My Story
Philosophy helped me, and I am sure it can help you too.
Like many people, I have wrestled with questions of meaning, purpose, identity and so forth; often to the point of emotional anguish. I love psychology and psychologists, and have been helped greatly by psychology, however, I found that many of the answers I needed weren't in that discipline, but in philosophy.
In many ways it can feel like we are in unprecedented times and, as such, these philosophical questions are more relevant than ever. The rise of AI, the living though – and aftermath of – the COVID-19 crisis, the ever-presence of social media and other digital interfaces, and the loss of community-binding mechanisms, like religion, have all contributed to what some of termed "The Meaning Crisis."
My Story
My goal with Thinkwell is to help individuals foster greater autonomy, improve their thinking, and achieve wellbeing.
As I have interacted with people in varying contexts and across time, I am more convinced than ever that philosophical consulting/counselling is sorely needed.
Unfortunately, philosophy as a discipline has a terrible PR problem. For the past several decades, philosophy has to varying degrees, retreated to the confines of the university and, as such, the everyday person largely is unaware of the kinds of skills and knowledge that a philosopher possesses.
It is certainly true that philosophy does concern itself with highly abstract and technical subject matter that is of little relevance to the lives of everyday people, but that is not to say that the discipline is exhausted by such topics.
On the contrary, much of what we philosophers are trained in is very much "down to earth" and practical. For example, logical analyses, critical thinking, ethical decision making, decision making under uncertainty, how to achieve happiness, what makes a good society, clarifying values and so forth.
The ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates, is perhaps the paradigmatic example of the "grounded" philosopher. That is, he would engage in dialogue with all sorts of people, helping them clarify their own thinking.
The modern movement of "philosophical counselling" seeks to restore philosophy's place in the goings on of everyday life, with the aim of improving people's lives in the process through perennial wisdom, logical analysis, and conceptual clarity.
As the famous psychologist Carl Jung said,
"I can hardly draw a veil over the fact that we psychotherapists ought really to be philosophers or philosophic doctors – or rather that we already are so, though we are unable to admit it because of the glaring contrast between our work and what passes for philosophy in the universities."
Jung, writing in the 1940s, knew then what many are beginning – or "rebeginning" – to realise now: philosophy is a vital aspect of wellbeing and mental health.
