Philosophical Basis of Existential Counselling
Existential psychotherapy is based in the philosophical school of existentialism, as represented among others by Kierkegaard, Schelling, and Nietzsche (Kemp, 1971). The philosophical school of existentialism developed in the nineteenth century in Europe and was a reaction to the changing social, political, and economic landscape brought about by the Industrial Revolution. Existential philosophers rejected the notion that science alone was capable of describing reality. Existentialism can thus be seen as a countermovement to Hegel's dialectics, which implied that technological, scientific, and philosophical "progress" would eventually lead mankind to complete freedom (Kemp, 1971).
Kierkegaard, for example, explicitly rejects the scientific prerogative to defining "truth" and instead emphasizes that perceptions of reality are influenced by individual experiences and observable phenomena (Kemp, 1971). Nietzsche, on the other hand, famously declared, "God is dead," a claim that highlights the need for a revaluation of moral norms, ethical standards, and cultural belief systems. The notions introduced by existential philosophers were also negotiated in cultural production, for example, through the cultural movement of Romanticism, which chose themes and subjects that were in stark contrast to the Industrial Revolution and Enlightenment.
Existential philosophy was thus the reaction to technological advances encroaching upon the individual's life and reducing human existence to a mere "technicality." Anxieties about the decreasing significance of human existence in the face of an ever-expanding technological world are characteristic of existential philosophy. Significantly, these anxieties and sentiments about human existence are still relevant today, as increasing media-saturation and cultural as well as economic globalization have a significant impact on human existence an...