Resumen

BAPTISTA, Trino. Psychotherapists: Should we meet Arthur Schopenhauer?. Invest. clín [online]. 2016, vol.57, n.4, pp.409-426. ISSN 0535-5133.

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) is known as the pessimist philosopher and the psychologist of the will. He anticipated some features of cognitive neuroscience, psychoanalysis and evolutionary psychology, but he is relatively unfamiliar to most contemporary mental health professionals. Schopenhauer conceived the will as the universe’s essence; purposeful human actions are a small part of it. We do not directly perceive the will, but only its phenomena through the ‘Veil of Maya’, which, in contemporary terms, refers to the cognitive and perceptual limits imposed by our own biological species. This is why Schopenhauer posits that we have a representation (idea) of the world. We have a direct access to the will by perceiving our body’s desires. The will is insatiable and selfish. Because of these will’s features, there is no possibility of collective or global salvation. However, individual or existential salvation may occur by denying the will through a path that includes: 1) an aesthetic experience particularly with the aid of art, that allows contemplation of the ´Platonic Ideas´, lessening desire and promoting knowledge through contemplation,; 2) the ethical experience refers to the insight about the unity of the universe, particularly by realizing the ubiquity of suffering and neediness, and 3) the metaphysical step which promotes compassion and asceticism. These philosophical principles may add to specific psychotherapeutic techniques in expanding the individual’s awareness beyond herself/himself, and thus arise and improve the psychological outcome.

Palabras clave : Schopenhauer; asceticism; compassion; cognitive neurosciences; evolution theory; psychoanalysis.

        · resumen en Español     · texto en Inglés     · Inglés ( pdf )