On Philosophical Counseling as a Philosophical Caretaking Practice A THESIS SUBMITTED ON THE 23'd DAY OF JULY OF 2014 TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE SCHOOL OF LmERAL ARTS OF TULANE UNIVERSITY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY Gilberto Vargas-Gonzalez APPROVED: &~ 4. Ronna Burger, Ph.D., Director /hv VJvf!Jy-- Richard Velkley, Ph.D. ~.PhD -" On Philosophical Counseling as a Philosophical Caretaking Practice AN ABSTRACT SUBMITTED ON THE 23 rd DAY OF JULY OF 2014 TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE SCHOOL OF LffiERAL ARTS OF TULANE UNIVERSITY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY Gilberto Vargas-Gonzalez APPROVED: --+ffi-",/lvlJ.,--",-",,-,~c:.=.>p>~_ Ronna Burger, Ph.D., Director y~~ Richard Velkley, Ph.D. ~- Michael Zimmerman, Ph.D. While “philosophical counseling” emerged in the 1980’s as a new form of caretaking practice, it can be understood as an attempt to re-embrace a tradition that goes back to the ancients, with their conception of philosophy as a “way of life.” This study discusses elements of that tradition in order to provide a theoretical-historical framework for the modern practice of philosophical counseling. The central figure for this philosophic tradition is Socrates. The present study focused on his notion of the “the examined life,” while considering some doctrines in Hellenistic philosophy as further expressions of the Socratic tradition. As represented in the Platonic dialogues, Socrates exhibits “the examined life” by engaging in the practice of philosophy as some kind of “care of the soul.” Though he speaks on occasion of the “conversion” that may be required for the commitment to this philosophic practice, it is carried out, in dialogical settings, through the rational-cognition dimension of reason and argument, undertaken with a basic critical stance. This is fundamental for differentiating philosophy from psychotherapeutic practices and highlights the unique value that philosophy may be able to contribute to caretaking practices. This dissertation has a synoptic character: it seeks to integrate a self-reflection on the philosophic tradition with a concern for issues present in the contemporary field of caretaking. For those broad purposes, the interpretation of ancient philosophy relies mainly on the scholarly work by G. Vlastos, M. Nussbaum, M. Foucault, and P. Hadot. With their guidance, the dissertation addresses one question in general: What was present in classical philosophy as a way of life with therapeutic aims that is absent in today’s dominant practices of care for the person? ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To Ronna Burger For what I always perceived as a genuine interest in the completion of this project, and the consequent help and multiple forms of support that came from it. To Carol Schweinfurth For her kind attitude and service, and especially for facilitating communication in several crucial moments. To Michael Zimmerman and Richard Velkley For their interest and hard work in seeing this project to its completion. A mi esposa Irma Leticia Por su amor, cuidado y apoyo. A mis hijas Elea y Sofía, y nieto Clark Dale Por su presencia en mi vida y su amor. A mi madre Lolita, mis hermanas Lupita y Lucy, y mi hermano Víctor Por su interés y apoyo de siempre. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1 i) The general question: human issues in light of philosophy, psychotherapy, and philosophical counseling. ................................................................................................................................... 1 ii) Ancient philosophy (or the practice of philosophy) in the figure of Socrates ......................... 5 iii) Contemporary philosophical practice, ancient philosophy and the notion of an emancipatory interest of reason ................................................................................................... 6 iv) Critique of psychotherapy ...................................................................................................... 7 A) Issues from the standpoint of the practice of philosophical counseling …………………7 B) A critical perspective from the intersection psychology-philosophy……………………10 v) Concerning views on certain human issues, and reason as emancipatory resource .............. 11 Chapter 1. A view of philosophy and practical life in the classical conception ............................ 15 1.1 General conception: a notion of philosophy through Socrates ............................................ 15 1.2 A few notes on the Socratic problem ................................................................................... 17 1.3 The elenchus and the examined life ..................................................................................... 23 1.4 Philosophy as critique .......................................................................................................... 28 1.5 Contrasting two types of approach ....................................................................................... 38 1.6 What does Socrates know? Or, what is Socratic knowledge? ............................................. 41 1.6.1 On one aspect of the nature of Socratic knowledge………………………………….50 1.7 The Socratic problem and the practice of philosophy .......................................................... 55 Chapter 2. On the philosophical critique of the science of psychotherapy .................................... 58 2.1 A general description ........................................................................................................... 58 2.2 Philosophy as practice .......................................................................................................... 60 2.3 Science, philosophy, naturalism, and care of the person ..................................................... 64 2.4 Philosophy and humanism ................................................................................................... 75 2.5 The critique of knowledge ................................................................................................... 78 2.6 Practical interest and knowledge.......................................................................................... 91 2.7 Modern reason, emancipation, and care of the person ....................................................... 111 2.8 In the way of a general conclusion ..................................................................................... 121 iii Chapter 3. Socratic philosophy and philosophical practices for the care of the person (Philosophy as a practice and care of the self) ................................................................................................. 124 3.1 A brief description ............................................................................................................. 124 3.2 On the idea of philosophy as a caretaking practice in the contemporary world; two important aspects ..................................................................................................................... 125 3.3 On Philosophy’s emancipatory task in connection with the field of caretaking practices . 127 3.4 Philosophical knowledge as a practice of care in an expression of an interested employment of reason ................................................................................................................................... 129 3.4.1 On the idea of a Socratic philosophical practice of care…………………………….137 3.4.2 Epimeleia and Therapeia; Eudaimonia as expressions of a philosophical practice of care………………………………………………………………………………………...144 3.4.3 Therapeia as a form of a philosophical practice of care………………………….156 3.4.4 A word about eudaimonia and the Alcibiades I as vehicles of Socratic philosophy...158 3.5 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................... .. 168 Chapter 4. Some relevant views on the nature of philosophy as a practical discipline ........ 173 4.1 A general description ....................................................................................................... 173 4.2. A conception on the nature of philosophy in its practical dimension: an existential attitude or a way of life ......................................................................................................................... 174 4.2.1 Socrates and the substantive-practical dimension of philosophy: the ethical- existential………………………………………………………………………………….174 4.2.2 Philosophy as an existential option: its theoretical dimension as a characteristic stance…………….…………………………………………………….………………….180 4.2.3 Philosophy as an existential option: its practical dimension as a characteristic stance, a way of life…………..………………………………………………….………………… 183 4.2.4 Philosophy, the philosopher, Socrates, and the ideal of wisdom ……………………188 4.2.5 Philosophy —as a practice/way of life— through Christianity (spirituality and philosophy) .…………………………………………………………….…………………197 4.2.6 Philosophy and spirituality ...………………………………………………………..209 4.2.7 Philosophy, spirituality, and the notion of conversion……………………………... 213 4.3 Conceptions on the nature of philosophy .......................................................................... .221 4.3.1 A shift in the conception of philosophy: philosophy and philosophical discourse, the practical dimension