How can philosophical counselling help with …. A tricky career dilemma

Michael is a twenty-five year old student in the final year of his philosophy Ph D. He writes "I am now contemplating whether to try to become an academic or to go into business. I really would like to have a go at being a philosopher but realise that opportunities are few, and I may well have to go abroad. Moreover some of my friends from undergraduate days - who were less able academically - have started to earn serious money in the city, and to my surprise I find myself being a little envious. Can you suggest any insights that might help me ?"

Michael's dilemma is an important one; whether to try for an ideal career or compromise and follow "the herd". Whilst traditional career counselling can help with awareness of aptitudes and opportunities it may neglect personal values and even pre-determine the answer towards conventional paths. Conversely one's overall vision of life provides the focus for philosophical counselling. In this article I intend to show how this might help Michael make his decision

Philosophical counselling embraces numerous techniques, including conceptual analysis, critical thinking and the application of philosophical ideas. Although all of these could be employed to help Michael; the best place to start would be an exploration of his value system via what the Dutch philosophical counsellor Ad Hoogendijk calls "utopian thinking". The process can be generalised into three stages as follows :

1) Envisioning one's ideal life

2) Considering the requirements of one's career

3) Assessing possible careers in the light of the above

1) Envisioning one's ideal life - the life design

Hoogendijk suggests career-counselling clients map out a "Life Design", in which they consider their life in five or ten year periods between now and when they are eighty. For each period they should consider where and how they want to live, what relationships they want and what activities they want to be doing, paying no attention to practical limitations. Its particularly important that ultimate ends, things one values for themselves, are attained . Asking oneself questions like "What would I like written on my gravestone?" can help reveal these. Michael says he wants to have a go at philosophy, but his envy at his friends in the city is highly suggestive that he wants money too. Does he want money as an end in itself, or does he want it for the things it brings - if the latter, what are these ?

2) Considering the requirements of one's career

When employers size you up in an interview, they are thinking about how you fit into their plans - in this exercise the tables are turned and you evaluate them to see how they fit into your life design. From what he says, Michael might well want recognition, fulfilment and money. Of course, in reality one will not be able to get everything, so it would be important for Michael to list his requirements in order of importance.

3) Assessing possible careers in the light of the above

So far the process might seem to be encourage the sort of idealism that gives philosophy a bad name. The whole point, though, is not to suggest that Michael can fulfil his ideal life or career, but rather to help him achieve the most he can in the real world. Information-gathering is necessary at this stage, and conventional careers counsellors and friends' experiences might provide useful input. What sort of life do people in the city actually lead ? Are his friends enjoying their success ? Is Michael similar to them ?

The use of conceptual analysis and critical thinking

The philosophical counsellor's task whilst carrying out the above exercise is partly descriptive - what is Michael's ideal world ? but it will also be partly analytical. Michael talks about the value of "being a philosopher", but what is "a philosopher" and why is it so valuable ? Is it a means to an end ( e.g. being published) which could be achieved by other routes ? Equally his negative outlook about going abroad could be examined -might it not be a rewarding experience in the long run ? More fundamentally, Michael's assumption that he has to make a once and for all decision now needs to be questioned. Can he try being a philosopher for a year, and then reassess the situation ? Might he be able to do philosophy in a part-time capacity whilst earning serious money in another way ?

A career choice viewed as an existential choice

The decision Michael is making is of course an existential one - he is deciding what sort of life he is going to have, and what sort of person he will be. Existentialists such as Kierkegaard would say that such choices are part of the human situation. The anxiety he feels now is termed "existential anxiety" and is the price we pay for being free. Rather than trying to rid oneself of anxiety, we should use it as a spur to think seriously about life. Is Michael going to be a conventional commuter with 2.5 children ? Or does he want to achieve what the humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow called "self-actualisation", to be all that he could be? Philosophical counselling does not necessarily endorse one view or the other, but it would try to help Michael make an informed choice in the light of a critical appraisal of his values and the facts. In so doing it would aim to reduce a less desirable aspect of the human situation - "existential guilt", the feeling that one has not lived up to one's own expectations of life.

Originally published in The Philosophers Magazine ©Tim LeBon