Category: philosophical counseling
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Philosophical counseling and the language of trying things out
Preface There is a beautiful line in the late philosopher Robert Nozick’s book The Examined Life about taking a position. Nozick confesses that when he was younger he believed, like any good analytic philosopher, that he had to take a position on everything. As he got older, he realized that “position-taking”–the presumed need to make…
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Ivan Illich on ascesis
ASCESIS. Introduction, etymology and bibliography 1989.-Ivan Illich The following is a brief excerpt. The article can be read in its entirety here. NB: Pierre Hadot has written extensively about ascesis in What is Ancient Philosophy? and in Philosophy as a Way of Life. — I want to cultivate the capacity for second thoughts, by which…
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How should I refer to the philosophical counseling ‘clients’ I’m working with?
I’m still trying to work out the language of philosophical counseling. Specifically, I’m not really sure what category to affix to the person I’m working with. To my mind, this is a deeply important philosophical question that I can’t afford to overlook. Why is that? Because I’m committed to leading a fully integrated philosophical life.…
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The last career
Head Banging It seems as though most 20- and 30-somethings I’ve run into in past months–not to mention some of the philosophical counseling clients I’ve worked with–insist on banging their heads against the wall. In quiet despair, they follow self-defeating strategies, tracing out beautiful collision courses with walls they’d already saluted with foreheads and cheekbones.…
Andrew Taggart, Ph.D. 