Philosophical Counseling

South African Journal of Philosophy, 2009

The last two and a half decades has seen the emergence of philosophical counseling. While it is practiced in many countries comparatively little has been said on its general character. In this paper I will seek to understand philosophical counseling by exploring its points of convergence to and deviation from its complimentary parts-philosophy and counseling. The practical and applied orientation of philosophical counseling seems worlds apart from what many consider to exemplify philosophy-theoretical, intellectual and abstract concern with foundational questions. Given this it is worth exploring how philosophical counseling coincides with what is understood in academic circles as philosophy. On the other hand, the field of counseling has largely been the domain of psychology. Given the influence and orientation of the practice it would seem likely that philosophical counseling would be significantly different from the common conception of psychological counseling, but in what ways? Understanding how the practice lies in relation to the discipline of philosophy and psychological counseling will go some way to grasping its nature.

Practical Philosophy, 2001

The use of philosophy for counseling, directing, and enriching everyday life can already be found at the very beginning of western philosophy, in the 6th century B.C. in ancient Greece. The philosophies of the Pythagoreans, the Stoics, the Cynics, as well as other ancient schools, and in later periods-various religious philosophies, philosophies of the Renaissance, Romanticism, Communism and Socialism, Existentialism, Feminism, and many others, were used to help individuals to understand themselves, live their lives more fully, and deal with their personal problems. However, philosophical counseling as a specific discipline is a relatively young field. It was born in 1981 in Germany, and from there spread to other countries, such as Philosophical counseling Ran Lahav

Journal of Educational Psychology Studies, 2018

This article, entitled "Distinction and similarity of philosophical counseling with Ellis's emotional rational approach", seeks to compare philosophical counseling with Ellis's theory of rational-emotional psychotherapy. In this way, three basic questions have been asked: 1. What is the nature of philosophical counseling? 2. What is the philosophical nature of Ellis's emotional rational theory? What are the differences and similarities between philosophical counseling and Ellis's emotional rational theory? Analytical method has been used to answer the first and second questions. Both linguistic analysis has been considered in which concepts have been considered and propositional analysis in the form of different claims and definitions has been made from philosophical advice. Comparative analysis has been used to answer the third question. The results show that the analysis of the definitions of philosophical counseling can explain what it is to some extent. Ellis's theory is derived from Eastern philosophies such as Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Socratic philosophy, Stoicism, and Epicureanism. For this reason, Ellis's theory has some philosophical features and philosophical advice and is different from philosophical advice in some ways. This [S2] comparison has theoretical and practical benefits. Since philosophical counseling as a new paradigm and discipline, it should be able to define its boundaries with other paradigms and disciplines, and those who are supposed to act as philosophical counselors should be able to differentiate themselves with counseling. And show conventional psychotherapy.

Certified that the dissertation entitled "AN INQUIRY CONCERNING THE NATURE OF PHILOSOPHICAL COUNSELING" is a record of bonafide research done by Abhishek Shukla under my guidance and supervision and that it has not previously formed the basis for the award of any degree, diploma, associateship, or fellowship. He is permitted to submit the dissertation.

Practical Philosophy , 2001

The use of philosophy for counseling, directing, and enriching everyday life can already be found at the very beginning of western philosophy, in the 6th century B.C. in ancient Greece. The philosophies of the Pythagoreans, the Stoics, the Cynics, as well as other ancient schools, and in later periods-various religious philosophies, philosophies of the Renaissance, Romanticism, Communism and Socialism, Existentialism, Feminism, and many others, were used to help individuals to understand themselves, live their lives more fully, and deal with their personal problems. However, philosophical counseling as a specific discipline is a relatively young field. It was born in 1981 in Germany, and from there spread to other countries, such as Philosophical counseling Ran Lahav

This article aims to criticize Philosophical Counseling, and to explore what changes could be made to solve its main problems. The area of Philosophical Counseling is a practice that involves empirical claims, and those claims should be explored through empirical methods. We'll summarize the criticisms in 7 categories: (1)

Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 2005

Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling, Ethics and Philosophy - IRCEP

Nowadays we can find a wide plethora of philosophical practices ranging from the classic philosophical counselling to educational programs for children or even prevention and rehabilitation programs. How should a client know what is suited for him? What is the philosophical practitioner promising to their clients? Is it wisdom and truth as some would associate with philosophy? Is it healing and therapy? This paper tries to shed some light over the field of philosophical practices. I present the emergence of philosophical counselling, it’s historical evolution and the situation nowadays. I talk about the worldview concept and about its importance in the healing paradigm. I will analyze different critiques brought to fields of philosophical and psychological counselling and common aspects that concern both fields, trying to find both similarities and differences that would help me conclude on what is the relationship between psychotherapy and philosophical counselling and how can each...

International Journal of Philosophical Practice, 2004

Philosophical practice or counseling has been described as a cluster of methods for treating everyday problems and predicaments through philosophical means. Notwithstanding the variety of methods, philosophical counselors seem to share the following tenets: 1. The counselee is autonomous; 2. Philosophical counseling differs from psychological counseling and 3. Philosophical counseling is effective in solving predicaments. A critical examination shows these to be problematic at both theoretical and practical levels. As I believe that philosophical practice is a valuable contribution both to philosophy and to psychology, though not devoid of potential dangers and misuses, I suggest that philosophical counselors reconsider the theoretical and empirical validity of their tenets. Using my experience as a philosophical counselor, I attempt in this paper to contribute to this task while introducing the reader to what are, in my opinion, the main problems in the field.

International journal of philosophical practice, 2003

When philosophers cultivate a professional interest in philosophical practice as a form of counseling therapy, the implicit bias of their practice is likely to emulate the “helping profession” model of client engagement. The effort seems noble enough, but emulating the model of the helping professions might actually be incommensurate with the philos­pher’s calling. The philosophical temperament emulates a less constraining but more aggressive model of intervention than we find operating in the professional domain of therapeutic counseling practices. While the philosophical temperament resolves to question and analyze its subject-matter without the encumbrances of social constraint or the promise of utility, it employs methods of philosophical questioning and analysis decidedly more agonistic than can be motivated under the auspices of the “helping profession” model of therapeutic intervention. The philosophical temperament is a challenging temperament, a probing, testing, exploring, engaging temperament whose only vested commitment is to further inquiry. After setting up this distinction between philosophical practice and the helping professions I pose some thoughts regarding the philosophical encounter within a counseling situation, with emphasis on the challenge of translating back and forth between the client’s subject matter and the philosopher’s frame of reference. In the course of negoti­ating these challenges, the philosophical temperament encounters two divergent paths we must learn to travel with equal facility: we must make room for beneficial critique in philosophical counseling while motivating effective critical perspective within the client’s own world-view. The challenge is to see such a philosophical encounter as a place of translation, in which the counselor’s philosophical temperament is exposed to the alterity of the client’s domain of experience without losing its critical facility. In this way, the philosophical encounter is exercised in a movement between worlds, as an interweaving dance of translation and innovation characteristic of a “place” of mutual engagement. The resulting tension in these dialogical encounters is a direct consequence of the philosophical intervention in a client’s personal life. The philosopher’s challenge is to negotiate carefully between two domains of translation (between the cognitive-emotive domain of lived-experience and the philosophical domain of conceptual thinking, reflective inquiry and critical analysis), and to establish connections between these domains to facilitate philosophical encounters in a space of shared listening.