The practice of pastoral counselling was dominated for several decades by the Rogerian techniques of empathetic listening. To a large extent, healing was predominately related to the realm of feelings (the affective dimension). Rational Emotive Therapy opened up other avenues. However, besides Logotherapy, the realm of meaning and its connectedness to world views and ideas (Plato: forms) remained uncharted in many theories for pastoral care and counselling. In this article it was argued that philosophical counselling opens up new avenues for pastoral care and counselling. Philosophical counselling probes into the realm of different schemata of interpretation. A model for the making of a spiritual existential analysis was proposed in order to detect the impact of the
Christian spiritual schema of interpretation on the dynamics of existential networking.
Theory formation is the main endeavour in any form of scientific research and academic enterprise. It is the task of the academic researcher
to design and produce the ‘tools of the mind’ (paradigms and theories) to be applied within the reality of the academic,
scientific field. One can call this academic reality the ‘objects’ of research. Inappropriate theory leads to inappropriate
models, projects and practices. The reason for this assumption resides in the fact that theories are carriers and containers of the attempt
of the human mind to grasp the meaning of daily living in terms of patterns of thinking (paradigms; rational constructions).
Theories represent the rational categories of understanding that try to schematise ideas and link them with the realities of
the existing world. Theories, schemata of interpretation, paradigms and rational patterns of thinking determine the networking of human mind and
processes of interpretation (hermeneutics). The theory, paradigm or idea behind a human action plays a decisive role in
dispositions or attitudes [habitus] and the human attempt to come to grips with the demands of life[1].
They determine processes of healing, but can also lead to ‘spiritual illnesses’ and pathology. They can become outdated,
inappropriate and irrelevant (zombie categories)[2]. The idea embedded in theory and expressed in rational categories or paradigms,
can change human behaviour. ‘Ideas’ can promote meaningful perspectives and actions but on the other hand, also instigate
the ‘the illness of the human mind’: that is, skewed perceptions, unrealistic expectations and irrational thinking.
In a nutshell: ideas (Plato[3]>: the form as pattern of reality) shape and determine human self-understanding within
existential realities. The articulation of hermeneutics in theological theory formation and in the quest for methodology in practical theology
underlines anew the importance of philosophy. Philosophy is actually the most primary and fundamental science in terms of
theological theory formation. For example, the language of the early Christian church on the Trinity was shaped by the
metaphysics of substance, with concepts such as homoousios [of one substance] and hypostasis [reality].
Even psychology developed from philosophy. In this regard, going back to our philosophical roots can help practical
theology and very specifically pastoral theology, to discover new avenues for theory formation in counselling.
In order to change people, this framework or form needs to be disputed in terms of the human quest for meaning,
therefore the role of philosophy in counselling, that is the need for philosophical counselling. This need can be illustrated when the practice of counselling deals with several existential issues in life.
For example, people enter marriage with a very specific ‘idea’ about ‘marriage’ and ‘love’.
Influenced by the ‘philosophy of romantic love’ as projected by film and media, couples behave according to the
following ‘illusion’: the proof that he or she loves me resides in the emotion of ‘I-am-wanted’ and
the impression that love exits without conflict and within the possibility of an unqualified ‘yes’. Nowadays,
marriage is portrayed as a ‘living partnership’ within the form of ‘experiential cohabitation’.
The traditional idea of a church or official marriage is becoming outdated. The Hollywood notion of ‘instant love’
and ‘sex-on-appro’ become the normative ‘idea’ that shapes the emotional needs of couples. Within the gender debate, a very specific idea and philosophy determine male or female identity. For example, the crisis of male
identity within the social construction of ‘masculinities’, points in the direction of the influence of public images
shaped by the philosophy of masculinities as projected by the social media. In the counselling of men, these normative philosophies
and ideas about masculinity should be disputed and changed in order to ‘heal’ men. Healing and therefore counselling males
has become a systemic issue. A good example of the impact of communication technology and the mass media on being male or female is the philosophical concept
of hegemonic masculinity[4]: the athletic male body as a mark of power and moral superiority. It has become a dominant,
global idol in Western thought: White, middle-class heterosexuals (Dworkin 2004:158).
Other variations include the Adonis Complex, which describes male image and masculinities in terms of a preoccupation with
building muscles, a lean body, appearance and good looks in terms of clothing and grooming and often in terms of the size of the penis. Another social philosophy is the concept of metrosexuality, where the male individual is in contact with the female
component of his being, but freed from the strict categories and classifications of masculinities of the past. The metrosexual person
lives in the metropolis within the different options of ‘a Man’s World’. The David Beckham icon opens up the world
for the metrosexual from the gym to the hairdresser. Metrosexuality, within a postmodern paradigm beyond any past ‘isms’
and stereotypes, nowadays even becomes the Übersexual, where men are portrayed in terms of categories such as the
quality of their status and the positive aspects of being male; maleness as excellence and something to be proud of. Gender issues (as indicated by the aforementioned philosophical developments in male images) are closely linked to stereotypes
and in this the regard the media plays a decisive role. For example, Gauntlett (2002:38) refers to the phenomenon of scopophilia. Scopophilia is the voyeuristic gaze directed at other people as part of the pleasures of cinema. The pleasure in looking
leads to the male gaze projecting its fantasies onto the female figure, which is styled accordingly and vice versa. In their
traditional exhibitionist role, women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual
and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at. In this regard, the role of magazines in stereotyping
should be emphasised. According to Gauntlett (2002:187–191), men should be handsome and self-confident. The ideal is that
men should be well built with muscles, good in bed, happy in relationships, witty, considerate, skilled in all things and have
sex with many attractive women. Personal self-esteem, for a male, required public performance. In this regard, boys grew up with the notion of the pre-eminence
of men. Men should therefore be the head of everything (Driver 1996:43–65). Notions such as ‘male supremacy’, ‘male
chauvinism’ and the cultural archetype of the ‘super-macho’ refer to the dominant positions of men in society. Super-macho,
violent body contact sports such as wrestling, football, rugby and boxing enforced this rigid macho image, because in the eyes of viewers
the crowds will respond to a player coming back onto the field after an injury: ‘What a man!’ (Goldberg 1976:112–113). Within the gender debate, what should be changed in order to heal men is the cultural and philosophical concept
of ‘patriarchalism’. Without a paradigm switch individual men are not going to change their lifestyles
and sexual behaviour. Therefore, counselling men are in need of different and appropriate male images, in order to
address many relational and social issues. Within the HIV and AIDS debate the necessity for philosophical counselling has become paramount.
Forms (ideas): The shaping of the human mind
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Ideas as the basic form and structure of the human mind can be seen as the driving factors of human behaviour.
Theories are structured and evolved around ideas. Sigmund Freud’s book, The Interpretation of Dreams (1900),
changed psychological anthropology in a radical way. Freud’s idea about the essence of our being human was expressed
in the theory that the human nature consists of the unconscious, repression, infantile sexuality (leading to the Oedipus complex)
and the tripartite division of the mind into ego, the sense of self; superego, broadly speaking, the conscience and the id,
the primal biological expression of the conscious (Watson 2000:12–13).In his book on people and ideas that shaped the modern mind, P. Watson (2000:29) refers to Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s
remarkable statement in 1905 that the nature of our epoch is multiplicity and indeterminacy. Everything is slipping and sliding.
What generations believed to be firm is in fact ‘das Gleitende’. Einstein shattered the Newtonian worldview of solid substance with his notion of relativity. His theory that all mass has energy
as hypothesised in his paper on the electrodynamics of moving bodies, which became known as the Special Theory of Relativity,
modified the Newtonian cosmology, based on the straight lines of Euclidean geometry and Galileo’s notions of absolute time
(Johnson 1983:1). The theory, namely that there is no absolute motion, changed cosmology and paved the way for the so-called cultural
interpretation of ‘postmodernity’. The arrival of Max Planck’s quantum physics was a remarkable break with the mechanistic and deterministic paradigm of
interpretation. Planck described an ‘atom’ of radiation, which he called a ‘quantum’. He confirmed that
nature was not a continuous process, but moved in a series of extreme jerks (Watson 2000:25). In a more popular style, N. Ferreira (2009:4) accuses the church of holding on to metaphors derived from what he calls the
mythological period of reflection. With reference to trans-personal psychology and the three phases of pre-rational
(archaic, magical, mythological), rational and post-rational, he contents that we are living in a pluralistic-holistic
stage that operates according to post-rationalism. The category post-rational refers to holistic and integral reflection,
the mode of networking. In the light of the previous, it is urgent that pastoral theologians, as well as practical theologians, pose the question:
What is the under girding theory behind my practice and which idea is shaping my mind within the practice of counselling?
Therapeutic perspectivism
If one can assume that pastoral care is indeed a theological endeavour, embedded in the Christian tradition of caring and spirituality
(the tradition of cura animarum), a critical discussion on theory formation in pastoral care and counselling in South Africa has
become paramount. If we want to move into the paradigm of community care and the pastoral healing of life (an integrative approach);
to opt for a paradigm switch from an exclusive societal approach (see in the past the notion of racial discrimination) to inclusivity;
from gender prejudice (see the impact of hierarchy and patriarchy on cultural models for masculinity and femininity) to equality; from
stigmatisation in the HIV pandemic to destigmatisation; even in our ecclesiology from denominationalism and institutionalism to ecumenical
communality, healing and therefore therapy, urgent attention should be paid to the demand for paradigm shifts and the healing of paradigms,
perspectives, perceptions and ideas.
It is within this context that I want to opt for the notion of therapeutic perspectivism (the theoretical angle and under girding life view
in experiences and observation) and philosophical counselling: the healing of attitudes and intentionality (noetic healing) in the light
of the critical question regarding the appropriateness of existing rational categories, belief systems and paradigmatic frameworks of
interpretation for daily human behaviour.
Philosophical counselling: The dimension of paradigms and schemata of interpretation in a pastoral diagnosis
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‘Philosophical counselling’ could be viewed as a quite ‘new’[5] trend in the practice of
counselling. In his book Plato not Prozac, Marinoff (1999:24) refers to the relatively recent scientisation of
psychology and the psychological industry with the emphasis on talk therapy[6] and the human need for dialogue.
With reference to psychoanalysis in psychotherapy, most of the theories are built on the notion of post hoc ergo propter
hoc. It means that because one event happened before another, the earlier event caused the later one.
This cause and effect approach, combined with empathetic counselling, leads to the practice of emotional probing and memory analyses.
But knowing the cause of one’s pain does not necessarily take the pain away or comforts one.The shift towards philosophically counselling[7] is a shift towards wisdom and its connectedness to meaning,
future orientation, life views and the realm of ideas or convictions. Its aim is to help you apply the narrow insights
that you learn about yourself to the big picture of your life; ‘to integrate every conceivable insight
(psychological insights being just one kind) into a coherent, workable outlook on and approach to life’
(Marinoff 1999:30–31). It is therefore the contention of Marinoff (1999:31) that if the root of your problem is philosophical,
nothing on your pharmacist’s shelves is going to give lasting relief: Drugs don’t do anything in the outside world – even with a mood softened by Prozac, you’ll still have to deal with
a sadistic boss or a cheating partner or a bureaucratic bank. (Marinoff 1999:33–34) Philosophical counselling is aware of the fact that for healing to take place, the outside world and the framework for
meaning, as well as the interpretation of events, need to be changed. Healing implies more than empathetic listening and
talking (verbalising). Healing also implies paradigmatic changes and the development of a functional philosophical
disposition toward your situation. Rather than dwelling on the question: How do you feel? Philosophical counselling
poses the questions: What is your framework for meaningful living? What meaning, purpose, or value is implied? What
is motivating you to decide for a very specific direction or definite goal? How do you envision a possible outcome
and what are realistic options? What are the factors preventing you to act according to the eventual goal? What do you hope for? All of these questions cannot be separated from their philosophical context, which is determined by different
schemata of interpretations and patterns of thinking (paradigms). In philosophical counselling, aesthetics is more fundamental than ethics and morality. It is about the beauty
of life, which is the mode by which one interprets the challenges in life in order to grow into a deeper sense
of significance and gratitude. Aesthetics is the existential mode of thanksgiving in terms of grace and not in terms of fate.
In this regard, philosophical counselling probes into the human art of daily living and wisdom decision-making. ‘Philosophical
counselling is a practical application of what has been largely an academic pursuit; it is a contemporary pragmatism whose goal
is to deal with what actually matters in people’s everyday lives and to re-establish theory as a useful instrument to a higher
philosophical practice: the art of living wisely well’( Raabe 2001:4). In essence, philosophy is a passion for healing in order to use astonishment and amazement [verwondering] as a vehicle
or tool to bring about a profound transformation of the individual’s mode of seeing and being, a transformation of our vision
of the world and a metamorphosis of our intentionality[8]. It is called a ‘worldview interpretation’
or wise therapy (LeBon 2001:9). Schuster (1999:72–74) refers to philosophical care. He is so convinced of the value
of philosophy in care and counselling that he even admits as a psychologist that it seems to be ‘preferable to choosing
a theologian for philosophical talks’ as a result of the tradition of pastoral healing in cura animarum. Philosophical counselling can be described as the method of transcendent inquiry (trans-spection and pro-spection)
into the realm of meaning and significance. It investigates a person’s network of believes and facilitates progressive
clarification of life-ordering values, commitments, conceptual orientations and meaningful connections. It describes a process
of philosophical and transcendent inquiry (Raabe 2001:206) into a person’s ‘theory’, paradigms or worldview,
very specifically how this worldview is related to human suffering and the problem of theodicy. In this regard, philosophical
counselling is a method for helping people to live and to look at the world in a more thoughtful way (Raabe 2001:217).
It probes into the realm of ‘conceptual vicissitudes’ (Schefczyk in Raabe 2001:164) and helps to identify
a gap between a person’s actual way of life and any potential ways of life that could foster hope and encourage a person to
take responsible decisions [respondeo ergo sum]. The value of philosophical counselling in pastoral care is that it helps a person to differentiate between meaning as the pursuit
of happiness (the optimistic approach) and spiritus (‘logos’): options to instil a vivid hope in terms of
a different approach to the future (pro-spection) (the hopeful approach). As a spiritual endeavour in a Christian approach to life
it poses the question of ethos: ‘What are you intending to sacrifice?’
Schemata of interpretation: The hermeneutical background of philosophical counselling
In the tradition of Christian theology, nine philosophical schemata of interpretation[9] can be identified
that played a decisive role in theological theory formation:• The Hellenistic schema and the connection to the paradigm of cause-and-effect thinking. Its impact on
theology was the notion of the immutability of God. • The metaphysical schema (substantial thinking and the ontology of beyond) and its connection to the
dualistic schism between the seen world and the unseen world. As a result of the subject-object split, the spiritual
realm became removed from the secular realm. Its impact on theology was the schism between God (vertical approach with
the emphasis on transcendence) and the cosmos (horizontal approach with the emphasis on the empirical phenomena). • The mechanistic schema and its connection to rational explanations. For all the unsolved problems of life,
God should be introduced as a Deus ex machina. In terms of a cause-and-effect schema, God operates as the
instigator of all life events and suffering. God becomes the unmovable first logic and rational explanatory principle
within the chain of life events (movements) emanating from the blueprint of Gods provision and deterministic election
(theological positivism). • The imperialistic schema and its connection to the paradigm of power as expressed in dominionship
(authority or omnipotence as force). According to the Constantine paradigm, God’s Kingdom should be understood
in terms of a militant or ruling power. God reigns as a ‘Superman’ or ‘Ceasar’ and determines
every sphere of life. The church becomes a cultural institution with God as the official head of a powerful establishment.
God’s omnipotence was seen as the exercise of power (force); God became The Pantokrator. • The patriarchal schema and its connectedness to the paradigm of status: from the top, down to the bottom.
God acts as the great Patriarch. He dominates human beings and instructs them according to the pedagogic principle of
judgement and punishment. • The hierarchical schema and its connection to superiority (the monarchic tradition). Life is viewed as
an ordered system. At stake are position and differentiation. The latter is structured in terms of importance, status
and position along the same lines of class differences. In such a model, the tension between superiority and inferiority
determines people’s understanding of God: God as royal King and ruling Judge with his prescriptions formulated in unchangeable laws. • The economic and materialistic schema of wealth, achievement, development and affluence.
The paradigm at stake is management: Life is to be managed in terms of materialistic goals driven by money,
profit, development and progress. God becomes an official and public idol: the God who safeguards prosperity.
God is then high-jacked to serve our selfish needs. Belief becomes a religion; it is misused as a good investment
to bypass tragedy. The Kingdom of God becomes a stock exchange: God as Director and Manager. • The schema of communality and interconnectedness: the ‘ubuntu’ philosophy.
This is why Kahiga (2005:190) asserts that traditional African epistemology cannot be isolated from life events.[10]
The African paradigm is therefore about life and human events of interconnectedness and relatedness. Life never stands on its own,
but is embedded in the dialectics between life events and death. ‘Life is a thesis and death is its antithesis. Life is to
embrace and death is to depart and to isolate. The synthesis between life and death is becoming’ (Kahiga 2005:190).
Human life is seen as an infinite becoming or progression and each human person ought to be an agent of this traditional cultural reality: The spirit of Ubuntu – that profound African sense that we are human only through the humanity of other
human beings – is not a parochial phenomenon, but has added globally to our common search for a better world. (Mandela 2005:82) J. Gathogo (2008:42–43) links the notion of ubuntu[11] to hospitality and the generosity
of giving freely without strings attached. It can be seen as a philosophy and way of life, ‘an unconditional
readiness to share’ (2008:42). It describes interdependence as described in the proverb that says: Gutri gigatuirie kingi,
‘All things are interdependent’ (Gathago 2008:43). Ubuntu is basically both a philosophical and religious concept
that defines the individual in terms of his or her relationship to others. It is supposed to articulate a basic respect and compassion
for others. According to Gathogo (2008:44), ubuntu illustrates that Africans were not incapable of philosophising as
G.F. Hegel maintained. Instead of Rene Descartes’s cogito ergo sum [I think therefore I exist],
the African asserts ‘I am because we are’, or ‘I am related, therefore I am’ [cognatus ergo sum] or
an existential cognatus sum, ergo sumsu [I am related, therefore we are]. As indicated by Gathogo (2008:46), this parallels
with the concretisation of Heidegger’s Being as Being-with in his Dasein-analyses[12]. • The hermeneutical schema of interpretation and meaningful networking: the integrative approach. Hermeneutics
(derived from hermeneuein) refers to the art of explanation and interpretation as the attempt to understand the meaning
of different texts within the vibrant fibre of inter-textuality. This process includes verbalisation, speech, translation and the
communication of a message (Smit, 1998:276). In this regard, the interpretation of metaphors and symbols in terms of the interrelatedness
of systemic networking becomes important. Its impact on God-images is that theology becomes involved in the quest for meaningful God-images
that can promote meaningful (hopeful) norms
and structures for a humane living. For example: God as a Covenantal Partner and Soul Friend for life; the God-with-us embodied
(the pneumatological inhabitation of the Spirit) in human bodies and existential categories[13]. The previous examples indicate a close connection between philosophical schemata and the paradigmatic issues implied in theory
formation and fundamental views on the value and meaning or significance of life. It does not mean that the schemata are in themselves
necessarily good or bad. They should not be assessed in terms of morals. They should be assessed as necessary cultural and philosophical
paradigms, noetic frameworks of interpretations, to be used in all forms of theory formation. The importance of the recognition of schemata of interpretation is that it creates a noetic awareness that can help care givers to
probe into the realm of the patterns of thinking and ideas that shape human actions. Schemata of interpretation reveal the praxis
within the practice. With praxis[14] is then meant the intention within an action that serves as the motivational factor
for human behaviour. Schemata of interpretation imply more than merely intra-psychic factors that can be detected by psychoanalyses.
Schemata of interpretation reveal the commitments that reveal significance and the human quest for meaning. They are the containers
of ideas that even transcend the rational categories of the human. To a certain extent, they are connected to what can be called the
spiritual realm of our human existence: the realm of ideas, norms, values, wisdom and life views (philosophical patterns of reasoning).
In order to deal with the question of appropriate God-images for example, it becomes vital for the making of a pastoral diagnosis
(to differentiate between appropriate or inappropriate convictions of faith) to probe in pastoral counselling into the noetic realm of life.
The practice of philosophical counselling
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It should be made clear that philosophical counselling is less a ‘technique’ or ‘skill’.
It is more about processes of understanding. In order to relate philosophical counselling to the practice of counselling,
the following four approaches or models can serve as examples of what is meant by philosophical
counselling in the counselling practice pastoral care.
The making of a spiritual, existential analysis in a pastoral diagnosis
In an existential analysis the presupposition is that existential experiences which shape human responses and habitus is
fundamental to life experiences and conceptualisation. With reference to the contribution of existential philosophy,
one can identify five existential categories that are general and universal and therefore existent in all cultural
activities and human behaviour. They categories include anxiety; guilt or shame; doubt and despair or dread; helplessness or vulnerability and frustration, anger
or aggression. Related to them are the following compulsions: • the urge to be validated and acknowledged • the urge to be successful and perfect • the urge for absolute control over future events • the urge for independence and power and the urge to possess (greed). In an existential model, the following existential needs can be identified: • intimacy (the need to be accepted unconditionally for whom one is without the fear for rejection) • freedom (deliverance) • hope and the anticipation of something new or different • the need for sustainable support systems • life-fulfilment, satisfaction or happiness. In philosophical counselling, the pastoral question is whether the spiritual framework for life can be
connected meaningfully to the existential issues that can become a threat to sinduiding [meaning-identification].
Within Christian spirituality, one can identify the theological categories of grace (unconditional love); forgiveness and
reconciliation; resurrection hope; the support system of koinonia [fellowship] and diakonia [service] and the
sacraments as indication of God’s faithfulness and fulfilled promises emanating into a life of joy and gratitude. Table 1 (see bottom of page 6) can be viewed as a kind of graphic portrayal of the network of existential realities and how
it can be connoted to the spiritual realm of the Christian faith. The method implied is hermeneutics, which wants to illuminate
the possible connections between life issues and spiritual paradigms. It is not an explanatory model in the sense that it reveals causes;
it only displays possible connections between intention, attitude, existential realities and belief systems. For example, Table 1 helps pastoral caregivers in the making of a pastoral diagnosis to understand how existential issues,
possible compulsions and basic life needs, are connected to one another. It is now the task of a pastoral hermeneutics to
link the relevant spiritual issue with the need, compulsion and related existential reality. If the existential issue at stake
is anxiety (the fear for loss and rejection), a pastoral caregiver should probe into the possible compulsive realm of honour
and pride (the obsession to maintain oneself at the cost of somebody else and the selfish demand to be acknowledged by all means).
The deflection should be in the direction of intimacy: the need for acceptance within relationships. The appropriate spiritual category
that is applicable here is God’s grace (the knowledge of faith that I am accepted unconditionally for whom I am by God without the
fear of rejection). This spiritual perspective can bring about change and healing in the sense that it creates a sense of dignity and
identity despite the existing anxiety. One can say, it brings about a different perspective (philosophical mindset) and changes the
fixed perception and idea created by the anxiety. The focal point becomes intimacy as guaranteed by grace. From the previous discussion, one can indeed conclude that, in terms of the spiritual realm of our being human, worldviews
are playing a fundamental role in our attitudes and intentionality and thus, the reason why pastoral care should take philosophical
counselling seriously within processes of communication and verbalising.
Reframing
Another example of philosophical counselling is the reframing model proposed by D. Capps (1990:10). His argument
is that when we change the frame, we change the meaning. Changing the frame in which a person perceives events
in order to change the meaning is called reframing. When the meaning changes, the person’s
responses and behaviours also changes.
Renaming
Renaming is the attempt to deconstruct existing inappropriate names (labels) a person is giving to life events and to
introduce a different category that represents the meaning and significance of the existing problematic area in a more
appropriate way. For example, a couple is planning for a family. The wife resigned her job. At the same time the husband
moved into another job and is spending a lot of time to get it from the ground. After the birth of the first child, the
wife interprets her spouse’s investments in the new business as a loss of love. The message she received is:
he does not love me; we do have a marriage problem. After a counselling session, the husband was totally surprised
to hear this, because his intention was to provide an income for his family and to create financial security.
He did that as an act of love and as an investment into the relationship. After the wife understood his intention,she renamed the problem.
It is not a marriage problem or a problem of love but a problem of readjustment, namely how to adjust to a total
new dimension in their marriage: the dimension of family. Therefore, it is a problem of family adjustment and not a marital crisis per se.
Interpathy, inter-spection and trans-spection
In his book, Pastoral Counselling Across Cultures, D. Augsburger (1986:29–30) refers to interpathetic caring,
the process of ‘feeling with’ and ‘thinking with’ another. Such an attempt requires that one enters
the other’s world of assumptions, beliefs and values and temporarily take them as one’s own. He is referring to
M. Maruyama (1986:30), who coined the concept of ‘trans-spection’. With trans-spection is then meant an effort
to put oneself into the head (not shoes) of another person. Whilst empathy is a projection of feelings between two persons
in epistemology, trans-spection ‘is a trans-epistemological process which tries to experience a foreign belief,
a foreign assumption, a foreign perspective, and feelings in a foreign context’ (1986:30).Inter-spection is the awareness of the interrelatedness and interconnectedness of meaning within the network
of relationships. More or less what is meant by ubuntu philosophy: I am a human being through another human being.
The perspective of the other is important for processes of healing: How does the other perceives and experiences me? Trans-spection deals with the worldviews and philosophy of the other. How does he or she perceive the cosmos and in what does he or she belief?
Philosophical counselling is part and parcel of the process of hermeneutics in pastoral care.
It is the attempt to probe into the realm of ideas or forms, paradigms and their relationship with different
schemata of interpretation as embedded in and influenced by, cultural settings and different worldviews and cosmologies.
In order to understand human attitude [phronēsis, habitus] one has to make a pastoral
diagnosis of the belief systems that determine human behaviour directly or indirectly, as well as the intentionality as
related to a vivid hope and the anticipation of a meaningful future.
Table 1 is designed to clarify the notion of a pastoral hermeneutics. It can be applied in the making of a pastoral diagnosis.
It furthermore links the spiritual realm of the Christian faith with the existential realities of life, and can be used as
an assessment tool in order to bring about change regarding skewed perceptions and inappropriate paradigms.
The impact of the Christian spiritual categories on existential realities and fixed belief systems
or inappropriate ideas about life and our being human can be viewed, on the level of a pastoral methodology,
as philosophical counselling.
TABLE 1: Network of general and universal existential categories within the realm of Christian spirituality.
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