PHI-30030 - Module Specification
School of Social Sciences
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25

One attractive career path for Philosophy graduates is philosophical counselling. Practitioners offer their consultation services to clients who attempt to solve personal, social and even mental problems through philosophical understanding.
This module will introduce you to philosophical counselling through an examination of the philosophical grounds of this activity, the approaches used in counselling, its historical roots and some of the practical aspects of pursuing a career as a practitioner.
Apart from the introductory and concluding lectures, the module will focus on:
- Main approaches in philosophical counselling: four of the key approaches will be discussed (e.g., critical, Socratic, hermeneutic, wisdom-inspired or virtue-based);
- Historical roots of philosophical counselling: ancient and modern sources;
- What philosophical counselling is not/is;
- Practical aspects of philosophical counselling.
Seminars will focus on the topics from the corresponding lectures, but through discussion of case studies.

The module aims to introduce students to philosophical counselling with particular focus on the philosophical grounds of this type of counselling, but exploring also some of its practical aspects (such as, information on programmes of training or established criteria for certification of practitioners).

Intended Learning Outcomes

Explain what philosophical counselling is and how it is distinct from similar activities (such as, academic philosophy, teaching, applied philosophy, consultancy, therapy or psychotherapy): 1
Critically present some key philosophical grounds of philosophical counselling and the corresponding approaches in counselling: 1
Demonstrate familiarity with important philosophical texts in the history of philosophical counselling: 1
Write clearly and critically about some of the most significant philosophical issues facing philosophical counselling: 1

Study hours

There will be:
- 10 1-hour lectures
- 10 1-hour seminars
- 50 hours of preparation for seminars and lectures
- 80 hours preparation for the writing of the essay

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment