Some Philosophies Can Console: An Old But Forgotten Message

Abstract

Thesis: Since Socrates, western philosophy has been concerned with the study of humankind, with a strong emphasis on how we ought to live and why. Philosophy, in its multiple forms and expressions, has enabled many to pursue their lives with greater depth, richness, and variety; yet it can also act as a therapeutic method for the achievement of a healthier life. Asking and answering philosophical questions such as ‘How best ought I live?’, ‘What is the meaning of my life in relation to the whole?’, ‘Why should I live?’, ‘What constitutes a healthy life?’ can act as therapeutic entryways, not only within the parameters of one’s own mind or in a university classroom, but also within a health care/therapy context.

Philosophy, both as subject and method, is a powerful, largely unrecognized, therapeutic instrument for social medicine, an instrument whose application in various health care settings could benefit those – patient and staff – in need of consolation and support when they need it most.