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Reprinted From: JOURNAL OF EXISENTIALISH ob. Vit, Noo 26 WENTER, 1966/67 Liska PUBLISHERS, INC HAPPINESS IS FOR THE PIGS: Philosophy versus Psychotherapy Herman Tennessen® Inoduction Ina Danish Encyclopedia, published around the tar ofthe century, 4 highly esteemed seentist wrote sa article on “Flying. Machines” “itis quite obvious," be concluded, “that none of these fantastic ideas shall ever materialize. Everpbody knows that nothing heavier ‘than water ean ever oat in water; by the same token iti logically Impossiie tat anything Reaver than air can every inthe ai.” ‘Aod while he jublandyavved at his uamistakabe conclusion, oe ‘Se is window birds sed through the sky (TI, p.198).** Analo- ‘gous, and similarly ldirous, soit as often been argued, was the ‘Siuation of the dogmatic negativsts who, ual recealy, desied the possibilty of human space wave: the deniers were already on board 4 spaceship, soaring, whiting through am immense, absurdly in- ierent vas il void, totaly vacuous, except for homeopathically sparse excipients of inconsequemial motes of dust and specks of light: al Bindly blank, deadly deat, tigily glaring with sublime pathy ‘This image has now become commonplace (appearing even inthe inaogural speech of a US. president). tis most fequenty employed homiectically: to foser and promote human gregriousess, “We sae all in the same boat" ete. More intriguing, however, seems to Ime a queston, impcy suggested in te metaphor: What wondrous ‘mechanisms have permited Man to remain deluded about bis own ‘cosmic conditions, and, in face of all the evidence to the ontary, Gene for Advanced Studies in Theoretical Psychology, Unive e anced Studies in Thececal Psychology, Univesity inc ofthe peat many Nborapic referees, noon have een ied 182 ‘maintained a basicaly Ptolemaic (i any) “Wettanschauung”? The shortest ino: simplest, explanation offts @ reference 10 the (a) comnitive and (b) empathetic “dsitegiy” of human insgxte (ot) “dsimegratedess” of Man: the ability (a) to hold cognitvely in- compatible views or positions, or (b) 10 prevent knowledge {rom peoetratng “oltional” (te) personality layers and this permiing to remain purely "intllectuat"* One of the, inthis tess, most ‘lective ontolgial and eschatological hebetants, is, cording to Heidegger (1, 1-& 2, sections: 27, 34:38, 71)? Man's kasck for extracting intervals oot of his total term of Being and fillag them ‘with work "and other pastimes, external senssions ("Neuer"), hater and smallilk ("dar Gerede”), ete. This, to setur to the fanalogy,empovers the crew and passengers in the spaceship 10 20 (on, polishing orass and playing bridge, blisflly unaware of thee “cosmic situation” They are all psychologically healthy, content, well adjusted snd accommodated: ontologicaly secure. They have a feeling of intepral selfhood, of personal identity, and of ‘he per- ‘maneney of tangs. They believe in their own coninuits—n being made of good, lasting stuff—and in meaning and order and justice in life and in ‘he universe (eg, Laing, Lil). In the most fortunate ceases, there is 4 good, bealhy unconditional surrender and sub- mission tothe norm of nicety and normalcy ofthe average, square headed, stufshited, sanctimoaious, middleclass North-American church-goer and Bridge player, with his pueudo-inelligent, gua progressive, sinilcultored, pltituinal smalalk. Happy days! ia {his the best of all possible worlds, One doesn’ notice until io tte, In short: Al's well (since nobody notices the end of “al that well") un ene night: the day's work i well done and al the ship's crapulat fois fantcally engulf themselves in 8 deadly serous fame of bridge (il ite time forthe nightcap and the tranquilizer) ‘One of the “cummies,” a champion bras polisher, aufeng from fan acute ease of uncaused depresion, goes 10 lie down for while; he doesa’t hae a dime forthe juke bon the room spanful sated ‘with embarrasing sence, Instanly aad unexpectedly he i stack * Se, for a arity of approaches to this problem cuter: Ca, C4 FR HDA dod, RIT 13 BBD Bo, ROIS, BF 95, Te by an exeeratve cuse of invered serendigty. He suddenly, in un- bearable agony, sees himself os an upholtered pile of bones and Kovekles, with the softer parts shing up in a bag'on the frat side, and his whole lie as a ludicrously bret interlude between embryo and corpse, two repulive earctutes of inself (ZI p. 112). As for this fying fares, this nauseatingly trivial burlesque in a whining colin, and its aimless, whimsial fight though the void: “What is It all about?” The question permeates him with dread and anguish, ‘ith “ontological despa” and “existential frustration” (UI p. 188). “Angsten” (Kietkegnard) constrains ou of aim all his puny, pling ‘ated, and pety ambitions in brass and bridge, and ls hin wih fare and compassion for his fellow wavelles, In other word, be ha become a philosopher, an alienated, nostic “cosmopath," and, 0 ipso, a case fr psychologists and paychoherepiss, some of whom ‘rant to study him and label is "Daseinelse,” others to "uasick™ him a wel ‘This is in a metaphorical nutsbel, the background for the tap- comic encounter of cial psychology and existential philosophy. 2. Why Existential Philosophy? “What isi all about?” Mija (in Brothers Karamazov) felt that ‘hough his question may be absurd and semeles, yet he had to ask jt that, and he had fo ak iti just that way. Socrates claimed that an unexamined lie is not worthy of man, And Arise ssw ‘Man's “proper” goal and “proper” limit in the right exercise of those faculties which are uniquely human. It is commooplace that ‘men, unlike ober living organisms, are net equipped with builtin ‘mechanisms for automatic maintenance af their existence. Man ‘wool perch immediately if be were t0 respond. thin caviunr ‘ment exclusively in tenas of unlearned bidogicaly inherited forms ‘of behaviour. In order to survive at ll, the human being must problem as to what would constitute 2 cure ‘or at east a step in a note “heathy” direction. Freud's patients were largely sufering from heavy hysteria, dramatic paralyzaions, ioe ablity to talk or move. The more advanced countries today have aught up with many Utopian ideals concerning economie poverty land unquestionably piychopath-teating authoritarian Carly struc tures, while at the sae time Beliefs in gods and devils, heaven and hell, angels and immorality have almost vanished. In these countries people sufler less frm sightmarish misery than ffom the more Sule disorders previculy buried by the hush and biuer struggle for existence. The finial psychologists are unexpectedly. con {oned with patients who by all socal criteria are tremendously successful and well adjusted. ‘They ave. justprematurely, at it were—antcipated te dying groan, Wan Mitch's three-day long shriek (72): hat is all about? Thus what once was an obviovely ommendatory endeavor to abolish poverty and ignerace, i slowly raising before us a problem, the severity of which wil inerease Ja ‘correlation with inctete in leisure time and socie-sconomic. and ‘eucatonal “progres.” he, the most humanly flevant question of all: Whar doe it meus 10 be Mon, whar is the Lot of Mankind in cosmos? What once vas an objet of idle contemplation, has re- ‘cently became a concem for economists and theologians, fr scents ‘ad creative arts, pahologts, psvehitsts and educators 2.1. Pia Historica ad Esistentalismum. “The eae: ile cootemplators, the socalled “Ionian phibsopbers fof Natur” were rather nave and optimistic. *. «they wondered ‘originally atthe obvious difcules," says Arstoue® "then advanced ‘znd sated ficulties about the greater mates, e., about he moon tnd the wun and the stars, and then about the genesis of ce whole “Universe.” ‘The ret severe erdcsm sets in with Heraclitus who, as ‘everybody Knows, became rather tightly obsessed by th insight ‘tat everthing change; and some of bis successors even more by ‘he alleged consequences ofthis observation: "Nothing ext!” (in Parmenices’ sense of "ext"), Take for example the oll of thet meses, four an exe tat thcy love SM fone the enbiiy, the “opjatve teth i one wana ofthe cognitive, etme contat of these messages, Thus, daring the reading of Soy Sane’ celbrated Te Mr, one can become ceply speed bY the Wasteland and toame distance tetneen humen minds, which offen has occupied Sues Sod ramatise rough the year, and not leas inthe tweet cetuy, One is seid by 8 terse sion —"tbe lone ie of man mi ssi se and) 6 epic pemoniton--"and tho tw always be." Uatl oe Tivo taces ones acqaistance wit Leoni Andes “The ‘Stren Who Were Hanged” andthe mind is sodenly opened 19 few insight, one Giametially poste, it might seem. One feck {ored by Andis to consid that human beings ate indeed ble fo undemand cach tier el with each oe, Hetly themes ‘ah each cles and this 10 sich an event that Andiejev's seven tebe cangt, as woe, be banged apart and indiualy on the tallow. ilsuch ype of berry descriptions as Sane's and Andie’ are prise emaciated by rational and utless analy the ready pected objecte skeleton wil say something sat the impossibility Gr pusibity of umen contact in ste uations or Goring exteme leunstanes of al Kind Tes cleat that ese pele forme tom mate it simpler forthe cool and detached analyst 10 And tecive methods for controling the rues wich apply f nerhuman ont ie identcation with ther peopl. peopie-retaton, Sid even enable the anayt to drow paccal ferences of val ier spied papcolog te “coumscog” psjcolgist, However, the ‘Sina rein, mt as lopco-phosopical prado, bat as & foee heurstedvacic predeament: 1s 1 praceal possible 1 CDrmmuricate na uel wey fhe coure-f fesupgesons which Soo spece” formulaions may bine been inended to uansms, 193 without lowering tbe level of presses, and stressing empathy rather than clarity? Rather than “preciing” language, we may have 10 “breakthrough language in order to touch life,” and tra the eom- rmunicans involved into “victims, burat atthe stake, signaling through the fames” (AS). This may account for, sa, art's resort to drama for an empatbecc transmission of his cooteations, It ie 2 question however it iodivats (or ta even by vail to excise) the petal continental grandoqueace and the particularly pompous tevonie {urgiiy in Heidegger's high-fown, glutinated, conglomerate of bom- brsticnelogisms. In the context of German philosophy, Heidegger ‘syste rythm has th pecliaely mesmeriaing eBectof kote drums, ‘nding a shore-ut, as it were, from the receiver's tympanum directly te his voltonal layer 3. Why Clinical Psychology? Sk nee aeialael tee eee pecan Sie scence at weenie See aan Sw aecaeae Tete etcccrerea ain oie retaarneemees reat eaea ena aac sees vou iets rors eeereeeacs eens Hac tnan Sethe ae ES i ee cae ee bere eee ree Si hatred ie acto Sains er aes Interesting instar st tows ph om Sars concept of "comcious- Sone Sian e fortuna cea ee ieee oreo ons Siti ci pantraaectormca S “sRecheches Phcrophiqu, VI, 1936-7. The American tastaton (1957) hat as sbaes Am Existetsit Theory of Cmctournes 194 mento sean wt wih Fra (6) Wha Se & ie Sen Si 8 ea petal ser poche 2 a nd tino be come © eal Se wp nme we te iy Seen ea vo eet publcniom (S12 and 13) oa oh aepron espe teem ost at i ee sen eae, ly ae Cairngorms oma ba ere ee itecapea ern tpl en Bt Stet cputon wih Dees 3, The Diagnostics. ects eeta ngayon tee a pence eet demaer e ee er sean ae se nat tanec a een eta ara ea Seat Fate ts aan croak gl ee cere ota vis haces ett ee nes ere ee epee a a Bench atee ea Meas a Frets us iti clncal pryehology, where this Freudian epoché De oe ai ere i gay ip (a “cage eect ne wee a Se he a ie cee fe ag is aria trom the Heidegger of Sein und Ze, i, te existent Poston when, opus sought be coavyed nt iro ton othe peent paper. The mos conspicuous Hedegarian ie force on te cagonics‘n vforamstey, his dundee. Heidegger’ “hemenestis of ma,” is "Datehsonaly t= of “sit sci Ano i by Bisvanger dened a “ae phlosophick Phinomenoloice Erne der aporichn oder ramscendetler Siutur des Dae ab Idee” Insite ote tot hatte terre aainbie on, Daseinonasie, of ontcanls, sual fasting. ote aso hasty and protege one ann fp Wonder ing i the apparent indiference est genes ash sens on surace. There a nagging suipico thatthe diagnoses re explo ing Heidegger's ext anune inode o "hep alag” td this Keep ean ad inated by the horror of the bets hnmoae cnicentae wt which thy ae iehany confotes The Freudian posivi, paca, and tolerance have ip Dae: anulze been etpolted into the phenomenoloel “redaction “bracketing epoch the eompete asuncce fom jodgne, bY tears of which the abr hove (lero). Diwan {aks an aide othe sue. commited by hs os fous Pte hen West which was once desrbed by Rieguard a characte isi of te exec sage ine He so ite Linacre Cnty to fad out what hind of pla he hs than and Yo ge thorough description and diagnons. Sometimes the cae Tay tvs; he specimen is subsumed der cen hrowe cles. Bt tot too rarely dos this Linas Bod plas unigue 4 Sever ae of he rater vaconscotina cise decibed by one diagnose Roland Kubns Rudo Trou shat what Raley deen 4 Me inthis ("em Leben in der Spanang’). He het "ee ‘erhle Doseinsche™ which permits hm to slate between “ie verwesende Welt es Kees” and" linsende Wel det Stan” Oh its ao sat: ten necropobi and neophii When Rasa isa his best he coplats with hog a the moment when they ae lwtchered, And tate clear ht ts iby ao mean sco fr ‘snd eytrows. On the conray, wha Kobo's pseoation seems 10 comey isthe a: "80 what” Doesn't everbody" Ths my for'n ot too ove convention, ptt bougeos paehtheagy 198 Recently a Swedish paises of this school, Lars Ulerstam, was touring Europe, in ah atiempt to reduce the shortage of crpecs or neerophiles by persuading his audence to bequeath, no just cys abd Kidneys, et, but the whole body, to Necrophiles Anonymots, “The underying ssomption is, ofcourse, that We sould not ie in to the midele-lass, puritans pejudee, according to which eenin, ‘oaventional forms ef (say, sexual) le are in any way preferabe, ‘ealbir”s ‘Medaid Bois extends the total ethical indiferene of existent analysis "both to psychotherapetic techniques nd to pracical co Sequences and aims." This may look most impressive as a phe omencogical program (with ite “bracketing” and epoche"), bu is certainly not consistently cared out in practice. 32. The Prelate Even the most extremist dagnostis (Binswanger, Boss, Buytenih Kua) cannot be sid to be completely treed from horatory ten cencies. The frequent references 10 “resolutenes," “authentic,” © (audatory), and “Allglcbket,” "mausaise J,” “espondeny, fe. (derogsory) ae unering indications inthis dieeon. However, the whole seene changes completely, when we turn from any dubious iagnosc to typical exponents for what I shal here all “prea "=* ‘Durog the Hst few yeas after the Second World War tendency was vaguely detectable among psychotherapists to secede from te fonthodox Freudian passivity and allundestanding tolerance, and = turn to 2 more expostulative old-fashioned Victorian atitude: don't give me that Pll youself together young man and save yout For camps of preomigaly “diagnostic” clini payehology and is esentalistshenomenotogeal genealogy, vide eg 7” BT Pare I, 1) 8515 and "Der Fal len West Sebeizer Ari far Neuro Pryehiaie 1944 VoL 58. pp. 258-277: Vol. $4, pp. 9.11). 330.36 1958, Vol 38 pp, Wedd: BP BO.! & 2 Ce, E3, ES K: LI M2: MIS: 2 appevdbs) 315° 98 85. “+ Apia it it by no mean easy to draw the line, The biography in he ek sugges spe more les yc examples of “Pree” (G12 Ch, Arid M. Bi. & Jobn A Gsson! The Haman Peron (RS 95h) Fu 2 a's, apd Frank The Dacor and the Soul tn Iroducon fo Logtherapy, (NY, 1955), FL 2. MII & 2M, M34 N2C), 197 sly excuses! You know you can if you want... "It wouldtt be too surprising if tis psychotberapeutc metamorphosis were in fact sooted in some ea (is-interpretations of post-war existentialist, ‘whose main incentve, soi often seemed, was to fie a rocket inthe rear of their feow beings and shock them out of their “existential ‘ethary.” Feask! 1F43, p. 152) popularizes the dflerece between ‘lassie, Freudian, psychoanalysis and his own so-called "logoterapy" 2 follows: "In psehoanalsis the paiet lies on 2 couch and must tel tings that are disagreeable to tel. In logotherapy the cient sits ‘eect and must bear tings that are disagreeable 10 hear” This, of feoure, is not anything entirely unfamiliar to psychologists. The ‘earliest Reicheans were perhaps less verbose, but certaialy more ‘icously aggresive in their attacks om patents “character armour" and “neurotic equiv” than any ofthe rather nice and amiable ‘pelatcs—from Horney, Rogers, Maslow, Jourard and Jaboda, to ‘Ungersma and Viktor Franl. In point of fact, they all seem rather antous to please. They have—more so than ay philosopher—really “ken to heart MeTaggse’s famous line: “The ality of metaphysics 5s tobe found in tae comfort it can give us.” Whed, for instance, ‘Patient is found te be uncomfortably aware of his fnitade—suer- ng from “sickness unto death” or "Sein 2um Tode—then, maintains ‘Frank, psjehodyramc iterpcetations (!) simply will not do ‘eranquiie avay” bis dread and angush (“Angi”). The only thing ‘that ean hep here is “philosophical understanding” (F43, p. 193). “The ask of the clnieal psychologist is to determine the “beings,” the “mode of beitg.” the "Daminewete” proper to the patent in question, It is ther up to the therapist to preserbe the myths of ‘metaphysics that will "uniek” (M2, p. 5) this particular “cosmo path," and to couch him into his metaphyic, his “philosophical” “understanding, wih such satanic cunning and deceiving nese (“pall ater than push", tht it gives the pant the peasant Uksion of having discovered "the meaning of hit ie himself. In other words "this alleged "new approach in pastoral psychology” (UI) dei theory ‘and practice indsinglshable from the applied peychology of Dr. [Reling in Henrik Teen's Wild Duck, who furnished all bis fiends land aequsintances—of whom he suspected that they were lable 9 track up, were tey 19 face the horror of trath-—with carefully lected aloe made "fees." The only diferece i this, Dr. Rell ing pictured 25 a cslusioned, sophisticated high-brow, 2 warm heared, sentimental cynic, a "ight of infinite resignation” (Kierke> fan). The prlais are completely devoid of this air of sophisti tion (which, Ineideatly, the Husser-Heideggeian thunder language to seme extent seems tod (© the aprons). Wh ope wine pecing enthusiasm do the prelates devote themselves to thet undit- putbly commendable mission—to save ter fellow men from such Pemicious views of fe that cause “ontologies! uncerinty” and “exutentia despair (frustration, veeuum)” by providing ther with an impregnable metaphyseal armour, The fat tht paint cles feds mentally ex emotionally sick prevents the payeosberaps from enquiring into the posibiity of whether, orto wht extent, his patient ‘aay be cognitively right. It perfectly posube that » person with exitential frustration,” “ontoogieal despair,” oF simply “sublines ‘epresion” may, because of his abnormal condition, be in beter poston to look though the eamoufage of le that sil is deceiving the “healthy” psychotherapists, 33. On Suifation in General Among the most inpresive exentiist wring, are those of Peter Wesel Zapfe (21.142). The lui othe preeiaion I ‘aly supased by the rules constency in fis extents post ‘on is socalled "Binphy.” He sides sith te oterexstenialits Jn considering selcawarenest— awareness of ots own existence and ‘is eonditons—the iferentiing earmark of ay that which set {be tuman anal ot from all other Beings. Mas predicament is this: On the one hand we have mans high pista demands for ju apacy for inh snd Enowledge—pereton, Plas fs nclecal fenesy, contanly sharpened by ineated senbiy of the most feted mechanins f oman sleepin, all combined to de sma o face is own desperately iacoigibl fate of fly, stating im withthe mow sickening aversion agin ie in gee, ban cristae, and his ow “Desi” in pareslar, Maite desires Some deigce of psjchologeal ealthmust ster give wp bi igh Spinal demands, or hi umm capacities for Knowledge pei. ‘on, OF be mus overcome is inibiens agit decrvng axel In son, bem reign vies ay aempt towards “el-eaion 199 tion” (Jourar), “self acusization” or "fll-nomannes" (Maslow), fad seek himseit& happier idol—che happy-go-lucky pig, granting ‘wth wholehested contentment and 2 complete peace cf ming, with tbo demands beyond the garbage, a “vita and vusstil” Mein un fwarenese of is existence std ea. Thi tus dew, this is his existential choice in biosophic perspective. The ordinary, "peaihy” man esto evade thi choice. He may be fasig ip serv ice tothe idea of humaniation while atthe ste time surreptiously practicing syfcauon® by expoting the traditional onclgial hebe- fants: works relipian, metaphysics, alcohol. drugs lobotomy, every- Waynes, noseynes. external sensations. otdnary Inguage prose, ‘ltitadinal smal-ah or chatter oe-plaing oe-expestancies, soil houms, sg insanity or conformit.** "There cannot be much doubt tat among tbe many neans of sus cation, th safest long time ontological ebetants ae lar. (usta) pliystal or mental exertion, and non-ntegrted religon (Uke, 53, Kierkegaard’ contemporary Danish Lutheranism). Either one may be used as opium forthe people. "Work,” reads the Constitution of the USSR, (1936), “isthe duty of every eiizen. acordng tothe prinsple: “He who does not work, neither shall he et.” The day isnot far away when two per een of the U.S.A. population wil be able to produce more than the ether siney-cight per cent can possibly consume. The Americans shall have to kill 60 bilon more fee hours. Leite counslos wil have more than flty week-end rnearoses on their hands, Arstolle sad thst a societ, unprepared for tre leisure, will degenerate in good times. "Too much leisure with too much money hasbeen the dead of societies across the apes, That i when nations cave in” (Wiliam Rustl ip B10). Rober Jungk (US. 2) has recently devoted series of TV progtans toa stody of work addicts and their “lesueons” in more advanced societies (Scandinavia! where “the future has already begun” His sluion i to form quartets, repair or Bild one's own TV sets, or etter stil, +O evi. ++ Vide, p 1 of Stanley Paluchs enlightening comparion of exten lt acy Henge) nd ea stephoge es 4 Acsoring to Rich Blinan of Rand Corp. quotes ale 819. p 2 200 Dulld compleelyweess machines—someting lice Caler’s “mobiles” with bulein moter. Whetber this may bea "beter answer” than 2- ‘hing peatic psychotherapists can ofr, seems to me a toseup. The lime is close when professional basebal,fotbal, hockey, wrestling and roller-skating just won't do to Keep the ibe force under asi ently permanent sedation. An increasing numer is seking higher {hrils—or more tiling “highs "Someone said he had a fiend who liked to shoot model airplane due, No one else had hear of that. Snifing gl, yes; but ot shoot Ing. They had heard of people doing vometbingto paegore und shoe polish snd then shooting it ut the high wat seforted fo be no good Heroin, of course, was the best. Heroin and a bombit. It gave the ‘best high, completely relaxed, not problem ia the world.” "But tha’ not relly the best high,” one adit said, ‘Do you ‘know what the best high really i?” The voice was verious, Everyone turned and stayed very quit to hea, maybe, of anew Kind of high hat was beter than heroin, better than anything ele. "The best high ihe voice was low and somber—is death Silence, ‘Man, that's ‘outa sight, ths somethin" ese. Yeab, mo fee’ at all” Everyone ‘agreed, The best bigh ofall war death, [Even more unfortuoate i the suleating impotence of religious myths. Atheism is extnt ia the more advanced pars of the world for lack of opposites. A serious atheist is considered in Scandinavia 8 slightly fuderous bore. The myths are neiter pompoutly con.

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