Existentialist Approach Research Articles

Postawa męstwa bycia – odpowiedź dana nie tylko Hamletowi

Attitude of the Courage to Be – Response Given Not Only to Hamlet The article comprises an analysis of the concept of “courage” as an ontological and ethical principle, constituting the chief category in the philosophical theology of Paul Tillich, called “the philosopher of borderlands,” regarded as the most important thinker in the Protestant, liberal theology of the 20th century. In his philosophical theology or theological philosophy the notion of “courage to be” provides an essential point of reference in the context of spiritual development of the human individual, as well as revealing possibilities of giving sense to being, which appears itself to man as devoid of sense. In the first part, the concept of “courage to be” is itself subjected to analysis as the ontological and the ethical principle. According to Tillich, the existentially (ethically) oriented being constituted a step in the individual’s life, which is already connected with conscious life and self-affirmation. The second part discusses Tillich’s understanding of faith as the “to be or not to be” of human existence. The author of Dynamics of Faith says that the courage to be can be expressed either in individuation, that is, in the personal relationship and encounter with God, which represents the existentialist approach, or by means of participation in God’s power. Tillich proclaims that only the virtue of courage can overcome the anxiety arising from lack of sense and from doubt, which is characteristic of human life.

Duygu Odaklı Terapinin Gestalt Terapi ve Varoluşcu Terapi ile Karşılaştırılmalı Analizi

Emotion-Focused Therapy is an experiential and current therapy method that contains applications of modern emotion theory, Person-Centered Therapy, Existential Therapy and Gestalt Therapy. Existential and Gestalt Therapy, which are among the traditional approaches, have important contributions in the formation of the Emotional Focused Therapy approach. Therefore, in this study, it was aimed to perform a comparative analysis of Emotional Focused Therapy with Existential Therapy and Gestalt Therapy. In Emotion-Focused therapy, topics such as recognition, explanation, meaning, transformation and control of emotions are handled. This Therapy method is based on Gestalt Therapy’s concepts. The philosophy and view of human nature of Emotion-Focused Therapy method were influenced by Existential Therapy method. In addition, Emotion-Focused Therapy method has embraced the existentialist approach’s emotions such as fear, anxiety and loneliness. Emotion-Focused Therapy and Gestalt Therapy methods have similar views on human nature. Both approaches reveal that people have the capacity to solve their problems and improve. Emotional-Focused Therapy is not functional in treating serious psychological disorders. it deals with anxiety, depression and negative childhood experiences. Existential Therapy has complex counseling issues such as death, freedom, loneliness and alienation. The Gestalt Therapy method focuses on the treatment of individuals who have problems with interpersonal relationships and responsibility. The emotion is the key concept of Emotion- Focused Therapy. The purpose of Gestalt Therapy is to make clients aware of their emotions. Existential therapy focuses on emotions such as fear and anxiety. According to existential therapists, anxiety is a precondition of life. As a result, it has been observed that Emotion-Focused Therapy and Existential Therapy and Gestalt Therapy have similarities in terms of therapeutic relationship and application, although there are some differences.

Are words signs or symbols?

This is not the debate of today. But language today is playing multiple roles. This is significant to talk now about the words. The structuralist, the formalist and existentialist approaches towards words should be seen. This very article looks at the different attitudes towards words and is based on Sartre's remarkable book “What is Literature”.

Dignity as non-discrimination

Analysing two reproductive rights claims brought before the High Court of Namibia and the European Court of Human Rights, this article argues that human dignity is not reducible to a recognized warrant (a right) to demand a particular set of goods, services, or treatments. Rather, dignity in the contexts in which women experience sterilization abuse would be better characterized as an existential protest against degradation, a protest that takes concrete form in legal demands for equal citizenship. Equality is conceived here as necessitating the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women in public and private life. The dignity as non-discrimination framework developed in the article thus integrates two of the leading interpretations of dignity in contemporary political philosophy – the existentialist approach that attends to the inward cry against degradation and the view of dignity as the equal, public status of democratic citizenship.

Existential Postdisciplinarity: Personal Journeys Into Tourism, Art, and Freedom

Postdisciplinarity makes claims on ontological, epistemic, and methodological levels, but it is inevitably a personal philosophical stance. This article represents an existentialist approach to the discourse on postdisciplinarity, offering reflective narratives of three academics. Tomas Pernecky discusses creativity, criticality, freedom, and methodological and epistemic pluralism; Ana María Munar reveals her journey of epistemological awakening; and Brian Wheeller underscores the importance of researchers' subjective and emotive voice. Jointly, the authors depict postdisciplinarity as an invitation to conceptual and interpretive eclecticism, critical analysis, and creative problem solving.

A pragmatic, existentialist approach to the scientific realism debate

It has become apparent that the debate between scientific realists and constructive empiricists has come to a stalemate. Neither view can reasonably claim to be the most rational philosophy of science, exclusively capable of making sense of all scientific activities. On one prominent analysis of the situation, whether we accept a realist or an anti-realist account of science actually seems to depend on which values we antecedently accept, rather than our commitment to “rationality” per se. Accordingly, several philosophers have attempted to argue in favour of scientific realism or constructive empiricism by showing that one set of values is exclusively best, for anyone and everyone, and that the downstream choice of the philosophy of science which best serves those values is therefore best, for anyone and everyone. These efforts, however, seem to have failed. In response, I suggest that philosophers of science should suspend the effort to determine which philosophy of science is best for everyone, and instead begin investigating which philosophy of science is best for specific (groups of) people, with specific values, in specific contexts. I illustrate how this might be done by briefly sketching a single case study from the history of science, which seems to show that different philosophies of science are better at motivating different forms of scientific practice.

Work with children who have cancer and their families: experiences of social services specialists

A social service in pediatric oncology medical institutions of Lithuania is a relatively new field. Both in Lithuania and elsewhere around the world this field has not been researched well, even though the importance of research is growing together with the increasing number of children who suffer from cancer. Therefore the need for all kinds of specialists is also increasing. The goal of this work is to examine experiences of social services specialists working in the field of pediatric oncology in Lithuania. Working in institutions of pediatric oncology requires specific knowledge and skills, mostly due to the unusual and extreme working conditions of being constantly confronted with the never ending fight between death and life. Therefore the main emphasis of this work has been put on the analysis of the relationship between the specialists of the heath institutions and with their clients and the arising emotions that social services specialists experience in this constellation as well as their personal transformations. For the analysis of the social services specialists’ experiences an existentialist approach in theory has been applied. The paper consists of two parts – a theoretical one based on previously made researches and an empirical one on the basis of five newly taken half-structured expert interviews. Pediatric oncology in Lithuania is taking place in three institutions – Vilnius University childrens’ hospital, Kaunas Clinics and rehabilitation department “Saulutė” in Druskininkai childrens’ hospital. During the research interviews have been taken from social workers of both hospitals and social educators of the sanatorium. After the analysis of the collected data the most relevant results turned about to be the importance of the personal qualities and the individual maturity of the social services specialists themselves as well as the communication between the professionals of the institutions’ teams and other institutions or organizations.

Underneath the Observational Snapshot: Looking For Sense and Meaning Behind the First Impressions of a Learning Interaction

Education practitioners, including Ofsted inspectors and Teacher Educators, try to make sense of behaviour in the classroom by observing the interaction of teachers and learners. They make judgements about what is good teaching, what is bad learner behaviour and what are inclusive and effective learning experiences. This article argues that such observations are inadequate for assessing and evaluating learning behaviour and insufficient to enable teachers to develop their own personalised teaching and learning strategies and their confidence as professional teachers. The article was written in response to examples of Further Education (FE) teachers describing the college classroom as a war zone and a battlefield (Lebor, 2013). The author argues that such metaphors reinforce the notion that teachers and learners are situated at opposing sides of an education institution with differing interests. They also ignore the position of the teacher as being a learner too. The author advocates using an existentialist approach to understanding and reflecting on the learning process. She models strategies she has used herself to attempt to step outside the conventional paradigm of learning in college and create a new framework for reflecting on what is good behaviour from a teacher and good behaviour from a learner.

Underneath the Observational Snapshot: Looking For Sense and Meaning Behind the First Impressions of a Learning Interaction

Education practitioners, including Ofsted inspectors and Teacher Educators, try to make sense of behaviour in the classroom by observing the interaction of teachers and learners. They make judgements about what is good teaching, what is bad learner behaviour and what are inclusive and effective learning experiences. This article argues that such observations are inadequate for assessing and evaluating learning behaviour and insufficient to enable teachers to develop their own personalised teaching and learning strategies and their confidence as professional teachers. The article was written in response to examples of Further Education (FE) teachers describing the college classroom as a war zone and a battlefield (Lebor, 2013). The author argues that such metaphors reinforce the notion that teachers and learners are situated at opposing sides of an education institution with differing interests. They also ignore the position of the teacher as being a learner too. The author advocates using an existentialist approach to understanding and reflecting on the learning process. She models strategies she has used herself to attempt to step outside the conventional paradigm of learning in college and create a new framework for reflecting on what is good behaviour from a teacher and good behaviour from a learner.

The complexification of self: At the crossroads of concepts of flux and ‘living at risk’

Abstract The idea of considering the living as an element of risk-taking was first inspired by my interest in existentialist approaches in different fields – literature, philosophy, the performing arts, etc. – as well as in the experimental approach Roy Ascott proposes between the arts and technology. Ascott (2003b: 150) advances an interpretation of change that is of particular interest to me: ‘the act of changing becomes a vital part of the total aesthetic experience of the participant’. In his article ‘Biophotonic flux: Bridging virtual and vegetal realities’, Ascott (2003a) speaks of a digital paradigm whose ‘systems and processes become increasingly ubiquitous and invisible, [while provoking] many artists [to] seek new horizons – in the biological sciences, nanotechnology, and the study of consciousness, leading to the emergence of a “moistmedia” (incorporating digitally dry and biologically wet systems)’. From the outset, Ascott (2003b: 123) positions his concept of moistmedia within a dynamic of experimentation, stating ‘I use the word experimental to mean making an action the outcome of which is not foreseen’. I consider these ideas as being fundamental for my own research and for this article, in which I propose a re-evaluation of the relationship between the moving body and technology; more specifically, I suggest focusing on recent perspectives in the performing arts which inscribe new manifestations and dynamics of cross-pollination between the somatic and technology. Thus, my latest research-creation projects led me to the conception and experimentation of a new aesthetic paradigm, which takes the form of a proposition of collective physical and mediated bodies. My interest in conducting creative research involving technology concerns the fact it reveals previously unknown aspects of the body. This article therefore reflects on the experience and conception of the performative body in the link it entertains with technology; an evolutive relationship from which emerges a complexification of self. To do so, I will highlight sensorial and perceptual phenomena and strategies related to the transformation of the body through its contact with technology – lived as a physicality – and subjective experience. This article also introduces the idea of how a culture of flux – reality in flux and constant transformation – is responsible for the emergence of new performative models, and how the dynamics of a loss of bearings and personal risk are essential with respect to this emergence.

Gnose, dualisme et les textes de Nag‑Hammadi

Gnostic studies in the XXeth century have been influenced by Hans Jonas’ The Gnostic Religion and his existentialist approach of Gnostic movements, until the discovery of the Coptic Nag Hammadi texts, in 1945, gave access to a series of documents coming from the Gnostics themselves. Progressively, the panorama of Gnostic sects and movements deeply changed, calling into question the notion of “dualism” used by the Church Fathers when refuting their Gnostic opponents. If Plotinus criticizes the Gnostic contempt of the world and their life without ethics, the recently commented texts from Nag Hammadi attest the use of the Platonic demiurge understood in the frame of the biblical version of the creation. The beauty of the world is not absent from Gnostic texts. The role of the Gnostic demiurge in documents like the Apocryphon of John or the Valentinian Tripartite Tractate, for example, shows that access to salvation is possible in a philosophical and theological system that is monistic. The heresiological category of “dualism” has too often hindered the study of the Gnostics which does not correspond to what the new documentation brings out.

Dorian’s ‘look’: Jean-Paul Sartre and the divided celebrity

In his exploration of ‘the phenomenon of the look’ in Being and Nothingness (Sartre 1969, p. 268), Jean-Paul Sartre suggests that the self is split into two by the look of the other, such that ‘my being-as-object or being-for-others is profoundly different from my being-for-myself’ (1969, p. 273). In this article, I suggest that Sartre’s ‘duality’ of the looked-upon self is relevant to celebrity studies discourse which holds that the celebrity is divided into a core self and a public persona (Morin 1961, Braudy 1986, Dyer and McDonald 1998, Marshall 1998, Rojek 2001). The unease Sartre describes as part of his philosophy of ontological duality sheds light on the psychology of celebrity duality, which Leo Braudy describes as a ‘constant tension’ for those subjected to ‘the incessant spotlight’ of fame (Braudy 1986, p. 592). Sartre’s argument that the self is an unstable entity (Sartre 1969, p. 74) complicates the idea of celebrity duality, such that the relationship between celebrity self and persona is arguably more complex than a straightforward binary. Nonetheless, his ontology offers a philosophical explanation for how duality and the gaze relate to what David Giles calls the ‘existential anguish’ or burden of celebrities (Giles 2000, p. 90). A Sartrean reading of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, with reference to Ovid’s myth of Narcissus and Echo, examines representations of troubling dualities within the texts, illustrating the potential of Sartre’s ontology to inform the psychology of celebrity duality. This contribution is not intended to be a critique of contemporary readings of celebrity culture, but rather to propose a theoretical shift towards an existentialist approach to theorising the psychology of celebrity duality.

Jean-Paul Sartre’ın Varoluşçu Felsefesinden Gül-Bülbül İlişkisine Bir Bakış

This article applies one aspect of Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialist approach as found in his philosophic masterpiece Being and Nothingness to a particularly prevelant pair of characters in classical Near Eastern poetry. The aspect in question is the Self and the Other as modified in the case of a lover, and the characters are the Nightingale and the Rose, known by their original names as Bulbul and Gul respectively. To understand Sartre’s perspective on the lover, it will first be shown that Sartre regards all human relationships are reducible to the Self and the Other. In general, this inexorably leads to conflict in the systematic way put forward by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, in his Phenomonology of Spirit, as the dialectic of the Master and the Slave. For Sartre though, as will be looked at, there is a single possible way of escape from this seemingly inevitable conflict. This is when the Self is a lover, who, in a desire for sincerely granted love, offers the Other – as a beloved – freedom rather than trying to enslave him or her. Finally, it shall be shown that both the dialectic of the Master and the Slave and the exceptional case of the lover is evidenced in the aforementioned poetic characters.

Towards a renewed flourishing of humanistic education?

Humanism has always been constructed out of an historical context. Despite the differences in the notions of humanism mediated by historical particularity, there has nevertheless been continuity in the tradition. This article argues that an orientation towards the ‘good life’ animates the various humanisms in modern Western history, and that a similarly oriented humanistic education is desirable today. After briefly introducing some of Said's thoughts regarding humanism, I provide a short account of humanistic education in the modern era. Here, I provide necessarily brief interpretations on the classical humanism of Plato and Kant before considering the naturalistic approaches of Rousseau and Dewey. Next, I will explore the focus on the development of ‘self’ and ‘other’ in existentialist approaches and the political critique of society through critical-radicals pedagogues such as Freire. Arising from the argument that the critical nature of Said's democratic humanism provides an ethically desirable basis for contemporary education, the paper will conclude by posing questions around how humanism and humanistic education might be imagined in the future.

How to be a good professional: existentialist continuing professional development (CPD)

ABSTRACT This article reflects on the construct and practice of continuing professional development (CPD) and its significance for the professional careers workforce. The article presents the idea of the CPD triad and considers how professional bodies, employers and individuals can each benefit from a practitioner's ongoing commitment to continuing professional development. The tension between the practitioner's quest for lifelong learning is set against professional body demands, leading to the conclusion that these are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Consideration is given to propositional, practical and procedural knowledge, and to overall competence. The article explores an existentialist approach to professional learning, and concludes that, along with personal agency, this could usefully be adopted by career practitioners to weather turbulent times.

PRACTICES, APPROACHES, AND AGENDAS IN PLURAL

In this issue of Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science, Zainal Abidin Bagir argues for an understanding of “religion and science” that considers the practical context in which people and religious and scientific claims to authority may run into each other. He heads the Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. This ancient city is close to a volcano, the Merapi, in a country prone to earthquakes. Bagir studies human responses to such natural disasters. Religion is not only involved in positive experiences, as in arguments from the appearance of design and beauty. Again and again, experiences with natural evil have triggered people to ask questions about God, nature, and our responsibility (Drees 2003). Bagir (2012, 360) writes: “Natural disasters become an epistemological window to understand the society, nature, people's religious understanding, as well as the interaction of science (as today's best empirical knowledge about the natural world), religion, and culture (from which most Indonesians draw as sources for giving meanings to events) in understanding and responding to the natural world.” When it comes to policy, there may be a clash between some religious leaders and certain scientific authorities (and behind these the government). “Religion and science” is enriched by new voices, bringing other religions as well as other social and cultural contexts into play. Bagir's contribution is part of a larger section on a recent book on Islam and science by Nidhal Guessoum (2011), an Algerian physicist who works in the United Arab Emirates. Zygon has previously published articles by him (Guessoum 2008, 2010). The Jordanian biochemist Rana Dajani concentrates on the resistance to evolution among Muslims, the historical dimension of which was recently treated in Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science by Marwa Eshakry (2011). Salman Hameed, an astronomer and professor who studies the relations between humanities and the sciences and who is the driving force behind the blog Irtiqa (http://sciencereligionnews.blogspot.com/), challenges the overarching concept of theistic science (science interpreted in a theistic way), although finding much to praise in Guessoum's analysis and proposals. These four essays by Hameed, Dajani, Bagir, and Guessoum show that among Muslims who all are knowledgeable about science (even if they are not scientists themselves), and who all seek a moderate course, there is diversity, just as in other traditions. Even more diversity is evident when one considers the positions they reject, such as the claim that modern scientific insights can be found in the Qur’an (Bigliardi 2011). The opening article of this section is by John Brooke, who considers the parallels between discourses on religion and science in Christian and Islamic environments, as well as the particular features of Guessoum's contributions. In this issue of Zygon, we find three more articles that argue for particular approaches to “religion and science.” Larry Crockett turns to the pragmatism of William James. George Karuvelil argues for an existentialist approach, with some sympathy for Stephen Gould's Non-Overlapping Magisteria (NOMA; Gould 1999), although he prefers to speak of AMA, Alternative Magisteria. And Young Bin Moon offers a further development of his theological appreciation of Niklas Luhmann's work (see also Moon 2010), with a tinge of Philip Hefner's “created co-creator,” when Moon speaks of the “mediatized co-mediator.” The issue opens with a piece on thought experiments, using contemporary philosophical analysis to engage John Polkinghorne's ideas on quantum physics and theology. Christopher Pynes recovers some ad hominem arguments against Intelligent Design, which in a previous article in Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science had been dismissed as “bad” arguments (Koperski 2008). Two “Think Pieces” call us to work on broader agendas with respect to evolution, one by former editor Philip Hefner and another with respect to contemporary global problems such as peace and sustainability by Helmut Reich, who has written on the limited impact of “religion and science” in this journal (Reich 2008). So much to read, and even more to think over, and act upon.

Landscape aesthetics in practice

ABSTRACTThis article introduces the concept of art-walking practice, and argues the case for using such practice as participatory action research in which other community members become co-researchers. The research is driven by the author's sense of loss regarding biodiversity and the consequently diminished aesthetic experience and quality of life. Alongside this the research described in the article is about increased community participation and responsibility. An existentialist approach drives the research which encourages and supports people's own creativity and resilience in the face of the current economic and environmental crisis. As a part of this, subjective aesthetic judgements are put alongside objective values for landscape. The research explores the role of art and knowledge in the context of place-making and phenomenology as a conduit for experiential learning. While the research is about landscape aesthetics, it is also very much about relational aesthetics; relational aesthetics and place-making. Distinct projects or interventions are described, these use an art-walking practice to develop and record people's aesthetic experience, while exploring a common sense of place and engaging people with landscape change processes.

Existentialism in Tree Without Roots

Syed Waliullah is a modern Bangladeshi writer who wrote both in Bangla and English languages with equal efficiency. Lal Shalu (Red Cloth) and Tree Without Roots are two excellent examples of his excellence in this regard. The novel has also been translated in French by Ann-Marie Thibaud. An important note about this translation is that the source of the translation was not Lal Shalu but Tree Without Roots. The novel has also been translated in Urdu, German and Czech. The aim of this paper is to find out existentialist and modernistic elements from Tree Without Roots as little work has been done in this regard. In the novel, both Majeed as an individual and the people of Mahabbatpur collectively make their choice to survive or strengthen their existence in this world. Instead of having an existentialist approach, our author portrays an ever-conscious conscience of Majeed to establish him as a modern hero in Tree Without Roots.

An Existentialist in Iqaluit: Existentialism and Reflexivity Informing Pedagogy in the Canadian North

Reflecting on the personal experience of teaching human resource management in the Canadian Arctic, the author explores the utility of an existentialist approach to pedagogy. The author outlines select aspects of existentialism that are pertinent to the teaching and discusses the implications of using reflexive existential thought as guidance in a specific educational context. The author’s aim is to extend the dialogue concerning freedom and pedagogy using existentialism as a mechanism to navigate the implications of such.

Psicologia clínica existencialista na atenção básica à saúde: um relato de atuação

A proposta deste artigo é compartilhar uma experiência de intervenção em Psicologia clínica a partir da abordagem existencialista de Jean-Paul Sartre, realizada em uma clínica integrada de atenção básica à saúde vinculada ao Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), na Grande Florianópolis. O objetivo do atendimento psicológico é criar condições, junto aos sujeitos, para que sejam capazes de superar dificuldades, e auxiliálos a reconstruir seus projetos de ser. A demanda da clínica é diversificada - crianças, adolescentes, adultos, idosos e famílias -, e existem queixas de diferentes ordens, como dificuldades na aprendizagem, nas relações familiares, nas relações amorosas, na sexualidade e dificuldades provenientes de doenças orgânicas, de violência física e sexual e de psicopatologias variadas. Em sua atuação, considera-se que, do profissional que trabalha em uma unidade básica de saúde, é exigida uma diversidade de instrumentos teóricos e metodológicos e que a abordagem existencialista de Jean -Paul Sartre tem a possibilidade de abarcar, pela amplitude de sua teoria e de sua metodologia, as diferentes exigências apresentadas.