Category: Existentialism
Beyond the potato: chaos, choices and co-becoming
The actualising tendency has been pointed as a fundamental feature of humanistic counselling (Sanders, 2002). In this article, I’d like to offer a critique of Rogers’ actualising tendency (aka, “the potato”) in a move towards ideas within the same humanistic paradigm that I argue have more explanatory power and healing potential. The actualising tendency Rogers…
Beyond the search for the true self
The search for the true self is like the search for the philosopher’s stone or Kung Fu Panda Dragon Scroll: both crucial and pointless. Pointless because just like the philosopher’s stone it doesn’t really exist and therefore it can’t be discovered, per se. But crucial because it is in the journey of that search that…
The Apollonian and the Dionysian
The Apollonian and the Dionysian are two competing but complementary impulses that Nietzsche proposed and developed throughout his lifetime. In this article, I want to explore these two impulses in both their contradictory and complementary roles, how they may be appearing in our lives and how we could reflect on them as tools of self-knowledge…
Ethics of ambiguity: de Beauvoir’s ways of being
Simone de Beauvoir’s Ethics of Ambiguity is a pretty intense book. I found it equal parts exhilarating, terrifying and confusing. I couldn’t put it down, but I also had to go back to read over it in frustration. I loved it and I hated it for being so mind-expanding and disarming. I think it has…
Authenticity in existentialism: the four authentic actions
In this article I explore authentic living grounded in existential and other humanistic philosophies. It is anchored in four actions (becoming, choosing, connecting, unknowing) that challenge many of the popular ideas of what it means to be an authentic person. What is it to be an authentic person? Our popular understanding of being an authentic…
Was Diogenes an authentic person? An existential reflection
Popular explorations of what it means to be an authentic person often include ideas such as “living in accordance with our own values and ideals”, “despite challenging circumstances” and “regardless of other people’s opinions”. Some people may also include “unique, idiosyncratic preferences” in their definitions. This may be why Diogenes of Sinope, the ancient Socratic…
Existential concerns: Death, Aloneness, Freedom and Meaning
Existential concerns are deeply significant areas of human enquiry. They relate to the core of human existence and they can form the basis of much avoidance, fear and anxiety. They can also be important catalysts for growth, as they make us face repressed anxiety and facilitate our living with renewed enthusiasm and meaning. Irvin Yalom…
Are we ever free? The experience of fear and the embracing of responsibility in our work towards freedom
Freedom is complex. Are we ever free? Do we want to actually be? And how do we even know we are? This article explores how true freedom is not about escaping fear and responsibility, but about embracing them The struggle to be free is the struggle to exist. We’re driven to free ourselves from our…
