Quality Indicators for Philosophical Practice - Self-reflection as Sign for the Depth of a Dialogue -

( Peter Harteloh ),( Taro Mochizuki ) 한국철학상담치료학회 2020 철학 실천과 상담 Vol.10 No.-

Regularly, the question on the quality of philosophical practice is raised. Practicing philosophers, policy makers, scientists and last but not least clients wonder how to assess the quality of philosophical practice. Professionals want to value the format of different practices and clients want to know what to expect from visiting a philosophical practice. Understanding the quality of philosophical practice is important for determining its value and its role in society. Quality indicators can provide such information. A quality indicator is not a norm or criterion. A quality indicator is a sign or signal evoking reflection on the structure and process of the philosophical practice and the outcomes of the philosophizing that takes place there. As quality is an abstract phenomenon related to the way or how a philosophical practice is, the quality indicator should inform us on “the how”of a philosophical practice. With respect to the philosophizing in philosophical practice, reflexivity seems to be essential for recognizing it as philosophy. Just like the color of a litmus paper points at the presence or absence of an acid in a solution, the presence or absence of reflexivity informs us about the quality of the dialogue in philosophical practice. Reflexivity deepens such a dialogue every time it is applied. When applied consciously by the philosophical practitioner it can be called intentional depth. This intentional depth determines the quality of a philosophical practice.

On the Defence of Philosophical Diagnoses

Peter Harteloh 강원대학교 인문과학연구소 2014 Journal of Humanities Therapy Vol.5 No.-

In this paper, I defend the concept of a philosophical diagnosis, i.e. a philosophical concept or idea functioning as a diagnosis in philosophical consultations. A philosophical diagnosis serves as a philosophical description of a problem, question or theme on the one hand, and as a lesson in terms of a new way to look at one self and/or situations on the other hand. It is important for philosophical practice to make its diagnoses explicit. An explicit use of philosophical diagnoses would enhance the exchange of information among philosophical practitioners, serve peer review or teaching purposes, make the consultation practice more explicit, and eventually contribute to the development of philosophical practice as a discipline in consultancy and coaching.

Quality Indicators for Philosophical Practice

Peter Harteloh,Taro Mochizuki 한국철학상담치료학회 2020 철학 실천과 상담 Vol.10 No.-

Regularly, the question on the quality of philosophical practice is raised. Practicing philosophers, policy makers, scientists and last but not least clients wonder how to assess the quality of philosophical practice. Professionals want to value the format of different practices and clients want to know what to expect from visiting a philosophical practice. Understanding the quality of philosophical practice is important for determining its value and its role in society. Quality indicators can provide such information. A quality indicator is not a norm or criterion. A quality indicator is a sign or signal evoking reflection on the structure and process of the philosophical practice and the outcomes of the philosophizing that takes place there. As quality is an abstract phenomenon related to the way or how a philosophical practice is, the quality indicator should inform us on “the how”of a philosophical practice. With respect to the philosophizing in philosophical practice, reflexivity seems to be essential for recognizing it as philosophy. Just like the color of a litmus paper points at the presence or absence of an acid in a solution, the presence or absence of reflexivity informs us about the quality of the dialogue in philosophical practice. Reflexivity deepens such a dialogue every time it is applied. When applied consciously by the philosophical practitioner it can be called intentional depth. This intentional depth determines the quality of a philosophical practice

In memoriam Leon de Haas

( Peter Harteloh ) 한국철학상담치료학회 2020 철학 실천과 상담 Vol.10 No.-

The Philosophical Cafe in the Netherlands: A Place for Profound Speculations

( Peter Harteloh ) 한국철학상담치료학회 2019 철학 실천과 상담 Vol.9 No.-

In this paper, I will explore the current practice of philosophical cafés in The Netherlands and its philosophical foundations. In line with the tradition of philosophical practice, I will start with some examples out of my own experience. Next, I conducted a survey into the main activities, definitions and sources of philosophical cafés by studying internet websites in order to mirror my experience with the study object. I will try to reach an understanding of the philosophical café and come to some conclusions on its societal function and value. This approach leads to understanding the philosophical café as a philosophical practice focused on the concepts of change, free speculations, deepening of thoughts, enjoyment and life style. I could distinguish several forms of such a practice. First, philosophical cafés offer extracurricular academic activities such as lectures or courses adapted to the general public by philosophers often serving a commercial activity or goal. Second, philosophical cafés offer Socratic dialogues on societal relevant topics on a regular basis. Third, philosophical cafés offer a place for exercising a life style. Common to these different forms of practice is what I would call “profound speculations”.

The Diagnosis in Philosophical Practice

Peter Harteloh 강원대학교 인문과학연구소 2013 Journal of Humanities Therapy Vol.4 No.-

On the Content and form of a Philosophical Consultation

Peter Harteloh 강원대학교 인문과학연구소 2023 Journal of Humanities Therapy Vol.14 No.2

In a philosophical practice, the philosophizing has the form of a dialogue between the philosopher and a client or guest as Achenbach calls his interlocuter in the dialogue. This dialogue can differ in content and form, but it characterizes philosophical practice in general and philosophical consultation in particular. In this paper, I will examine a philosophical dialogue in detail by an example of a consultation out of my own philosophical practice. What characterizes such a dialogue? How are content and form related? What differentiates it from psychotherapy? These questions will guide the examination of the example. I will postulate “depth of intention” as a concept with which the philosophical consultation in relation to the dialogue can be understood and I will draw some conclusions on the content and form of the dialogue in a philosophical practice.

Reading the Correspondence between Descartes and Princess Elisabeth from the Viewpoint of Philosophical Counselling: Introduction and Research Questions

Taro Mochizuki,Peter Harteloh 강원대학교 인문과학연구소 2019 Journal of Humanities Therapy Vol.10 No.1

In this paper we reread the correspondence between Descartes and Princess Elisabeth from the viewpoint of contemporary philosophical counselling. Philosophical counselling as part of an emerging new paradigm of contemporary philosophy is defined as a client-centred dialogue in which trained philosopher helps a client identify the problem in his or her daily life, better problematise it, and conceptualise a solution if possible through dialogue. It is a kind of therapy in the sense that the philosophical counsellor cares for the soul of the client. We analyse how such fundamental elements as Raabe points out as well as other important aspects of philosophical counselling can be observed in the dialogue between Descartes and Elisabeth through the letters. Finally, we formulate our research questions regarding how to assess the quality of the dialogue, as well as the advantage and disadvantage of the counselling through correspondence compared to the face-to-face one.