by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Mar 3, 2025 | Anthropology and Evo Psych, Phenomenology and Existential Psychology, Philosophy
Why Does Psychology Ignore Philosophy and Anthropology? Time moves in one direction, memory in another.<br> We are that strange species that constructs artifacts intended to counter the natural flow of forgetting. – William Gibson, “Dead Man...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Mar 3, 2025 | Phenomenology and Existential Psychology
The 19th century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer is renowned for his profound and often controversial views on the nature of reality, ethics, aesthetics, and the human condition. Among his most intriguing and influential ideas are his reflections on the...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Feb 24, 2025 | Psychology of Film and TV, Psychology of Media and Culture
What is the Point of All Watched over by Machines of Loving Grace I like to think (and the sooner the better!) of a cybernetic meadow where mammals and computers live together in mutually programming harmony like pure water touching clear sky. These opening lines from...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Feb 5, 2025 | History of Psychotherapy, Psychology
What are our psychological blindspots in mass and individual psychology? “Maybe the only thing each of us can see is our own shadow. We are all like the blind man in the dark room looking for the black cat that isn’t there.” – The Great...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Nov 24, 2024 | Classical Mythology, Jungian Concepts
How Literally Did Ancient People Take Their Mythology? The nature of gods and deities in ancient civilizations has long been a subject of fascination and debate. Did the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Norse, and followers of Vedic religions literally believe their gods to...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Oct 27, 2024 | Jungian Concepts, Phenomenology and Existential Psychology, Philosophy
The Search for Meaning in Existentialism and Indigenous Thought Existentialist philosophy and indigenous worldviews offer contrasting but potentially complementary perspectives on one of life’s biggest questions: What is the meaning and purpose of human...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Oct 27, 2024 | Anthropology and Evo Psych, Jungian Concepts
Insights from Global Cultures on the Nature of Pain and Healing What can therapy learn from ancient cultures? Suffering is a universal human experience, yet the way we make meaning of our pain is profoundly shaped by our cultural context. By examining diverse...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Oct 23, 2024 | Classical Mythology, Jungian Concepts
What did Plato say about Atlantis: In Plato’s Republic, Socrates and his interlocutors set out to answer a profound question: What is justice? In the course of this inquiry, they imagine an ideal city-state, a utopia ruled by philosopher kings. On the surface,...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Oct 19, 2024 | Comparative Religion, Depth Psychology Approaches and Techniques, Evidence Based Practice and Research Psychology, Trauma, Depth Psychology, and Social Work
Should Psychotherapy Ponder the Mysteries of Philosophy and Anthropology? The specialized and fragmented nature of modern psychology has led to an abstracted and decontextualized view of the self, one that is disconnected from the embodied, embedded, and enactive...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Oct 18, 2024 | Philosophy, Psychology
Exploring the Contributions of Rollo May to Existential Psychotherapy Who was Rollo May Rollo May (1909-1994) was an influential American existential psychologist and psychotherapist. He played a key role in introducing existential psychology to the United States and...
