2. Fulfilling people´s expectations
I suppose that the usual way of responding to this quandary is to talk about what is NOT philosophical, or…
3. Listening to the voice of Gabriel Marcel about meaning
In his article “Testimony and Existentialism,” the French philosopher Gabriel Marcel (1889-1973) discusses the meaningful life. His ideas do not…
5. The self-understanding that is nurtured by philosophy
So what is this rational self-reflective understanding that philosophical counseling nurtures? An answer, indeed the question itself, imposes a certain…
2. Chasing Henry
It is not hard to imagine what we expect to find in a philosophical practitioner’s library: Hardcover classics like Aristotle’s Nichomahean…
4. The fathomless in philosophical practice
The difference between philosophical practice and classical therapy methods (e.g., psychotherapy) is, strictly speaking, that the philosopher does not seek…
4. Seduced by undressing
Philosophical practice for me is not a therapy, even though people who ask for this service, have, for sure, felt…
1. Is this thing really philosophical?
Somebody tells you about a session of philosophical counseling. You listen, and you wonder: But what is “philosophical” in this…
1. Contemplating or conversing
Is philosophy a contemplative or conversational discipline? Can we philosophize on our own, or are we bound to others? When…
3. Towards a greater life
Plato tells us that we live in a narrow, dark cave, and that philosophy can lead us out to the…
3. Approaching the fathomless
Do you know the situation in a dialogue when suddenly everything turns quiet? Something happened, but it was not caused…
Philosophical Practice and Canonical Texts
To sing or not to sing? The literature of philosophical practice contains astonishingly spare entrances on the issue of a…
No Method
Gert Achenbach’s dictum, “Philosophical Practice does not have a method”, has its friends and its enemies. I am a friend.…