철학상담실

1. 철학 상담이란?

철학 상담은 근래 많은 나라에서 본격적으로 연구, 실천되고 있습니다. 독일, 영국, 화란, 이스라엘, 미국에서는 이미 실시하고 있으며, 일본, 폴란드 등에서는 준비 중에 있습니다. 정신치료를 위한 정신과 상담이나 심리상담과는 달리, 철학 상담은 삶에서 직면하는 다양한 문제들을 '대화의 방법'을 통해 스스로 해결하도록 하는 프로그램으로서, '소크라테스적 대화'의 방법을 새롭게 개발하여 응용하고 있습니다.

2. 철학 상담자란?

철학 상담을 주관하기 위해서는, 문제 해결에 필요한 철학적 이론에 대한 체계적 이해와, 상당한 기간의 실제적 철학 상담 경험은 물론, 철학 상담에 대한 정확한 이해와 연구가 필요합니다. 외국의 경우, 오랜 상담 경력과 연구가 축적된 철학 전공자를 중심으로 철학상담 교육을 위한 특수 프로그램이 개발 중에 있습니다.

철학상담자의 자격 기준은, 외국의 경우, 철학 훈련 및 교육 경력(학위 기준)과 실제 상담 경력(3년에서 10년)에 따라 대개 3단계로 나누고 있지만, 아직 엄격하게 정립된 기준은 없습니다. 이에 대한 구체적인 논의가 활발하게 진행되고 있으며, 미국에서는 상담자의 자격 기준을 법률로 정하려는 움직임이 있습니다.

3. 철학상담의 방법은?

두 사람간의 1:1 대화나 여러 사람(5인에서 10인 이내)의 소그룹별 대화를 통해 문제를 스스로 해결해 나가는 두 가지 방법이 시도되고 있습니다. 철학상담에서는, 상담 받는 사람을 치료 대상으로 간주하는 것이 아니라 정상적인 사고능력과 문제해결 능력을 지닌 자율적 인간으로 간주합니다. 따라서 상담받는 사람은 상담자의 도움을 받아 자신의 삶의 문제를 스스로 해결하는 길을 발견하게 됩니다.

4. 우리나라에서는?

아직 철학 상담에 대한 본격적인 연구와 논의는 별로 없습니다. 따라서 철학 상담과 심리 상담이나 다른 형태의 상담과의 차별성에 대한 인식도 매우 낮습니다. 그러나 우리에게도 전통적으로 다양한 형태의 철학적 상담이 있어 왔습니다. 따라서 이를 조금 더 체계적으로 연구하고 발전시킨다면 철학 상담의 발전 가능성은 다른 어느 나라보다도 크다고 할 수 있습니다.

잠깐만요!! 철학에 관한 질문은 [질문과 답변]에서 하세요.

철학 상담을 원하시면 로 들어 오세요.

아래 논문은 철학 상담에 대한 조금 더 상세한 자료입니다. 참고하시기 바랍니다.

May 2, 1999

What is philosophical counseling?

by PETER B. RAABE, Ph.D.

SPECIAL NOTE
Peter Raabe is the first Canadian and one of very few people internationally to be awarded a doctorate based on a dissertation about philosophical counseling.

RELATED LINKS
* American Philosophical Practitioners Association
* American Society for Philosophy, Counseling, & Psychotherapy
* Canadian Society for Philosophical Practice
* University of British Columbia

It is commonly held that philosophical counseling began in 1981 when Dr. Gerd Achenbach opened his practice near Cologne, Germany. Today there are philosophical counselors, professional associations, and certification programs in the Netherlands, Canada, Norway, Austria, France, Switzerland, Israel, Great Britain, the United States, and many other countries. But the idea that philosophy can be used to alleviate distress, help individuals come to a better understanding of themselves and their world, and improve a person's life dates back to antiquity.

More than two thousand years ago Epicurus characterized philosophy as "therapy of the soul." He maintained that the arguments made by a philosopher are just empty if they do not relieve any human suffering. The Stoics also made it clear that philosophy is not merely the memorization of abstract theories or the exegesis of texts, but learning the art of living well. Socrates used philosophy not to teach concepts but to encourage his discussion partners to examine their thinking and attitudes about almost every issue imaginable.

Descartes and Spinoza saw philosophy as the "practice of wisdom." Nietzsche complained that philosophy had degenerated into a boring academic pursuit. He was waiting for a "philosopher physician" who would muster the courage "to risk the proposition: That what was at stake in all philosophizing up to this point was not at all 'truth' but something else -- let us say, health, future, growth, power, life."

The twentieth century's most influential philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein, asked rhetorically, "What is the use of studying philosophy if all it does for you is to enable you to talk with some plausibility about some abstruse questions in logic, etc., and if it does not improve your thinking about the important questions of everyday life?" John Dewey, the highly regarded American philosopher of education, wrote earlier this century that philosophy would show its true value "only when it ceases to be a device for dealing with the problems of philosophers and becomes a method, cultivated by philosophers, for dealing with the problems of men." Philosophical counselors have willingly accepted the challenge to take philosophy out of the lecture hall and present it to the real world.

Simply put, philosophical counseling consists of a trained philosopher helping an individual deal with a problem or an issue that is of concern to that individual. Philosophical counselors know that the majority of people are quite capable of resolving most of their problems on a day-to-day basis either by themselves or with the help of significant others. It is when problems become too complex -- as, for example, when values seem to conflict, when facts appear contradictory, when reasoning about a problem becomes trapped within a circle, or when life seems unexpectedly meaningless -- that a trained philosopher can be of greater help than the average friend or family member.

The philosophical counselor often deals with individuals who are dissatisfied with other forms of counseling they have had. She sees individuals whose minds are sound but whose thinking is confused or obstructed. The philosophical counselor understands that most individuals live by many unexamined (rather than unconscious) assumptions and values that can affect thinking and behavior in puzzling or distressing ways. She also sees a person's thinking as being informed by childhood experiences but not determined by them. Through a series of dialogues the philosophical counselor helps the client come to an awareness of hidden biases, unspoken assumptions, and conflicting values that may be preventing an inquiry into alternative perspectives that could help to ease the problem. For example, while a psychotherapist may search a client's subconscious for the causes of a client's distress over a career decision that must be made, the philosophical counselor will help the client conduct a conceptual examination of the many issues surrounding such a decision.

It could be argued that this type of intellectual counseling neglects the emotions and feelings, or what psychologists call the affective domain. But philosophers know that feelings and emotions are not simply irrational events that a person must suffer. John Locke characterized the emotions, which he called the passions, as ideas in our minds that come from both our sensations and reflections. A number of eminent philosophers, such as Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, Hobbes, Aquinas, and Sartre, have argued that an emotion does not simply erupt from the dark unconscious but that it is set in motion by a perception, a certain way of apprehending the world. Consequently, a negative feeling or an emotion about oneself, for example, can be changed by means of a critical examination of one's perception of oneself, and one's apprehension of the world and one's place in it.

But the philosophical counselor's aim is not simply to resolve a client's immediate problem and then send him on his way. The philosophical counselor also offers to educate the client in more effective ways of thinking so that if a problem arises again the client will be better able to deal with it on his own. The philosophical counselor is concerned with both the mitigation of problems and their prevention. She is therefore both a counselor and a teacher, helping the client to think clearly about the issue at hand while at the same time giving the client the tools that will improve his thinking in future. In this way the philosophical counselor ensures that individuals who have come to her for counseling will not become dependent on her to solve all similar problems in future.

Granted, cognitive approaches in psychotherapy such as R.E.B.T, logotherapy, and existential psychotherapy seem to already be doing some of what philosophical counseling claims to do. These psychotherapies are admittedly based on a philosophical type of inquiry into the client's reasoning. But these approaches were developed in the 1950's when psychologists were the only ones interested in the practice of counseling. Today there are a growing number of philosophers willing to work with individuals outside of the traditional academic setting -- philosophers very skilled at actively listening, at separating large masses of information into manageable pieces and putting them all back together again, and at spotting inconsistencies, contradictions, and other problems in a person's reasoning style.

A philosopher, in order to become a philosophical counselor, must have achieved at least a Master's degree in philosophy. The aspiring philosophical counselor will often focus his studies on practical or applied philosophy. Because of this he will be far better qualified to deal with specifically philosophical issues such as the meaning of life or questions of right and wrong than the therapist whose education has been predominantly in psychology. In other words, he will be experienced in discussing existential and ethical issues for which most psychotherapists have no training whatsoever.

Many philosophical counselors are hesitant to call philosophical counseling "therapy." This is because the philosophical counselor, unlike his psychotherapeutic counterpart, does not diagnose his clients according to some ready-made normative ideals about normalcy, mental health, self-understanding, or psychic well-being. Neither does he offer the sort of therapy that expects the client to passively receive treatment. But this does not mean that philosophical counseling is not therapeutic in its effect. Wittgenstein saw philosophy as having a practical use in "untying the knots in our thinking," or what he considered the treatment of "intellectual disease." The philosophical methods required for untying these troublesome knots he called "therapies." Therapy in the philosophical sense comes from the client's increased understanding, self-awareness, and feeling of well-being -- all products of a careful exploration, in tandem with a skilled philosopher, of herself and the world around her.

To undertake such an exploration some philosophical counselors prefer to use the reasoning of a single philosopher or philosophical system. But most take a more eclectic approach, knowing that specialization in one area of philosophy restricts a counselor's effectiveness when his client's problems or concerns shift over time. The key to philosophical counseling generally is its client-centered and open-ended nature, one which does not manipulate the client's thinking so as to bring him to accept some particular philosophy as the "Truth." The philosophical counselor's intention is to help his client reach any reasonable and morally permissible goal the client has set for herself.

Apart from being of great help to the average person, philosophical counseling can also be of immense value to professional psychotherapists. After all, philosophy is the foundation upon which all other fields of thought are based. Philosophy is not simply the transmission of a body of knowledge; it is the act of constantly improving one's understanding by means of thinking and discussion. Philosophers have an extraordinarily rich repertoire of theoretical perspectives at their disposals and therefore are especially adept at seeing the implications and assumptions behind the theories guiding all of the various approaches to psychological therapy. The philosophical counselor is well prepared to facilitate an inquiry into both the content and the process of reasoning that may have resulted in either professional or personal difficulties for the psychotherapist.

While the adage that the unexamined life is not worth living is somewhat of an exaggeration, it is certainly true that the examination of a life by means of philosophical counseling can lead to the living of a better life.

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Dr. Raabe welcomes inquiries by e-mail , telephone at (604) 986-9446, or regular postal mail at Dr. Peter B. Raabe, 46-2560 Whiteley Court, North Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V7J 2R5.