exercise · all tools
Dialectical Self-Reflection
A thinking exercise from the Dialectical Thought Form framework (DTF): deliberately re-see yourself through the four dialectical moments — not a static being but a PROCESS (evolving, learning), embedded in CONTEXT (organisation, culture, lineage), constituted by RELATION (the relationships you have define who you are), and open to TRANSFORMATION. Then ask of any problem: what is my current framing excluding?
- Without a concrete case to work on, this stays abstract philosophy — anchor it in a live problem or a real self-description
Practical
- Time
- 20-45 min
- Group
- 1–20 · individual, pairs, small-group
- Settings
- self-guided, in-person, online
- Materials
- Paper; optionally a real current problem to re-frame
- Mechanisms
- cognitive-reframing, systems-sensing
- Change scope
- state → skill · repeatable
Origin & where it lives
Otto Laske, building on Michael Basseches — Dialectical thinking / constructive developmental framework (DTF)
Instructions: open online
In this directory via IDG Phase 2 Research Report & Toolkit (2022)
Related: dtf cognitive assessment (deepens)
The DIY entry point of the DTF family; the full method continues into a structured cognitive assessment with a trained coach (see dtf-cognitive-assessment). 2021-framework mapping "Complexity Awareness + Sense-making" crosswalks to Systems Thinking (T3) + Perspective Skills (T2).
status: checked · added 2026-08-25