Philosophical Practice
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There are several differences between philosophical counselling and psychotherapy. The goal of psychotherapy is therapeutic in a psychological sense: The primary goal of philosophical counselling is self-understanding in the sense that the client examines her or his beliefs and problems through the light of reasoning, values, and alternative belief systems. Psychotherapy has a diagnostic function: Philosophical counselling is non-diagnostic: On the contrary, a conscious effort is made, if the client is interested, to question critically assumptions about notions of normality and abnormality in general.
There are also strong similarities between some psychotherapies and philosophical counselling. For example, in both practices there is a recognised need for care, compassion, and empathic listening on the part of the counsellor. Both require client trust and client disclosure of her or his thoughts and feelings.
Another similarity is that all types of professional counselling must be guided by a strong set of professional ethical principles, the core of which is to do no harm to clients. Although philosophical counselling focuses on the application of reasoning and interpretation to life issues, this does not mean that philosophical counselling ignores feelings or emotions.
Soon after that, Philosophical Counseling spread over the European continent, establishing especially deep roots in the Netherlands. The philosopher listens to the participants Carmen Zavala 03 June The five passages below are from famous philosophical texts. Is philosophy a contemplative or conversational discipline? Moreover, since philosophers are trained expressly in the analysis and dissection of logical arguments, they are appropriately trained to engage in such epistemic aspects of philosophical counseling. Although our formal counselling sessions ended years ago, he occasionally calls me to report a short story contest that he has entered, a blog that he is writing, or a discussion group that he has formed. Psychotherapy has a diagnostic function:
Vignette From My Client. My clients in my research study consented to public distribution and discussion of their case studies under the condition that their real names or persons or organisations would not appear in any of these studies Mehuron, This is a summary of my sessions with a client that may illustrate differences or similarities between philosophical counselling and psychotherapy.
I share this excerpt while leaving those determinations to the reader. Varsha sought counselling with me to help him cope with the effects of a non-malignant brain tumor that he was managing with medication and hoped to manage with philosophical reflection. He described his problems in clinical terms, acknowledging his brain tumor as the organic cause of his attention deficit disorder, mood swings, and epilepsy.
This disease had permanently disrupted his undergraduate career at a prestigious research institution and he found himself unable to pursue a degree or a career path. He was permanently unable to drive and had difficulty holding down a job. Although his father was on faculty at the research institution, both of his parents reacted to his disease by disowning him and eventually returning to their home in India; Varsha was left behind to survive in the United States.
He did not want to dispense with his medical diagnoses, for the clinical phenomenology gave Varsha an epistemic anchor for his own self-understanding. These remarks were particularly helpful in this case. Varsha himself was not sure at the outset what he could gain from talking with me, except that he had a passion for philosophical reflection and hoped to find consolation by having philosophical conversations with me.
He continually reflected on his experience of existential helplessness and his deepening frustration with his hindered will to fulfill his long-term goals. He also had self-doubts because others in his cancer survivor support group told him that his way of managing his disease was pathological; Varsha believed that meant they disapproved of his stoic attitude and his rejection of feelings associated with pity and victimisation. Varsha wanted to discuss whether his stoic attitude towards his disease was pathological, which he defined as an incapacity to feel empathy for himself or others; he was interested in learning more about stoicism in the process.
He also struggled with whether his life had worth, given that his efforts to meet his life goals were stymied by his disease. His use of medical diagnosis was cognitively reassuring to him: For Varsha, the social stigma of his disease and cognitive symptoms stemmed not from the diagnosis itself, but rather from the social attributions applied to his condition by others.
Philosophical counseling - Wikipedia
He asked me to understand his disease, requesting that I read some pragmatic approaches by medical practitioners to managing benign brain tumors Nezu, As our weeks of conversation unfolded, it turned out that some philosophical observations and antidotes were useful to him. He had a passionate and assertive personality that aspired to achieve public recognition in the arts.
His imagination used military metaphors to capture the high esteem he held for self-assertion in the face of hardship. I encouraged Varsha to explore Stoic and Nietzschean self-affirmation. He read widely and brought these resources to our conversations.
Philosophical voices of the human ocean
Such literature on the will can offer philosophical antidotes that can plumb the depths of frustration with physical limitations and offer remedies through cognitive and artistic self-assertion and self-creation. Varsha benefitted from our discussion of books such as Stoic Warriors: The Ancient Philosophy behind the Military Mind Sherman, ; he gained self-acceptance as a result of his study of stoicism. Varsha seemed to gain acceptance of the worth of his life by embracing the importance of the present moment instead of basing his entire self-worth on long-term goal fulfillment.
Although our formal counselling sessions ended years ago, he occasionally calls me to report a short story contest that he has entered, a blog that he is writing, or a discussion group that he has formed. There have always been philosophers committed to the practical activity of helping others to lead the examined life and to pursue the big question: In the nineteenth century, existential philosophers such as Nietzsche, Schopenhauer and Kierkegaard plunged academic philosophy into self-criticism about how the field had led itself to abstraction and away from its primary use as an examination of the self and ordinary life problems.
In the twentieth century, phenomenologists such as Heidegger and Husserl insisted that philosophy return to lived experience to examine its roots in consciousness. Existential philosophers Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir promoted the use of philosophy, not only to explore consciousness but to advocate the practical use of philosophy to influence the realm of political controversy through existential argument.
The philosophy of existentialism has deeply influenced the psychotherapeutic theory and practice of Irvin Yalom and logo therapy as developed by Victor Frankl Yalom ; Frankl, Albert Ellis utilizes the philosophical use of rational argumentation and cognitive self-examination in his development of rational-emotive behavior therapy Ellis, The latter, in turn, has been given an Aristotelian direction by philosophical counsellor Elliot D.
Cohen in his book What Would Aristotle Do? Philosophical counselling often draws on the use of Socratic dialogue between two or more people to achieve understanding and even resolutions of typical life problems. Although Socratic dialogue is not the only philosophical tool available to counsellors, it has a venerable tradition; it was practiced in Athens in the sixth and fifth centuries B. Socratic dialogue is a method of philosophical inquiry that can be learned by anyone who participates; it is a philosophical activity in which the person leading the discussion can often learn more from the other participants than vice versa, wherein questions are often the answers.
Socrates brought to his fellow citizens a type of discussion that often left curious souls with more questions than they had at the beginning, but at times helped them to come up with at least tentative answers.
Philosophical Practice
Socratic dialogue has become an art in the intervening centuries, honed by those who see it as a method and an approach that can provide answers to the practical question: Though there is no formal education for this new profession, the above-mentioned societies have adopted an M. It is difficult to find out how many philosophers are, at present, doing philosophical counseling work worldwide, and where they are located. Dissertation and thesis news on philosophical practice and counseling.
On-line journals for philosophical practitioners and related professions. Philosophical practice related web site links.
Philosophical counseling
Last but not least: Please vist the artists published in Everybody's Multi Art Zine: The Philosophical Practice and Counseling Website. IHT Critique of Reason.
In Memory of Susan S. September 12, -- November 25, International Philosophical Counseling Society. Makor Rishon Plato not Prozac. Online article in Hebrew: On Marinoff and the Controversial Legislation. I Bill, therefore I Am. Il counseling filosofico di tutti. In Memory of Susan Sontag. Journals on Philosophical Practice.
An imaginary way to understand the mystery of the Holy Trinity. List of press documentation on philosophical practice. On the Center in Philosophical Praxis.
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PhD and MA dissertations and thesis. Philosophy on the Square. A philosophical analysis and critique of Dr. Foreword to 'Philosophy Practice': Reviews of Philosophy Practice: An Alternative to Counseling and Psychotherapy. Reviews of The Philosopher's Autobiography: Hebrew Plato not Prozac. Reviews of The Philosopher's Autobiography.
Seymon Hersh pages on philosophy as counseling. Socrates joins the Board. Text translations into Italian by Dr.