A Violently Acting Young Person's Will to Meaning and Love

A Violently Acting Young Person’sWill to Meaning and Love

18th World Congress on Logotherapy, June 22-26, 2011, Dallas, Texas

June 22-26, 2011

Timo Purjo, PhD, Helsinki, [email protected]

Doctor of philosophy (philosophy of education, ethics, value education), University of Tampere, Finland

Founder (1996) and executive director of NonFighting Generation, a registered nonprofitassociation

NFG is a nation-wide youth education organizationspecialized in preventing youth violence

June 22-26, 2011Copyright © Timo Purjo

Who am I?

Outline

1. Introduction2. Research questions3. Method/key literature4. Findings5. Discussion/conclusion6. References7. Time for questions


1. Introduction


A. Backround My doctoral dissertation (in Finnish, title translated:)

From a violent youth to responsible humanity. The existential-phenomenological conception of the human as a basis for youth education in life skills with special ethical emphasis.

Starting point a conception of the human beingFinnish philosopher and psychologist Lauri Rauhala

1. Introduction


A. Backround (cont.) Rauhala’s holistic conception of the human being Consciousness

I. Psychic level cf. FranklII. Spiritual level cf. Frankl

Physicality cf. Frankl Situationality (or situatedness)

1. Introduction


A holistic conception of the human being, Rauhala & Frankl

1. Introduction


B. My paper / this presentation Ethical education Conscious conception of the human being Recognizing an adolescent as a person

I. Frankl’s meaning of love Violence as a problem of meaninglessness and

lovelessness→ education towards ethical behaviour and

responsible humanity

1. Introduction

B. My paper / this presentation (cont.) Life full of meaning and love

eudaimonia Scheler Frankl Aristotle?


2. Research questions


1) What does it mean to recognize an adolescent as a person and what kind of an attitude it requires from the educator?

2) Is there a link between a life full of meaning and love, or the good existence of a person, and the concept of eudaimonia, derived from Classical Greek philosophy?

3. Method/key literature

Method– Dialog with literature– Phenomenological attitude– Goal: to create new knowledge

Key literature– Max Scheler, Viktor E. Frankl and Elisabeth Lukas– ”Franklian” pedagogs Karl Dienelt and Beda Wicki– Heikki Ikäheimo (Axel Honneth)


4. Findings


Educational relationship as a human relationshipAn educational relationship is necessarily a humanrelationshipThe starting point for education should be the adolescent as a person with potential to becoming a personalityWicki: A child has all the spiritual capacities that logotherapynecessitatesKorczak: An educator should see the child as a partner in performing miracles, or a co-magician

4. Findings


Educational relationship as a … (cont.)Ikäheimo: Recognitive attitudes constitute the quality of the human relationship Loving Respecting Esteem

4. Findings


RespectStriving to perceive a young person as an independent thinker and actorTaking the judgments that the young person poses as possibly valid judgmentsAcknowledging the human valuableness of a young person, the intrinsic value that he or she represents Believing and trusting in the young person’s possibilities in growing and developing into a personality

4. Findings


LoveValuing or caring about someone’s subjectively good life, happiness or well-being (“good for someone”), not instrumentally but intrinsically (“for her or his own sake”)Seeing the spiritual person, his or her genuine being and the possibilities created by values in him or herPedagogical love

educational goals: an ethicality of the will (goodness), veraciousness of thought (truth) and empathy and aesthetic character of emotion (beauty)

4. Findings


Respect and love Whereas the recognitive attitude of respect makes us

persons in the first place the recognitive attitude of love is something that makes our life as persons better in various ways

4. Findings


Love as a meaning and as a basis for happinessAristotle: The attitude of being concerned with someone'seudaimonia – good life, happiness or well-being - is calledphilia - best translated as loveFrankl: Love provides happinessvs. Freud: pursuing happiness is the guiding principle of human conduct happiness is nothing but experiencing strong emotions of

pleasure

4. Findings


The relation between meaning, love and happiness

4. Findings


Youth education to orientate towards common goodRecognitive attitude of esteem based on contributions to the common good, or to the good of others one dimension of having a full status of a person in social live being valuated in this sense is the basis for one’s enduring

self-esteemA violently acting adolescent expects esteem from others despite their external behaviour

4. Findings


Youth education to orientate … (cont.)The educator’s recognitive attitude of esteem brings confirmation to the fact that the adolescent is being regarded as a person fit to be held responsible the educator recognizes that a young person is able to

contribute beneficially to the good of others strengthens the young person's view that they are important,

that they are and can be someone to someone else Frankl: a young person is responsible and must actualize the

potential meaning of their life

4. Findings


Youth education to orientate … (cont.)The recognitive attitude of esteem means that the educator values a young person inasmuch as they out of their own free will contribute to the good of others fitting response only when one's voluntary contributions are

beneficial to the well-being of other persons a person should not be esteemed for violent actions or such

actions or skills that are only beneficial to themselves

4. Findings


Youth education to orientate … (cont.)It is the educator's duty to provide opportunities for the young person to promote the good of others the idea is that when young persons feel they are useful to

others, they will spontaneously start striving for opportunities where they could contribute to the common good

it is extremely important to give positive feedback also from trying

validation must be continuous to get started, confrontation could also be needed

4. Findings


Contributing to common good leads to own well-being

5. Discussion/conclusion

In the present valueless and merciless world it is challenging to live a life that is meaningful and full of love

An educator's duty is to help young persons in striving for happiness via searching for love and meaning in their lives

There is hope that the lost humanity will begin to flourish again through youth education with special ethical emphasis


6. References


Ikäheimo, H. (2003, November). Analysing Social inclusion in Terms of RecognitiveAttitudes. Paper presented at the 1st Annual Conference of the Centre for Research on Social Inclusion, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.

Ikäheimo, H. (2007). Recognizing Persons. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 14(5–6), 224–247.

Ikäheimo, H. (2009). A Vital Human Need: Recognition as Inclusion in Personhood. European Journal of Political Theory, 8(1), 31–45.

Ikäheimo, H. (2010). Making the best of what we are–Recognition as an ontological and ethical concept. In H.-C. Schmidt am Busch & C. Zurn (Eds.), The Philosophy of Recognition (pp. 343–368). Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

Ikäheimo, H. & Laitinen, A. (2010). Esteem for contributions to the common good: The role of personifying attitudes and instrumental value. In M. Seymour (Ed.), The Plural States of Recognition (98–121). Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan

6. References


Korczak, J. (2005). Wie man ein Kind lieben soll. (13th ed.). Göttingen: Vanderhoeck & Ruprecht.

Wicki, B. (1988a). Das Kind als Person. In A. Längle (Ed.), Entscheidung zum Sein. Viktor. E. Frankls Logotherapie in der Praxis (pp. 191–213). München: Piper.

Wicki, B. (1988b). Der Appell als Maßnahme einer existenzanalytisch ausgerichteten Erziehung. In A. Längle (Ed.), Existenz zwischen Zwang und Freiheit. Therapeutischer Prozeß und ezistentielle Entscheidung (pp. 94–99). Wien: Gesellschaft für Logotherapie und Existenzanalyse.

Wicki, B. (1991). Das Kind als Person. In A. Längle (Ed.), Das Kind als Person. Entwicklung und Erziehung aus existenzanalytischer Sicht (pp. 14–26). Wien: Gesellschaft für Logotherapie und Existenzanalyse.

7. Questions?


A Violently Acting Young Person's Will to Meaning and Love

Education

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