What is Philosophical in Philosophical Counselling?

Abstract

After a short description of the nature of philosophical counselling, this paper suggests that what makes philosophical counselling philosophical is that it helps the counsellee in philosophical self‐investigations. These are critical non‐empirical investigations of the fundamental principles underlying the counsellee's ‘lived understanding’(i.e. conceptions which the counsellee lives by, though not necessarily articulates in words), aimed at the development of wisdom.In order to illustrate the nature of philosophical self‐investigation, two case studies are presented. The nature and measurability of success in philosophical counselling is then discussed. A questionnaire filled out by a counsellee is quoted as an illustration of the possible effects and success of philosophical counselling.