- Disorders in or internal conflicts among our own values, beliefs and passions.
- Conflicts between what we think our values, beliefs and passions are, and what they really are.
- Bad habits.
- Tensions between our beliefs, passions, values and those of the situations or people around us.
- Direct conflicts with other people.
- "Natural" hardships (e.g., business or societal problems, illness, loss of work, crime, earthquakes, famines, war, central banks, etc.).
(Of course, actual disorders and traumatic events can also cause a variety of difficulties, which may require medication or psychological therapy. In this way, philosophical counseling is sometimes called "therapy for the sane.")
Philosophical counseling can help you clarify the source(s) of your current frustrations, learn how to address these, and how to move forward positively with life. To do this we start with whatever topic is causing you concern right now. The discussion process – the “dialectic” – helps uncover fundamental conflicts and contradictions that are contributing to the current difficulties. Because our frustrations are frequently symptoms of deeper issues, we try to both address the immanent problem as well as gently search for and begin to address deeper causes. Philosophical counseling generally uses a concrete question or topic to do one or more of following:
- Help the person develop a more true, realistic understanding of himself, his situation and the people around him.
- Help the person understand his own beliefs, values, habits, passions, strengths and weaknesses, to clarify these, and hopefully improve them.
- Help the person improve his reasoning abilities, his judgment.
Ultimately, this is about understanding the philosophy by which you are presently living, and the degree to which that philosophy corresponds to reality. It is our belief that having an improved understanding of one's self, the people around us and the situations in which we find ourselves -- developing an improved philosophy of life -- allows us to make better decisions and to be more at peace.
Philosophical counseling (or practical philosophy) is about trying to discern the truth regarding our beliefs, values, passions, habits and the situations in which we find ourselves. It is about doing what we can to try to improve the relationship and order of these dynamics, so that we can (hopefully) do what is right and live a more peaceful life. That word, peaceful, is important to recognize. Doing the right thing or becoming a better person doesn't always (or even often) lead to fame, power, affluence or pleasure. But it can lead to peace, and that is our goal, to move towards a genuine sense of peace, that we are, in fact, doing the right thing for the right reasons, becoming the best person we can be.
Philosophical counseling is also not about telling you what to think, what to believe or what you should do – the world already does enough of that. Most approaches to philosophical counseling assume that the person has the capacity for rationality, but may just need some assistance or encouragement, at least in the particular case, in making this actual. By asking you various questions about your situation, understanding, beliefs, values, and so on, and drawing upon the discipline of philosophy, the goal is to help you think through whatever difficulty you are facing in a fully rational, human way, so that you can decide how best to proceed, for the good of your life and those around you.
You should be warned that most people don't want to do this – face the truth about themselves or the world – and this isn't the right tool for every situation. Most people feel very strongly about their beliefs and values, and though they may talk about being open or honest, will scurry off the first time they are asked a pointed question. There are many reasons for this. In any event, the fact that you are here is a positive sign.
