Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology
Each of us acquires a sense of everyday being implicitly through our engagement with the social m... more Each of us acquires a sense of everyday being implicitly through our engagement with the social milieu. Understanding this being from the usual individualistic psychological perspective suggests it originates from a subjective, internal private world. This position, descended from Cartesian dualism, bifurcates human experience, rendering an isolated subject and a decontextualized external world. Martin Heidegger rejected this idea and contended that our sense of being springs from a more basic and primordial engagement with the social world as a meaningful totality of being-in-the-world. However, he did not explain how human beings develop this everyday being. Attachment theory, espoused by John Bowlby, positions human beings from birth with the innate ability to form close relationships with others, which serve critical roles in early development and throughout the life span. This article integrates Heidegger's social ontology with Bowlby's attachment theory to establish a nondualistic theoretical grounding for human relational development, and provides the beginnings of an existentially based developmental ontology of human being that fits within the current movement of post-Cartesian thought.
OVERVIEW: In the previous Chapter, Maria daVenza Tillmanns discussed her "non-clinical" (non-psyc... more OVERVIEW: In the previous Chapter, Maria daVenza Tillmanns discussed her "non-clinical" (non-psychotherapeutic) approach to philosophical counseling. In the present Chapter, written by Bryan T. Reuther (a psychologist trained in philosophical approaches, especially existential phenomenology and Logic-Based Therapy), Jon Mills' idea of constructing an eclectic, psychological approach infused with philosophical concepts is illustrated. In particular, Reuther develops an eclectic Rogerian ("Person-Centered") psychotherapy embodying Heideggerian concepts as well as cognitive-behavioral ones, aimed at helping people deal with their emotional problems. According to Reuther, "many people often experience emotions without a clear understanding of their meanings, the contexts in which they emerge, and how they ultimately affect their daily lives." Accordingly, Reuther discusses Rogers' "reflection of feelings" responses and how these responses elucidate the emotional experience of the counselee; and he shows how Rogers' view of emotional life can be expanded to include Martin Heidegger's ideas of mood and being-in-the-world. With Heidegger's philosophy as a backdrop, he shows how these responses are used to elucidate the implicit contextual aspects of the client's emotional life and how the client's emotional world can be reconstructed within the therapy room through a mutual, hermeneutic process between the therapist and client. Reuther concludes with a discussion of how these responses can be used as a foundational perspective and integrated with other psychotherapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy.
Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology
Each of us acquires a sense of everyday being implicitly through our engagement with the social m... more Each of us acquires a sense of everyday being implicitly through our engagement with the social milieu. Understanding this being from the usual individualistic psychological perspective suggests it originates from a subjective, internal private world. This position, descended from Cartesian dualism, bifurcates human experience, rendering an isolated subject and a decontextualized external world. Martin Heidegger rejected this idea and contended that our sense of being springs from a more basic and primordial engagement with the social world as a meaningful totality of being-in-the-world. However, he did not explain how human beings develop this everyday being. Attachment theory, espoused by John Bowlby, positions human beings from birth with the innate ability to form close relationships with others, which serve critical roles in early development and throughout the life span. This article integrates Heidegger's social ontology with Bowlby's attachment theory to establish a nondualistic theoretical grounding for human relational development, and provides the beginnings of an existentially based developmental ontology of human being that fits within the current movement of post-Cartesian thought.
OVERVIEW: In the previous Chapter, Maria daVenza Tillmanns discussed her "non-clinical" (non-psyc... more OVERVIEW: In the previous Chapter, Maria daVenza Tillmanns discussed her "non-clinical" (non-psychotherapeutic) approach to philosophical counseling. In the present Chapter, written by Bryan T. Reuther (a psychologist trained in philosophical approaches, especially existential phenomenology and Logic-Based Therapy), Jon Mills' idea of constructing an eclectic, psychological approach infused with philosophical concepts is illustrated. In particular, Reuther develops an eclectic Rogerian ("Person-Centered") psychotherapy embodying Heideggerian concepts as well as cognitive-behavioral ones, aimed at helping people deal with their emotional problems. According to Reuther, "many people often experience emotions without a clear understanding of their meanings, the contexts in which they emerge, and how they ultimately affect their daily lives." Accordingly, Reuther discusses Rogers' "reflection of feelings" responses and how these responses elucidate the emotional experience of the counselee; and he shows how Rogers' view of emotional life can be expanded to include Martin Heidegger's ideas of mood and being-in-the-world. With Heidegger's philosophy as a backdrop, he shows how these responses are used to elucidate the implicit contextual aspects of the client's emotional life and how the client's emotional world can be reconstructed within the therapy room through a mutual, hermeneutic process between the therapist and client. Reuther concludes with a discussion of how these responses can be used as a foundational perspective and integrated with other psychotherapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy.
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