Understanding the Other and Oneself
Philosophy is more than just an academic subject; it is useful and enriching in everyday life as well. This is the main conviction of philosophical practitioners. Philosophical practice has been developing as a new movement within philosophy for several decades now, although it has ancient roots. Today, there are philosophical practitioners throughout the world who exchange ideas and experience in journals and during regular international conferences, such as the 14th International Conference on Philosophical Practice, which took place in Bern, Switzerland, in 2016 under the main topic “Understanding the Other and Oneself.”
A selection of thirteen papers from this conference, as well as five panel contributions on various subjects regarding its main topic, are gathered in this book. These contributions to the conference will be of significance and interest not only for philosophers and philosophical practitioners, but also for psychotherapists, counsellors, pedagogues and other professionals.
Detlef Staude studied Philosophy and Communication at the University of Munich, Germany, and received his MA in Philosophy and German from the University of Freiburg i. Br., Germany. He has worked in philosophical practice in Bern, Switzerland, since 1997, and is Coordinator of the Swiss Network for Practical Philosophizing “philopraxis.ch”. He has also edited four books on philosophical practice.
Eckart Ruschmann studied Philosophy, Indology and Psychology, and received his PhD and Dipl.-Psych. from the University of Freiburg i. Br., Germany, and his Habilitation in Philosophy from the University of Klagenfurt, Austria (topic: philosophical counselling). He has been engaged in the field of philosophical practice since the early nineties and is a founding member of the Austrian Society for Applied Philosophy (GAP). He has teaching experience at several universities and other educational institutions and works as a philosophical counsellor in Bregenz, Austria.
"Understanding the Other and Oneself is a fruit of the 14th International Conference on Philosophical Practice, which took place in Bern two years ago. The best conference papers constitute the content of this book and give a good overview of the variety of theories, approaches, and experiences in the field of philosophical practice today. It is impossible to write an abstract of the many views and ways which enter into a dialogue in the mind of the reader. Nonetheless, I would like to give a very short and sketchy picture of the different contributions, a sort of panoramic view of the theoretic landscape, because only by doing so does the richness of this collection become palpable, seducing one to actually step in and scrutinize this landscape more closely. [...] In any case, what this collection shows is that philosophical practice is an expansive activity. It follows many paths, always explores new ways and walks in the most diverse directions. But sometimes these different roads come together at a great junction and all the voices start to talk to each other. Just open the book, and you will hear them."
Albert Hoffman, Zurich Institute of Philosophical Practice Philosophical Practice 13/2 (2018)
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