Reviving Antiquity: A Consideration of Askésis and Existential Psychotherapy

Abstract

This paper will consider the practice of spiritual exercises – askésis – in antiquity and suggest that a revival of these ancient philosophical practices might support an applied form of existential psychotherapy, where psychotherapists’ own engagement with askésis enriches and deepens what they are able to offer their clients’ own enquiries. Key words Antiquity, spiritual exercises, askésis, phenomenology, existential psychotherapy, meditation. In antiquity, true philosophy is a spiritual exercise, and philosophical theories, either explicitly or implicitly, are placed in the service of a spiritual practice that expresses a particular existential attitude (Davidson, 1990: p 478)