Category: philosophical counseling

• July 20, 2012

  The transformation of the beautiful soul: A revised account

  I think I want to modify my account somewhat of the transformation of an individual into a beautiful soul. A beautiful soul, we said, manifests beauty in his appreciation of beauty. How is it possible for one to become a beautiful soul? To begin with, I want to say that the preparation for becoming a…
• July 19, 2012

  The transformation of the beautiful soul

  The beautiful soul is a person who exhibits beauty in his general appreciation of beauty. I asked my friend, the philosopher David E. Cooper, the following question: Is there an ‘education’ of the beautiful soul, a path one might follow in hopes of becoming one and, if so, what might this involve? In our conversation,…
• July 17, 2012

  A beautiful soul is part of a beautiful world

  They said in unison, “A beautiful soul is part of the beautiful world,” and I wondered what they meant by the concept of the beautiful world. They meant, I think, that the world cannot be beautiful in just one part or another, just in one object but not in another, but in some more general…
• July 16, 2012

  What makes it impossible to become a beautiful soul

  Let’s suppose we spend our days exercising many of the virtues. They may include  fidelity, courage, patience, and so on. I am curious how it is that the prominence of one salient vice such as arrogance can throw a person’s demeanor into disharmony and thereby make it impossible for him to become a beautiful soul.…
• July 14, 2012

  In praise of the open-ended conversation

  The open-ended conversation is not a philosophical conversation, but yet it serves an important purpose. Based in dialogue, it implies that both speakers are equals. Being open-ended, it implies that there is no set agenda, no explicit attempt to use another as a means for one’s ends, and no explicit expectations concerning what is to…