Publication Cover
Counselling and Psychotherapy Research
Linking research with practice
Volume 3, 2003 - Issue 3
63
Views
6
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Humanising forces: Phenomenology in science; Psychotherapy in technological culture

Pages 196-203 | Published online: 18 Aug 2006
 

One of the concerns of the existential-phenomenological tradition has been to examine the human implications of living in a world of proliferating technology. The pressure to become more specialised and efficient has become a powerful value and quest. Both contemporary culture and science enable us to have a view of human identity that focuses on our ‘parts’ and the compartmentalisation of our lives into specialised ‘bits’. This is a kind of abstraction, which psychology has also, at times, taken in its concern to mimic the natural sciences. As such, it may unconsciously collude with a cultural trend to view humans as objects, like other objects, and thus fit ‘normatively’ into the emerging world of specialised and efficient systems. This paper examines how the findings of a phenomenological study of psychotherapy reflect a movement by people in psychotherapy to recover their sense of human identity in ways that always transcend any form of objectification. Their human complexity is somewhat restored as they move back towards the concrete details of their lives where the human order has its life. In addition to considering the implications of these findings for restoring the uniquely human dimensions of human identity, the paper also considers the methodological role that an existential-phenomenological approach can play in supporting a broader view of science. In wishing to be faithful to the human order, it champions the value of the human individual as a starting point in human science. This includes a return to concrete experiences, the balance between unique variations and the ground that we share, and the movement from the particular to the general. As such, a phenomenologically oriented psychology may have an important role to play in helping the broader sciences remember the ‘human scale’ of things.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.