Reviving Antiquity: A Consideration of Askésis and Existential Psychotherapy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65828/2t20zb39Keywords:
Antiquity, spiritual exercises, askésis, phenomenology, existential psychotherapy, meditationAbstract
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.
Complete access to the full archive of articles is available with SEA membership. Existing members: please log in with your membership password to view full text. Non-members can buy a single article or issue by registering an account on this website, then selecting a padlocked full text button to purchase.
References
Aurelius, M. (2010). Marcus Aurelius to Himself. London: Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203137598-15
Batchelor, S. (2010). Confessions of a Buddhist Atheist. London: Spiegel & Grau.
Davidson, A.L. (1990). Spiritual Exercises and Ancient Philosophy: An Introduction to Pierre Hadot. Critical Inquiry, Vol. 16(3): 475-482. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/448542
Davidson, A.L. (1995). 'Introduction' to Pierre Hadot, Philosophy as a Way of Life. London: Blackwell Publishing.
Foucault, M. (2001). The Hermeneutics of the Subject. New York: Picador. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-09483-4
Greenslade, R. (2014). Mindfulness and Therapy: A Skeptical Approach, in Bazzano, M. (Ed) After Mindfulness: New Perspectives on Psychology and Meditation. London: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137370402_8
Hadot, P. (1995). Philosophy as a Way of Life. London: Blackwell Publishing.
Hadot, P. (2004). What is Ancient Philosophy? Cambridge, Massachusetts: First Harvard University Press.
Hadot, P. (2009). The Present Alone is Our Happiness. California: Stanford University Press.
Heidegger, M. (1971). Poetry, Language, Thought. New York: Harper and Row.
McGushin, E.F. (2007). Foucault's Askésis: An Introduction to the Philosophical Life. Illinois: Northwestern University Press.
Nussbaum, M.C. (1994). The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400831944
Plato. (2001). Symposium. Trans. Benardete, S. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
Thomson, R.F. (2000). Zazen and Psychotherapeutic Presence. American Journal of Psychotherapy, Vol. 54: 4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.2000.54.4.531
Waddell, N. (2000). (Trans) The Unborn: The Life and Teachings of Zen Master Bankei. New York: North Point Press.
