Page 126 - Pure Life 38
P. 126
Ali Ṣafāei Ḥāeri’s Approach to Philosophical Counseling… H. Mohammadabadi et al (125
around the person. Like the problematic. When clients are
allegory of Plato’s cave, the given interpretative and normative
prisoners do not realize that authority, and when personal,
they are confined to a small part pragmatic, and aesthetic
of their lives (Lahav, 2021: 105). considerations take precedence
Lahav calls the person’s over truth value, then clients often
understanding of life, the person’s tend to provide the most convenient
surrounding world or “worldview” moral interpretation that fits their
for short. A worldview is the current needs. Jopling defends
implicit “philosophy of life” of the view that “truth” is important
every person. in philosophical counseling.
According to transformative Philosophical counselors, then,
philosophers, self-transformation bear an important burden of
is the same as going beyond one’s responsibility to help their clients
surroundings or coming out of achieve accurate, defensible,
Plato’s cave and communicating guiding, and “truth-oriented”
with the inner dimension and self-understanding (Ref: Jopling,
cultivating it (Ibid, 2016). 1996).
3. Truth Versus Self- 4. Philosophical Counseling
Interpretation (David A. as Psychotherapy (Jon Mills)
Jopling): Originality of Truth Gerd Achenbach insists that
in Philosophical Counseling there is a clear line between
Ran Lahav and others claim philosophical counseling and
that clients’ ways of answering psychotherapy. Lahav also
basic questions cannot be evaluated believed that philosophical
by the counselor at their face counseling is not psychotherapy
value, but only to find out (Cohen & Zinech, 2013).
whether they reflect the
client’s independent choice of However, Mills believes that
self-expression. philosophy cannot be separated from
Jopling argues that this view psychology because philosophy
makes the distinction between itself is a psychological activity
self-knowledge and self-deception (Mills, 2001).
