7dfd4733687e21af45b307e87100f6f873.html?_wkts_=1731509210646&needWelcomeRecommand=1
· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XID5y6Ad1NE
· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aiD0YlatvY
· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdCBGWcd4qw
· https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing/ens