Abstract
Wittgenstein conceived of philosophy as an activity rather than a subject. Thus, his work is highly relevant to the contemporary philosophical counseling movement. This paper explores the ways in which his views on how to do philosophy shed light on how we can approach philosophical counseling. First, Witgenstein's anti-theoretical approach to conceptual analysis highlights the dangers of interpreting clients’ symptoms in light of theory. Second, his notion that "pictures hold us captive" underscores the need to help clients recognize unfounded assumptions underlying their apparent dilemmas. Finally, Wittgenstein's Socratic conception of philosophy as a means to lead an authentic life shows the value of philosophizing beyond the confines of the academy.
Notes
1. Compare with the remark, “philosophical problems arise when language goes on a holiday” (PI 38).
2. According to Drury, this was partly because “Wittgenstein had a horror of what Schopenhauer called ‘professorial philosophy by philosophy professors—people who have to go on talking when … they knew they had nothing of value to say.’ Yet Wittgenstein never advised anyone to give up philosophy if by that is meant thinking about first principles and ultimate problems.” See Fann, Citation1967, p. 69.
3. For example, the psychiatric community might formulate a criterion of anxiety for a particular purpose; a larger community might employ another criterion. For a discussion of Wittgenstein's concept of a criterion, see Canfield, Citation1981; Ellenbogen, Citation2003.
4. See Monk's discussion of Wittgenstein's correspondence with Engleman in which Wittgenstein attributes his misery to his own “baseness and rottenness” (1990, p. 185).