Journal article
The question of the self
Counselling Psychology Review, Vol.29(2), pp.67-69
2014
Abstract
THE CENTRAL INTEREST in Existentialism is Being. Heidegger (1962) argued that the main problem we have as human beings is that we tend to forget what Being is all about. Consistent with existentialist thought Heidegger further clarified that we don’t gain access to or understanding of Being via abstract, intellectual constructs but through the experience of Being itself. The focus on experience is fundamental to existentialist thought because Being is never static but an experience of ever becoming. Within Existentialism for this reason, the self is often referred to as the ‘sense of self’ rather than simply ‘self’. Another notion famously framed by Satre (1973) is that ‘existence comes before essence’ (p.26). This view is directly opposite to the more traditional Western view that we come into the world with an essential nature and then seek to live out that nature progressively more fully or authentically. In my view, how we understand the ‘self’ fundamentally orientates us to life in general, and, more specifically, to how we as counselling psychologists orientate ourselves to the practice of therapy. Do we understand human existence to be related to a fundamental core essence which we seek to discover and work with or is being human completely constructed through experience?
Details
- Title
- The question of the self
- Authors
- Denis J O'Hara (Corresponding Author) - Australian College of Applied Psychology
- Publication details
- Counselling Psychology Review, Vol.29(2), pp.67-69
- Publisher
- The British Psychological Society, Division of Counselling Psychology
- DOI
- 10.53841/bpscpr.2014.29.2.67
- Organisation Unit
- School of Law and Society; School of Social Sciences - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99664098502621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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