Relevance of Care to Philosophical Counseling

           Being-in-the-world becomes meaningful because of care. Care ushers Dasein to the realization of its potentiality-for-Being, which implies that Heideggerian concept of care departs from its normal everyday meaning. Care as Heidegger defines: “being-ahead-of-oneself-in-being-already-in-as-being-alongside”. In care, Dasein is already ahead-of-itself, in the sense of anticipating its possibilities.   

          Most importantly, it is noteworthy that care does not only refer to the kind of action which Dasein initiates. But as Heidegger puts, “care is the term for the being of Dasein pure and simple. It has the formal structure, an entity for which intimately involved in its being-in-the-world; this very being is at issue” (Heidegger, HCT, p.294). Taking from it, it is at this point where care finds its relevance to philosophical counseling. 

     
         The aim of philosophical counseling is to help the counselee solve his own problems. However, such process is done in a manner where understanding and communication is present. Although it is the counselor’s tasks to help the counselee, he should bear in mind that the counselee is a creature of care. The counselee is itself care. It means that the counselee is already-ahead-of-itself. Yet, Dasein as care, which is characterized by projection, [it] can be crowded with problems. Thus, sometimes it slips away from its very being. However, because of self-projection Dasein has in some way had a vague idea about its problem. To some extent it may also have some vague knowledge about the solution of this problem. But, it is because of this vagueness itself that the counselee’s self-projection is disturbed.

        Thus, it is the task of the counselor [also a creature of care] to assist the counselee in bringing back his self-projection. The concern of care [counselor] is to bring the counselee back to being humane. Heidegger argues, “where else does care tend but in the direction of bringing the human being back to his essence? What else does that in turn betoken but that man (homo) becomes human (humanus)?” (Heidegger, Letter on Humanism, p.244). Thus care is no longer primarily Dasein’s concern for its own being, but rather has become care for being (counselee) and of itself. 

       Recognizing that the counselee is a creature of care- that is he can be ahead of himself, understanding and discourse can happen spontaneously. The counselor does not need to use any designed and preconceptualized method for the counselee to open up. Rather what the counselor has to do is to ask necessary questions. Asking questions builds the way to the advent of Being. This is the essence of philosophical counseling as an experimental philosophy. The counselor and the counselee meet at a certain point. However, it is always the context of the counselee that takes priority. Thus, “during the counseling, the individual (counselee) is aided in making choices that will lead to self-direction and enhance his total growth and development” (Gaudencio V. Aquino and Alviar, Cornelia C, Principles of Guidance and Counseling, p.391). It aims to a fusion of horizons, namely the horizons of the counselee and the counselor, but attention is more given on the counselee’s horizon.

   This is what care means, to help bring what Dasein wishes to speak about its life-world. Heidegger notes:

"This is what we [counselor as care] are to understand, namely to help bring to word that which Dasein wishes to speak about this fundamental attunement- bring it to that word which is not simply a matter of gossip, but the word that adrresses us and summons us to action and to being (Heidegger, TFCM, p.167)."

   The task of care [counselor] then is to assists Dasein in articulating his life-world and finding the word which can summon both the counselor and counselee to action. Most importantly, it is the task of care to provide an open space where the counselee can freely make choices.

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An excerpt from my thesis “Care in Heidegger’s Philosophy and Some Relevance to Philosophical Counselling.

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