Reviews the special issue of The Humanistic Psychologist, Psychotherapy for freedom: The daseinsanalytic way in psychology and psychotherapy edited by Erik Craig . The editor brings together a uniquely developed collection of essays, seminars, and interviews delving into foundational as well as clinically-oriented issues regarding the application of Martin Heidegger's philosophy to the fields of psychiatry and psychotherapy. Craig's edition exhibits a cohesiveness not often found in edited volumes, and it manages to be inspiring to the more advanced reader while (...) remaining accessible to the introductory student. 2012 APA, all rights reserved). (shrink)

This essay compares Sartre's existential psychoanalysis with Freud's psychoanalysis and Binswanger's Daseinsanalysis . On the one hand, Sartre's psychoanalysis, despite the pure phenomenological interpretation of the factical self (in the first part of Being and Nothingness ), is ultimately metaphysically founded on the concept of 'human reality' (in the fourth part of the book), so that this psychoanalysis cannot be identified with the way of interpreting existence in the Daseinsanalyse . On the other hand, Sartre's phenomenological interpretation of the (...) factical self implies that Freud's analysis of psychical phenomena is false, because the self 'is strictly to the degree that it signifies' ( Sketch for a Theory of the Emotions ) and is 'coextensive with consciousness' ( Being and Nothingness ). (shrink)

After briefly presenting and defending the Daseinanalytic view of man, Boss carefully explains the ways in which it complements and re-evaluates classical psychoanalytic doctrines. A skillful use is made of case histories and of detailed discussions of key psychoanalytic concepts.--R. J. B.

Martin Heidegger (1889–1976) is one of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century. His influence, however, extends beyond philosophy. His account of Dasein, or human existence, permeates the human and social sciences, including nursing, psychiatry, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and artificial intelligence. In this chapter, I outline Heidegger’s influence on psychiatry and psychology, focusing especially on his relationships with the Swiss psychiatrists Ludwig Binswanger and Medard Boss. The first section outlines Heidegger’s early life and work, up to and including the (...) publication of Being and Time, in which he develops his famous concept of being-in-the-world. The second section focuses on Heidegger’s initial influence on psychiatry via Binswanger’s founding of Daseinsanalysis, a Heideggerian approach to psychopathology and psychotherapy. The third section turns to Heidegger’s relationship with Boss, including Heidegger’s rejection of Binswanger’s Daseinsanalysis and his lectures at Boss’s home in Zollikon, Switzerland. (shrink)

[Heidegger and psychiatric Daseinsanalysis].

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology 8.4 (2001) 317-322 [Access article in PDF] On Wolfgang Blankenburg, Common Sense, and Schizophrenia Aaron L. Mishara Introduction In its increasing openness to neuroscience (Cowan, Harter, and Kandel 2000) and other of its neighboring disciplines, mainstream biological psychiatry has allowed psychopathology, philosophy, and philosophical approaches to psychopathology to play an increased role in current research interests. Given this new openness, and the acknowledgment of the (...) severity of one of psychiatry's most debilitating, costly, and intractable disorders, 1 the translation of W. Blankenburg's 1969 article concerning the psychopathology of common sense does not merely serve historical interest. It is an exceptional example of a not well-known trend in German- and French-speaking psychiatry to apply philosophical phenomenology and existentialism to psychopathological research. This trend, which reached a peak in the late 1950s and was strong well into the 1970s, has dwindling, but nevertheless, current representatives in Heidelberg and Zurich and is scattered in a few other places in Europe, Japan, the United States, and South America. The view of the Zeitgeist—which may sound astonishing, even antiquated to contemporary readers—was highly ambitious: Conceptual approaches, such as philosophical ("transcendental") phenomenology, were expected to supply knowledge about the structure of consciousness and its disturbance in various mental disorders.Following the lead of Binswanger and Szilasi, who viewed schizophrenia as an "experiment of nature" that enables us to view underlying processes otherwise hidden to "natural, everyday consciousness," Blankenburg believed that it may be possible to map the formal properties of the psychopathology of schizophrenia—precisely in the loss of common sense—as a disturbance to the basic organization of conscious experience. Any attempt to summarize this rather abstract and complex approach in a brief commentary would be ill advised. In passing, rather, I will remark that such efforts could have profound relevance to the current research of schizophrenia and its underlying neurobiology. This research has gradually acknowledged the importance of taking the patient's subjective experience of the disorder into account (Mishara, Parnas, and Naudin 1998). In this commentary, I will first give an account of the biographical and clinical reasons that led Blankenburg to turn to the problem of common sense and its relevance for schizophrenia. I will then explore what implications [End Page 317] his work may have for more recent findings concerning schizophrenia. Blankenburg's Intellectual Development Born in 1928, W. Blankenburg, the son of a Lufthansa pilot who pioneered transatlantic commercial flights, began his studies in Freiburg im Breisgau in 1947. While at Freiburg, Blankenburg heard lectures in philosophy given by E. Fink (the former assistant to Husserl) and Max Mueller, and in psychology, by R. Heiss and others. After three years, Blankenburg turned to the study of medicine, producing a dissertation in 1956 on an application of Daseinsanalysis (Heidegger and Binswanger) to a case of paranoid schizophrenia. Binswanger wrote the forward to the publication. Between 1956 and 1958, Blankenburg studied internal medicine in Heidelberg with the accomplished phenomenologist of bodily experience (Leibphaenomenologer) and student of V. von Weizsaecker Herbert Pluegge. He spent one semester in Goettingen where he attended lectures by the ontological philosopher Nicolai Hartmann, who provided for Blankenburg a more useful approach to the problem of nature and natural science than Heidegger's primary emphasis on the question of Being. During his Freiburg years, Blankenburg attended small seminars led by Heidegger in the Schwarzwald forest. (Heidegger had been forbidden to teach after the end of World War II.) Blankenburg recalls that the participants would sit on logs in an open field as if to invoke Heidegger's concept of the clearing (Lichtung) of Being. While not entirely sympathetic with Heidegger's philosophy, Blankenburg learned to carefully "listen"—as Heidegger would repeatedly emphasize—to language, not merely poetic or philosophical language, but the language of the patients he would meet in clinical practice.During this time, Blankenburg heard lectures by W. Szilasi, the philosopher-scientist who held Husserl's and Heidegger's chair in the department of philosophy. Szilasi collaborated with the phenomenological psychiatrist, L. Binswanger. Their effort to apply concepts from Husserl's... (shrink)

In “A General Framework for Philosophical Counseling,” Hakam AI-Shawi argues that “philosophical counseling must... avoid relyingon any first-order philosophical assumptions.” In this light, I explore whether and to what extent an applied Heideggerian approach to the amelioration of human life - in this case, Daseinsanalysis - satisfies this criterion. I focus on the orienting reality of a mortal, interpreting questioner dwelling in particular circumstances. Such an approach, as I construe it here, seems largely compatible with AI-Shawi’s understanding of what (...) can properly count as philosophical counselling. (shrink)

Depois de fazer uma breve análise das idéias centrais introduzidas por Ludwig Binswanger no seu artigo seminal "O sonho e a existência", de 1930, o presente trabalho examina o lugar ocupado por essas idéias na daseinsanálise psiquiátrica do mesmo autor. Em seguida, são estudadas as objeções que Martin Heidegger dirigiu ao uso da analítica existencial de Ser e tempo na formulação da daseinsanálise psiquiátrica. Na última seção, discutem-se as perspectivas atuais de um diálogo entre o pensamento de Heidegger e as (...) ciências humanas, em particular, a psicanálise winnicottiana.After presenting a brief analysis of the central ideas of Ludwig Binswanger contained in his seminal article "Dreaming and Existence", published in 1930, this paper examines the place of these ideas in Binswanger's theory of psychiatric daseinsanalysis. The next section is dedicated to the study of objections that Martin Heidegger raised against the use of existential analytics of Being and Time in framing psychiatric daseinsanalysis. The final section offers a brief discussion of perspectives for a renewed dialogue between Heidegger and human sciences, Winnicott's psychoanalysis in particular. (shrink)

Since its inception, existential psychotherapy has been the principal ‘site,’ whereat philosophy, psychiatry, and psychology join hands. The Swiss psychiatrist, Ludwig Binswanger, is among the first psychiatrists to develop a philosophically grounded vision of psychiatry and psychology. Binswanger is indebted to Heidegger, Husserl, and Buber and becomes the pioneer and founding father of Daseinsanalysis, an existential–phenomenological anthropology for the study of psychoses. Later, in the hands of Medard Boss and under the guidance of Martin Heidegger, Daseinsanalysis evolves as (...) the first and, so far, only psychotherapeutic approach crafted in direct collaboration between a philosopher and a mental health.. (shrink)

In this article, the authors examine post-concussion syndrome (PCS) from an existential-phenomenological perspective, specifically as a Heideggerian analysis of Dasein (or Daseinsanalysis; Condrau, 1988). As a medical syndrome, PCS was once defined in terms of its pathophysiology. However, in the absence of reliable evidence of pathophysiology, PCS has been removed from the DSM-5. We have suspended the natural attitude, in this case the biomedical model, and have taken seriously the symptoms of PCS as indications that meaningful changes have occurred (...) within the structure of the patient’s existence. Following the medical theories of Goldstein (1995) and Gadamer (1996), the authors describe the significance of PCS as it is lived by Tyrese, an NCAA Division II football player whose series of concussions left him permanently sidelined. Careful consideration is paid to the existential dimensions of the syndrome, specifically the backgrounds of temporality, sociality, and attunement. In conclusion, a new approach to rehabilitation is explored. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Philosophers, Carers, and Psychodramatic GamesCorinne Gal (bio), Alexandre Chapy (bio), Marielle Fau (bio), and Muriel Guaveia (bio)Dear Jonathan D. Moreno,Thank you for the honor of taking the time to comment on the work we do. It is very meaningful for us to be able to talk with you.We, too, see a big difference between philosophers and carers (in the broadest sense) who deal with the suffering of patients and (...) try to find methods to help them. But, if theory is at the service of the clinic, it becomes a formidable asset to refine our therapeutic methods and better understand what is happening to our patients.Indeed, patients suffering from psychosis, severe neurosis … are difficult to accompany and “recalcitrant to therapy by word alone” to use your terms. It is on this point that Ludwig Binswanger distanced himself from psychoanalysis. Binswanger ran a sanatorium in Switzerland (the Bellevue Clinic) and took in patients suffering from this type of psychological pathology. Aware that “the divan” and the analysis of the transference (unconscious) made little progress, he sought other ways of understanding his patients. The work of Edmund Husserl, the founder of the phenomenological movement, and then the work of Martin Heidegger1 fascinated him because they attempted to answer fundamental questions about being. The patients we work with ask themselves and us the same question: What is being? How can we feel existence within ourselves? Binswanger then created daseinsanalysis as an analysis of existence in which he was able to develop, among other dimensions, what he called “artists’ gestures,” including the possibility of (physical) contact with the patients. The body regained existential importance in the therapy.There are also strong similarities between psychiatric phenomenology and the work of Jacob Levy Moreno (2014, p. 214). We would like to quote your work: “ Nonetheless, there were links between them. Heidegger and J.L. shared preoccupation with personal authenticity and meaning [End Page 230] just enough to be considered part of the trends that led to postwar existentialism and fueled the new humanistic psychology, NTL, and encounter groups.”Jacob Levy Moreno’s working methods are much more powerful, allowing us to work as closely as possible with bodily feelings, since the body involved in the action is so present in psychodrama. Because, to this question of being posed by our patients, is linked the body as a felt, sensing body: the body that I am (which differs from the object body). Schizophrenic patients often express, and this is a terrible suffering, that they no longer feel anything, that they no longer feel they exist, that they no longer feel emotions or feelings. They do not know how to be in the world and with others. For us it is a fundamental symptom, as much as hallucinations. We link it to the loss of natural evidence (Blankenburg, 1991), the loss of contact with reality (Minkowski, 1929). Most of the time, in psychodrama, we “externalize” what the patients feel in different roles played by players, which allows us to work at the heart of each person’s difficulties in interaction. Trained in psychodrama by Anne Ancelin Schützenberger, we have to our credit a set of techniques to support the expression of psychodramatic play, a sort of “toolbox.” Depending on the context, the moment of the patient, our own state, we open our toolbox and try to choose and use the technique that best fits the needs of the game, of what we understand about the difficulty of the protagonist or the group. We do not do anything systematic, we are craftsmen. We have chosen to present a very simple game, without any technique used, except for the initial soliloquy, with a stabilized patient suffering from paucisymptomatic forms of schizophrenia. This is to demonstrate how the possibility of encounter, constitutive of existence, is a fundamental dimension of psychodrama.We thank you for the examples you have given us, they will be a source of inspiration and will fill our toolbox.To John Nolte:We thank you very much for your comments which honor us.The aim of the article was to present how the encounter in... (shrink)

본 논문은 오늘날 한국 사회에서 압축적 근대화 이후의 정신질환과 심리적 고통에 대한 정신의학과 심리치료의 요구와 필요성이급증하고 있는 맥락에서, 이러한 치료들을 무반성적으로 수용하고그저 효율적으로 시행하는 데에만 급급할 것이 아니라 이러한 심리치료에 대한 비판적 성찰도 동시에 이루어져야 한다는 문제의식에서 출발한다. 그리하여 이미 유럽에서 의사들 스스로 제기했던자기비판과 학제간에 이루어진 성찰에 주목하려는 것이다. 이러한목적을 위해 본 논문은 정신의학자 보스와 철학자 하이데거의 실제 역사적인 만남과 ‘졸리콘 세미나’에서 그들이 나눈 심도있는 대화를 집중적으로 탐구한다. 본 논문의 2장에서는 우선적으로 보스와 하이데거의 만남이 성사되는 과정에서부터 실제 ‘졸리콘 세미나’에서 두 (...) 사람이 대화에임하는 방식과 태도에 주목한다. 보스와 하이데거의 첫 개인적인만남이후, 실제 ‘졸리콘 세미나’에서 서로를 배려하며 보여준 태도는 앞으로 학제간의 대화가 지향해야 할 상호성과 개방성을 엿볼수 있는 매우 중요한 직접적 계기를 제공한다. 또한 3장은 정신의학자 보스와 철학자 하이데거의 대화가 직면한 도전적 과제를 집중적으로 탐구한다. 이를 위해 보스가 제기한 의학의 학문적 기초와 의술의 토대에 대한 비판적 질문이 과연 무엇인지를 명확하게밝혀보고 나서, 하이데거가 의학의 학문적 전제인 자연과학의 ‘대상성’이 지니는 의미와 ‘측정’이라는 방법론에 대해 어떻게 철학적숙고를 진전시켜나가는지를 알아본다. 나아가 4장에서는 하이데거가 의학의 학문적 ‘토대’를 밝히기 위해 학문의 ‘정확성’과 ‘엄밀성’ 을 어떻게 구분하고 있으며, 이를 기반으로 현상학적 사유로의 전환을 어떻게 촉구하고 나서는지를 고찰한다. 그러고 나서 정신의학과 심리치료의 토대를 이루는 인간의 본질로서 하이데거가 말하는 ‘현존재’와 ‘실존함’의 의미를 밝혀본다. 이와 같이 하여 본 논문은 한편으로 ‘졸리콘 세미나’에서 의학, 특히 정신의학과 심리치료의 정초를 위한 철학적 사유의 이론적 작업을 고찰하고, 또 다른한편으로 앞으로의 심리치료와 철학의 학제간의 대화에서 진정한인간이해에 토대를 두기 위해 필요로 되는 ‘철학함’의 실천적 방식과 태도에도 주목해본다. (shrink)

Limitless is a movie (released in 2011) as well as a novel (published in 2001) about a tormented author who (plagued by a writer’s block) becomes an early user of an experimental designer drug. The wonder drug makes him highly productive overnight and even allows him to make a fortune on the stock market. At the height of his career, however, the detrimental side-effects become increasingly noticeable. In this article, Limitless is analysed from two perspectives. First of all, building on (...) the views of the French novelist Emile Zola, the novel is seen as the report of a closely monitored experiment. Subsequently, building on the phenomenology of Ludwig Binswanger, I will show how the cognitive enhancement drug not only boosts the protagonist’s information processing capacities, but also modifies his experience of space and time, his sense of spatiality, his way of being-in-the-world. On the basis of these (complementary) analyses I will indicate how genres of the imagination (such as movies and novels) may play a significant role in assessing the societal implications of emerging technological developments such as neuro-enhancement, especially during the preparatory or anticipatory stage. (shrink)