Philosophy as training for your heart and mind

One way of understanding what we are doing in philosophical counselling or coaching is that we living the life of philosophy. I do not mean theoretical reflection, I mean taking an honest and searching look at ourselves. Philosophy, an ancient Greek word, means "love of wisdom." To live philosophically is to commit yourself to living as wisely as you can.  


This is why I say that philosophical coaching is like personal training at the gym, only for your mind and heart. You can tell a philosopher by how they live.

People sometimes criticise philosophy because they expect it to be easy and entertaining. As though you could sit on the couch, turn on the TV, and grow in physical strength and fitness. Philosophy is about cultivation. This is why Socrates praised the examined life as the best kind. He was a father, a craftsman, a soldier, and he died for his commitment to truth and goodness. His notion of “examination” was concrete, it was a way of living, a way of being with one another, an active commitment to becoming what you might be.

Robert Solomon wrote a book called The Joy of Philosophy. That's the perfect title. I have done philosophy all my adult life, after discovering it during the year I spent in an Italian monastery, where medieval philosophy was there among the few English-language books on offer. And it has been a joyful journey. A practice of the head, and heart, and hands. A way of loving the world, and paying deep attention to all that is good in life. ​