There is no doubt, the central core of Philosophical Counselling is philosophy, and this does not seek to cure, however, the common utilitarian view of Philosophical Counselling often contains an implicit defence against the psychological or therapeutic model and, by so doing, infers its presence. This ever-present undertone of therapeutic and popular psychology continues to dog Philosophical Counselling and drives it into a defensively explanatory, if not sometimes apologetic, corner.

Most Philosophical Counsellors want to ‘improve’ their client’s well-being in some sense and in so doing are acting therapeutically. It is tempting to call this mainstream Philosophical Counselling ‘Therapeutic Philosophical Counselling’, and a combination of practice and perception press the case hard for this term being an appropriate, if approximate, description. But it is difficult to argue that any process involving the well-being of another is not therapeutic and a better term is ‘Utilitarian Philosophical Counselling’; a description clearly highlighting the ‘self-improvement’ side while, at the same time, accepting, as implicit common ground, the therapeutic. For philosophers less interested in the utilitarian aspects, or those who find its goals too much a part of free-market neoliberalism, or who simply believe philosophy has a different purpose for the individual than showing them an ‘improved’ path in life, there is, within this alternate description, a further distinction. This distinct approach brings together the needs of both the Philosophical Counsellor and the ‘client’ in a relationship which, via wisdom gained from analysis of individual meaning, seeks a path of freedom from which individual choice can be enacted. We can call this approach simply ‘Non-Utilitarian Philosophical Counselling’ — ‘N-U Philosophical Counselling.

A philosopher is someone who knows something of the history of philosophy, how to do philosophy, what doing philosophy entails and how to understand how others do it. The philosopher also understands the methodology of philosophy, how to deal with concepts, understands the use of frameworks of detachment; is able to imagine the unreal, possible or impossible, to ‘think’ into places unconfined by known reality. The philosopher also knows, of course, what philosophy is— the process of asking questions about matters to which there is (or appears there is) no current answer. Most people are capable of philosophising. However, when someone says ‘I am being philosophical’ they are not really demonstrating what philosophy is; we would not call them a philosopher in anything but the weakest sense. It is more likely they are showing human resilience, or strength in the face of difficulty, or conflict, or calmly awaiting an outcome. It is unlikely that they will be thinking logically, running through what has been thought by other philosophers in their minds, and asking questions to which there seem no immediately compelling answers. This professional philosopher, who knows a great deal about philosophy, will usually use philosophical skills in an academic environment: writing or teaching others how to do philosophy. Some academic philosophers are less inclined to purely academic pursuits and so do ‘practical’ philosophy as well. Some philosophers work independent of the academic system and some of these do practical philosophy.

The central features of the counselling process are commonly understood as a form of help provided by one person to another in the hope that the other will become more effective as a person or learn to deal with problems (past or anticipated), and for whom, at the moment, self-help is ineffective.

‘Philosophical Counselling’ is an approach to counselling that uses philosophical insights and techniques in a practical way to help people think about their lives. Philosophical Counsellors do not see problems as curable illnesses, instead they engage with clients in a dialogue, the aim of which is to help the client think more clearly and deeply about issues of relevance. As much as the production of solutions, the value of Philosophical Counselling can often be the revitalisation of the thinking process. This combination of philosophy and counselling mean Philosophical Counselling is positively amenable to helping people think about their lives in a meaningful way. Although cures are not sought in Philosophical Counselling, the implicit confusion raised by the involvement of counselling is evidenced by a common desire to look towards solutions. It is this anxiety, born of the tension between these two functions, which confuses the intention of Philosophical Counselling.

‘Philosophical Counselling’ is a fairly recent term but its practitioners claim lineage back to Socrates with whose ‘midwifery’ they identify. According to the particular Philosophical Counsellor’s taste, the process may be a form of common sense, a way of developing a beneficial ‘world view’, a method for sorting out problems with relationships, ethical and career dilemmas, a route to wisdom, or a system of questioning personal meaning. Commonly, each implies a movement from one frame of mind to another — utilizing an act of will to change, to open, to enlighten. All Philosophical Counsellors hope that their client will eventually ‘do’ something remedial to, or with, their life: deal better with a problem, become wiser, learn to question themselves or their motives, re-frame their picture of the world. Philosophical Counselling, therefore, addresses any individual crisis which is part of the ‘Change/Meaning/Freedom (to choose)/Action/How to Act’ sequence and so embodies both the immediate act of thinking and the effects that thinking may have on the other’s life.

Some would say a philosopher is the person least likely to be a counsellor. The ‘better’ a philosopher is at what is generally recognised as philosophy (working and teaching in a university and writing on philosophical subjects), the more ‘refined’ his channels of thought, and the more able he is to pursue the most difficult arguments, the more removed from the realm of the everyday he becomes. The ‘best’ of this kind of philosopher is unlikely to be the ‘best’ Philosophical Counsellor. The Socratic appeal to dialogue — what happens when two or more people reflect together on meaning and value — is frequently co-opted by the modern-day academic philosopher as a method of honing argument for publication. Socrates believed writing down philosophy killed it off — ‘froze’ something which truly only worked if it lived, was subject to change, to the ideas of another, to the dynamics of communion. This dynamic is the process of ‘Practical Philosophy’— taking part in how another can open up to possibilities when exposed to philosophical thinking. It is, in this way, that practical philosophers takes part in Philosophical Counselling; ‘doing philosophy’ by thinking with another— philosophising. Philosophy is active, rational, critical, argumentative, it deals with concepts about meaning, truth, reality and conduct. Philosophy is questioning in the most general and the most specific sense. Philosophy is dealing with what is unknown. ‘Doing philosophy’ is therefore critically, a questioning activity, it is thinking — focussed, rationally based, and discerning. In addition, using philosophy on behalf of an individual means dealing with uncertainty, possibility, and action. The activity of Philosophical Counselling is an experience of not being alone, for a while, thinking with another, lessening the grip of personal isolation and taking part in a ‘thinking union’ with another. These ‘thinking companions’ take part in a ‘thinking union’ is of a very particular sort.

Utilitarian Philosophical Counselling deals with a desire for clarity and, using methods not necessarily directly part of the counsellee’s own life, attempts to replace disadvantage with advantage. N-U Philosophical Counselling, on the other hand, by bringing two individuals together in thinking companionship, works to open up the individual to immediate action and its effects. N-U Philosophical Counselling uses philosophy to reflect the light available to us all when we open up to freedom and the choices it bestows. We do not ‘do’ anything unless we are mentally present and N-U Philosophical Counselling brings that presentness to the fore. In this way, both participants share in the creative act of doing thinking, cooperative thinking, one with the interests of the other high in mind, the other with a commitment which may lead to opening up elements of the ‘Change/Meaning/Freedom (to choose)/Action/How to Act’ sequence. As such, N-U Philosophical Counselling is a union, an act of love, a gift, and in its accomplishment a testament to our humanity — a moment or two of being, a glimpse or two of reality. And, although, in more general ways, Utilitarian and N-U Philosophical Counselling must naturally merge and share much common ground, clearly they represent two poles of Philosophical Counselling which are separate and distinct: Utilitarian Philosophical Counselling— making the rich richer, more comfortable with their possessions or the routes to acquiring them; N-U Philosophical Counselling— making the light clearer, reality sharper and the routes to freedom richer with meaning and choice.