Frederick Douglass once said that it is
easier to build strong children than it is
to repair broken men.
In my research, I propose that one way of
achieving this is by increasing the role of
philosophy in our lives.
To support this, I show the role that philosophy
already has in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy,
or CBT.
In my presentation slide, you see the cycle
of CBT, according to which thoughts, feelings,
and behaviours influence each other.
CBT tries to change these three aspects of
ourselves to promote wellbeing.
In my research, I focus on examples of how
philosophical ideas are used by CBT to help
make changes.
For example, therapists use Socratic Questioning,
according to which they avoid telling clients
what they need to change; instead they ask
the clients guided questions, so that they
discover their own answers for themselves.
Another example is Socratic Know-thyself,
which is crucial in CBT, and many techniques
aim at improving self-awareness.
Even more important than Socrates in CBT are
the Stoics.
They believe that life events don't influence
people, it's people's interpretation or
perception of these life events which influences
them.
Similarly, therapists often use the example
of glasses with coloured lenses, which represent
the lenses of negativity, and often lead to
anxiety and depression.
There are many more examples like these in
my research, including Aristotle, and the
impact peoples' values have on their wellbeing:
in other words, what they consider important.
But right now, I want to turn to another point
that I make in my research, which is: if we
use philosophy to cure mental illness, why
not use philosophy to prevent it?
We use philosophy to make changes in people's
thoughts, feelings and behaviours, in other
words we use philosophy to reconstruct people,
so why not use philosophy to construct people
to begin with, instead of waiting for them
to become emotionally unwell?
My research then looks at ways of attempting
this, for example by increasing philosophy
in early education.
I examine previous attempts, and I make recommendations
for future ones.
This philosophical construction of people
might lead to future generations with enhanced
resilience, empathy, and responsibility, bringing
positive change to all aspects of people's
lives.
The conclusion of my research is that we need
to reconsider the role of philosophy in our
lives, bearing in mind that it is easier to
build strong children, than it is to repair
broken men. Thank you.
