This is a pre-publication version of the following article published in the Existential Analysis journal of the Society of Existential Analysis.
Please cite publication:
Fraser, N. (2024) Decolonising Existential Philosophy: Considering Disciplinary Decadence Within Western Existential Thought. Existential Analysis: Journal of The Society for Existential Analysis, 35.1.
Abstract
Existential philosophy is an infinite conversation across time and space, yet why are some voices idolised whilst others are exiled? This paper explores the encompassing phenomenon of colonialism through the lens of disciplinary decadence, advocating a paradigm shift away from a culture of exclusion and denial.
Key Words
Colonialism, decolonisation, sexual trauma, grooming, paedophilia, Nazi,
disciplinary decadence, existential
Decolonising Existential Philosophy: Considering disciplinary decadencewithin Western existential thought
Existential philosophy is an infinite conversation taking place across time and space, yet some voices are idolised whilst others are exiled. Introducing colonisation as an encompassing phenomenon experienced through various means of power abuse, this paper explores how different knowledge systems provide significantly different declarations of philosophical contributions. The Eurocentric Western canon obscures the rich global offerings of existential thought, near-exclusively drawing from an insular pool of key European thinkers. Once a self-reflective way of life, overtime Western philosophical tradition has sacrificed its dedication to wisdom and self-development for scientific legitimisation. This may illuminate why an expansive philosophical movement of practice and humanity has evolved into a systemised, theoretical canon loyally devoted to its key thinkers and traditions. Gordon’s (2014) concept of disciplinary decadence is introduced, warning how disciplines decay when they become godlike and fetishise their methods from a supposedly complete standpoint. Existential psychotherapy’s habitual advocacy for drawing on the contributions of nazis, paedophiles, and predators without transparency into their actions is challenged, giving voice to the victims and advocating for a paradigm shift away from a culture of exclusion and denial towards an era of inclusivity and consent.
Introduction
“Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfil it, or betray it”
Frantz Fanon (1961, p. 166)
In a discipline blaring with spoken and written dialogues, there is a sinister undertone within the world of existential thought. Classrooms clamour vibrantly as they echo the offerings of legendary thinkers whose pedestals reach beyond the clouds into the blinding light of divinity, eclipsing their shadow-sides and distorting the true origins of existential traditions. Students and academics alike flock from around the world to bask in this spectacle, each new admirer amplifying the power attributed to this elite group of intellectuals. Accepting their nuggets of wisdom with blinkered eyes, the same whitewashed sentiments are carried forth in contributions to a field which seems resistant of certain developments. Yet as the masses are distracted by the voices that shout loudest, a deafening silence is heard by some. A silence that is neither new nor acknowledged by those who find comfort in the status quo. The status quo upheld by therapeutic professions has been recognised as an institutional barrier that renders certain groups invisible (Ellison, 1964), evidenced by research into marginalised groups including those who have experienced racial (Burt et al., 2016) and sexual exploitation (Velez & Audet, 2017).
The 35th Annual SEA Conference "Back to Basics; Into the Future" invited speakers to challenge or advocate the status quo, with four themes of focus to consider. These themes will provide the structure for this paper, which challenges the status quo of the Eurocentric Western canon of existential thought through the encompassing phenomenon of coloniality and disciplinary decadence (Gordon, 2011). 1. ‘Reconnecting with our Roots’ addresses the denial of the diverse origins of existential thought. 2. ’Reflecting on our Evolution’ challenges the field’s idolisation of nazis, predators, and paedophiles. 3. ‘Engaging with Diversity’ highlights the systematic exclusion of global contributions of existential thought by considering colonisation and disciplinary decadence and 4. ‘Imagining the Future’ provides resources and offers tangible actions for institutions, teachers, and students of existential philosophies to decolonise the future of existential thought, reminding us that the first intervention is our self, our humanity; and inviting the reader to question how as individuals and as a collective community we can create a paradigm shift away from the current culture of exclusion and denial.
‘Reconnecting with our Roots: Denial of The Diverse Origins of Existential Thought
The Western canon of existential thought no longer recognises its own roots. This section will explore the tendency for Western existential institutes to promote misleading declarations of philosophical origins, obscuring the global heritage of existential thought.
Within the current knowledge system, cohort after cohort of students graduate with a thoroughly incomplete perception of the philosophies of existence and find themselves devoted to a specific selection of Eurocentric Western thinkers and ideas. Namely, the ‘European elite’ includes Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Jaspers, Binswanger, Boss, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Buber, Merleau-Ponty, and Frankl. This system of knowledge production is one which, apparently unashamedly, uses intellectual imperialism to colonise the minds of its followers into a culture of silencing, marginalising, and making invisible contributors outside the status quo (Ellison, 1964).
This devotion is recognised by Deurzen (2010, p. 343) who concludes that:
“Although existential psychotherapy has been practised for close to a century, it is in many ways still in its infancy. It has never gained the sort of recognition that would have made it flourish and it has remained the province of a handful of devoted practitioners. In some ways it has remained a kind of arcane secret, for insiders only, and there is a self-selective process among those who turn towards it.”
This short paragraph speaks volumes. It recognises the devotion which those who stumble upon this ‘arcane secret’ develop for the thinkers to whom they’re exposed. Yet it does not recognise that this devotion blinds people to the wider truths, strengthens the status quo, and narrows the follower’s openness to explore the diverse global horizons of existential thought which, as this paper will illustrate, are easily accessible. It recognises the reality of existential ideas being available only for ‘insiders’ and the ‘self-selective process’ of those who turn towards it. Yet it does not recognise the landscape of epistemic violence and the lack of representation, both of which make it an exclusive domain to which many may not feel welcome.
Nadal (2021) and colleagues address why representation matters. Highlighting lack of representation as a microaggression which has detrimental and painful impacts on racial and ethnic identity development, they recognise that scholars and community leaders have declared mottos like it's "hard to be what you can’t see," asserting why people from marginalised groups do not pursue certain career or academic opportunities (Sue et al., 2009; Nadal, 2021).
For a creative, inclusive, and autonomous tradition to develop, the emancipation of the mind from the shackles of intellectual imperialism is required (Alatas, 2000). For this, we may turn to decolonial theory which provides a new framework for knowledge production, demanding respect for the pluralisation of differences and giving space for silenced voices (Manning, 2021).
“Decolonisation involves identifying and challenging colonial systems, structures, and relationships. It is not “integration” or simply the token inclusion of the intellectual accomplishments by non-white peoples. Rather, it involves a paradigm shift from a culture of exclusion and denial to the making of space for other political beliefs and knowledge systems. It calls on us to think more broadly about why collective knowledge is what it is, and to alter entrenched power relations in tangible and significant ways.” (Aiyad, 2021, para. 3)
This paper invites the reader to question why knowledge systems exist as they do, introducing two key textbooks representative of contrasting knowledge systems to tangibly evidence disparity between the production and dissemination of ideas: ‘Existential Therapy: Relational Theory and Practice for a Post-Cartesian World’ (2015) by Yacqui Andres Martinez Robles in Mexico and ‘Everyday Mysteries: A Handbook of Existential Psychotherapy’ by Emmy van Deurzen (2010) in the United Kingdom. The rationale for selecting these two textbooks for comparison is as follows. The focus of both books is to present the origins of existential philosophy and introduce existential therapy/psychotherapy. Both books were published within a five-year timeframe. Both authors are well-respected figures within the current international existential circle, and both were invited to speak at the SEA conference which inspired this article. Both authors founded and directed their own teaching institutions of existential psychotherapeutic thought. Both books are used as core textbooks on the syllabi within the authors’ respective teaching institutions. Both authors are situated within different cultures and knowledge systems.
Robles begins the ‘History’ chapter with the line, “existential thought has roots that can be traced back to the start of human civilization.” (2015, p. 107) and goes on to write:
“it is possible to find existential ideas in many of the great thinkers in the history of humanity. After all, they were and are people who, like us, face existential dilemmas and paradoxes every day, many of which are shared by all human beings…” (Robles, 2014, p. 108)
This sentiment is partially echoed by Deurzen (2010, p. 1), who acknowledges the probability of existential thought having deep historical roots, writing “As a practice [existential thinking] is probably as old as the human ability to reflect”. While both authors acknowledge the long history of existential thinking, a key difference between these two texts is the selection of voices that each author chooses to include as they introduce their readers and students to the history and development of existential ideas.
Writing from within the Western canon, Deurzen (2010) primarily gives voices to the aforementioned traditional European white Western male thinkers. Beyond this, Chapter 12 dedicates nine pages to six female philosophers, and Chapter 25 dedicates five pages to ‘The American Contributions’ of Rollo May, James Bugental, Irvin Yalom “and others”. From the first publication of Deurzen’s textbook in 1997 to the second edition in 2010, in respect of the decolonisation of knowledge it appears that little has changed within the Eurocentric Western cannon. This is further evidenced by the reliance on the same select few European authors in journal articles published from within this canon. Yet perhaps there is hope in Deurzen’s comment that existential psychotherapy is in its infancy. Perhaps as it matures and recognises the value of nurturing and being nurtured by a wider variety of voices, the Western canon will feel secure enough to expand its horizons beyond the exclusive selection of thinkers to whom it currently seems hopelessly devoted.
Writing from within the Latin American canon, Robles (2015) provides a globally comprehensive historical overview of existential thought. While limited in his inclusion of Asian, Middle Eastern, and Australasian contributions, selecting past and present thinkers Robles gives voice not only to the European elite, as listed above, but also to thinkers from around the world. Offering extensive lists of names and references with brief conceptual introductions, Robles introduces influences from America, Canada, The United Kingdom, and Europe, before moving to Latin American existentialists from Mexico, Columbia, Argentina, and Brazil. Highlighting how language barriers perpetuate coloniality within academic thought and drawing attention to multi-cultural offerings, Robles introduces Afro-Brazilian existentialists and leading contributors of Black and Africana existentialism. Going beyond postcolonial analysis, decolonisation encourages re-thinking the world from Africa, from Latin America, from Indigenous places, and from marginalised academia (Grosfoguel, 2012). In his choice to include the typically silenced global existential voices, Robles honours his recognition that “many existential dilemmas and paradoxes are shared “by all human beings…” (Robles, 2015, p. 108) and goes to great lengths to illustrate this.
Having recognised the disparities of knowledge production within dominant and marginalised canons, the following section will consider how this may have evolved and the danger of disciplinary decadence.
‘Reflecting on our Evolution’: Idolisation of Nazis, Predators, and Paedophiles Within the Existential Canon
Within the context of existential psychotherapy, it is undeniable that many contributions provided by the aforementioned key thinkers have enriched the discipline in paradigm shifting ways. Considering its shared roots with the psychoanalytic tradition (May, 1956), in a discipline governed by increasingly standardised regulation since it’s Rankian and Freudian origins (Kramer, 2024) there appears to be a stark ignorance of the unregulated frameworks within which these philosophers were writing. This section will consider existential philosophy’s evolution, challenging the unquestioning inclusion of certain philosophical works within a discipline serving vulnerable people.
Kalmanson (2020) highlights the difference between Western theory and Eastern practice within existential traditions. Originally, philosophy was a dedicated practice of exploration, seeking wisdom from within the self and fellow thinkers. It was the antithesis of celebrity and status. Kalmanson’s (2020) extensive cross-cultural investigation traced how over time Western philosophy sacrificed its dedication to wisdom and self-development for scientific legitimisation. For context, scientification refers to:
“a process whereby the use of and claim to systematic and certified knowledge produced in the spirit of 'truth-seeking' science becomes the chief legitimating source for activity in virtually all other functional subsystems” (Weingart, 1997, p. 610).
This scientification of philosophy, combined with existential psychotherapeutic theories morphing themselves to adhere to criteria for publication and recognition in scientific journals, may illuminate why a diverse philosophical movement of practice and humanity has evolved into a mechanical, systemised, theoretical canon loyally devoted to its traditions and methods.
Gordon recognises the fetishisation of method as an extremely dangerous reality within the existential field, introducing the concept of disciplinary decadence: when one discipline assesses all other disciplines from its “supposedly complete standpoint.” (2014, p.86).
"Where such thought becomes the world, then the absence of an outside creates the illusion of omniscience. The discipline becomes godlike. Its precepts and methodological assumptions become all its practitioners supposedly need to know." (Gordon, 2023, p. 3).
The etymology of ‘devotion’ may illuminate why a culture that actively cultivates “devoted practitioners” (Deurzen, 2010, p. 343) has the power to generate a blinkered, demi-god-like worship of existentialists regardless of their actions.
12th Century ‘devocioun’: meaning "profound religious emotion, awe, reverence" Latin ‘devotionem’: "dedicate by a vow, sacrifice oneself, promise solemnly" “loyalty” Late 14th Century: "an act of religious worship, a religious exercise" (Harper, 2023, para. 1-2)
A Person’s Life is the Truest Expression of Their Philosophy
In a culture of devotion toying with the ‘ontic’ and ‘ontological’, the question must be raised about whether a person’s actions, lifestyle, and political affiliations are inseparable from their thought - and what this means for philosophy. Existing literature has investigated this at greater depth than this paper’s scope permits (Young, 1998). Briefly put, central to this dilemma is Heidegger whose dedicated membership and contribution to the Nazi Party from the 1930s until its dismantling at the end of the war is well documented (Paskow, 1991). Fernandez (2019) is one of over 900 Google Scholar citations that claim his successors are “indebted to Heidegger”. Yet despite his loyal students publishing “deflective” and “evasive” literature to exonerate Heidegger and his theory, there remains a widespread culture of “excuses and special pleadings” when it comes to holding the discipline’s demi-gods accountable (Rockmore, 1997, p. xiv). Nietzsche's anti-Jewish prejudices have been subject to countless polemics since the Nazis infamously heralded him as their anti-Semitic precursor (Holub, 2016). After years dedicated to exploring anti-semitism within Heidegger's Black Notebooks, Mitchell and Trawny (2017) suggest that concluding may be unethical because it does away with our responsibility to investigate and think. This paper advocates for investigation and thinking, for transparent education offering informed consent. The following sections will emphasise why.
Sexual Predators in the Western Existential Canon
Beyond the fetishisation of science and the exoneration of Nazis, there is a disturbing unquestioned devotion to paedophiles and predators. Despite publicly available records, many existential training institutions promote unquestioned application of their philosophies for working with vulnerable people.
As a survivor of sexual violence researching sexual violence, it was sickening to realise my now-published thesis unknowingly includes a predator’s framework of ‘freedom’ as part of its foundation due to the ignorance of current academic tradition (Fraser, 2021). And mine is just one of many unheard stories.
On 26th January 1977, the French newspaper Le Monde published a parliamentary petition written by author and paedophile Gabriel Matzneff. The petition was a reaction to the Versailles Affair, where three adult men were detained for photographing and having sex with children as young as 12. Matzneff advocated for their immediate release, arguing that children should be allowed to have sex with adults. The petition was signed by 69 scholars and public figures including names who remain central to existential education including Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Roland Barthes, Gilles & Fanny Deleuze, and Felix Guattari. The involvement that Sartre and de Beauvoir had with paedophilia and the grooming and seduction of young people has received a shocking lack of acknowledgment within the education of existential philosophies. Yet the words of their victims are available to be heard by those willing to listen, and it is inappropriate to study the perpetrators without acknowledging these voices.
Thirty years before Springora published her memoire ‘Le Consentement’ (Consent) (2020) which details her lived experience of being sexually groomed by Matzneff when she was 14 and he was 50, Bianca Lamblin (né Bienenfeld) published her memoir of being seduced by her teacher, Simone de Beauvoir.
“In an interview with her biographer towards the end of her life, when asked about her own sexual relations with Bianca Lamblin, a Lycée pupil of Beauvoir’s whom she groomed from the age of 16, Beauvoir explained that ‘if she had to help persuade reluctant women to be with such an ugly man (Sartre) who had bad breath and body odour, she did what had to be done’” (Bramley, 2024, p. 11)
De Beauvoir’s philosophy and exploitation of her students is further explored by Jain (2016) and Seymour-Jones (2008). In Beauvoir’s posthumously published letters to Sartre, Lamblin discovered the ridicule and contemptuous tone with which de Beauvoir wrote about her, inspiring Lamblin to write her own account. Lamblin (1996) details being handed over to Sartre and subsequently becoming part of a threesome with the pair, until she was abruptly abandoned by Sartre in 1940 as the war broke out, an abandonment especially shattering due to the couple’s lack of concern for her fate as a Jew in Nazi occupied France.
Lamblin’s words represent the lived experience of many victims who will never be heard. In her memoire (1996, p. 42-43), Lamblin described walking to the hotel the day Sartre would take her virginity:
“he said to me in a smug manner that “the hotel chambermaid will be really surprised, because she caught me taking another girl’s virginity only yesterday.” I shuddered inside, but I said and did nothing. I was so deeply offended… the vulgarity was so flagrant… I’ll never understand why I didn’t react to such boorishness… nor why Sartre saw fit to say what he did…
When I asked him to draw the curtains a bit more to shut some of the light out he refused flatly…
I hid behind the curtain of a closet to undress; I felt intimidated to be naked in front of a man for the first time.
I was distressed and did not understand why he was not his usual, gentle self; it was as if he wanted to brutalize something in me (but also in himself) and was driven by a destructive impulse, rather than the natural desire to initiate pleasurable physical intimacy.”
“Failure to appreciate reality sometimes takes the form of recoiling from it.” says Gordon (2014, p. 86), who warns that an inward path of disciplinary solitude eventually leads to disciplinary decadence. If we do not question the ethics of what we’re teaching and how we’re teaching it, we fall into decay, fail to evolve our fields, and cause harm through epistemic violence.
Validating Invisible Harm
“Psychologists would do well to recall those studies about too many people who turn up the voltage and look away from the pain, experiments that should have reminded us only of what we had already surmised about the many and the few and the just and forlorn—and, yet, even still, the biblical “still, small voice,” an attendance upon grace.” (Mendelowitz, 2020, p.1)
The psychological profession is abundant with examples of causing extreme harm to vulnerable people. To name a few: lobotomies, electro-convulsive therapies (ECT), and conversion therapies are practices which at one time were celebrated yet are now considered controversial largely due to the very obvious, visible harm being caused. Notably, even these practices are not yet distant history, with ECT and conversion therapy still legal today. In contrast to the long prevailing history of an “I need to see it to believe it” attitude with visible marks of abuse more readily accepted as ‘evidence,’ as a discipline and society we are slowly validating invisible harm which does not always leave a mark (verbal, psychological, oppressive, emotional, sexual abuse to name a few). The American Psychological Association (APA) offers a sanguine example, in 2019 acknowledging the invisible harm experienced as a result of oppressive gendered language which has dominated academic writing since its outset, endorsing the use of singular neutral “they” to promote inclusivity and reduce the inequality generated by the ‘neutral’ he/him/man terms (Gastil, 1990).
There is a clear necessity for validation of invisible harm within existential academic teaching. There is no red blood – which incidentally is a fairly obvious reminder of our shared humanity – being splattered on the white pages of articles causing the community to shudder in horror and exclaim, “is this what my actions are really doing to people?”. The wounds being caused are invisible for those who keep their eyes averted from the oppression of others, yet they are felt deeply.
‘Engaging with Diversity’: The Systematic Exclusion of Global Contributions
“The blocking of one’s capacity for wonder and the loss of the capacity to appreciate mystery can have serious effects upon our psychological health, not to mention the health of our whole planet.” Rollo May (Mendelowitz, 1997, p. 3)
Critically considering the Eurocentric Western canon of existential ideas unveils what at best can be described as shortcomings in many existential training methods, and at worst disciplinary decadence which entrenches exclusion and denial within a field whose capacity to wonder is stunted by its traditions. The bridges between global schools of existential thought are weak, and oftentimes require a VIP pass for international conferences, opportunities guaranteed to a select few highly-esteemed contemporary scholars with tickets priced so as to ostracise swathes of curious thinkers. Whether in textbooks or conferences, it is undeniable that representation of global voices is far from equal. Nadal (2021, para. 9-10) echoes the challenges of tokenism by addressing why representation is not enough. “Representation should never be the final goal; instead, it should merely be one step toward equity,” going on to state that,
“Representation should be intentional. People in power should aim for their content to reflect their audiences—especially if they know that doing so could assist in increasing people's self-esteem and wellness.”
As the devotion to the European elite swells, the shackles of intellectual imperialism tighten. This paper introduces imperialism, colonisation, and domination as an encompassing phenomenon experienced through various means of power which silence and oppress certain voices whilst celebrating others. The uniqueness of different colonised experiences (such as land, cultures, communities, languages, bodies, academia) is honoured with deep respect, making no attempt to generalise or diminish any lived truths and suffering experienced as a result of oppression and domination. To prevent ambiguity: racial and sexual oppression is clearly not ‘the same’. Yet, engaging with the lived traumatic experiences of those suffering within the current existential canon, it became impossible for the author of this article not to ignore a sense of shared experiences and mutual understanding amongst those interviewed. Those experiences include: being at the mercy of an extreme lack of sensitivity and awareness, including conscious censorship of personal and group history; feeling betrayed by institutions, lecturers, supervisors, and authors through mis- or no representation; re-experiencing traumas due to victim-blaming; and being belittled or othered due to the colour of one’s skin, one’s religious beliefs, or other personal attributes. Gordon (1997) outlines a racial-gender-sex-sexuality matrix used to challenge assumptions of these characteristics.
Decolonial literature offers a theoretical lens through which to make sense of different forms of oppression inherent within the Western Eurocentric existential canon and teachings that blindly apply it. The paradigms of colonial theory are shifting beyond modernity/coloniality to encompass the many layers of colonial power, arguing for all knowledge and lived experiences to be valued as equal (Veronelli, 2015).
““Coloniality" does not just refer to "racial" classification. It is an encompassing phenomenon, since it is one of the axes of the system of power and as such it permeates all control of sexual access, collective authority, labor, subjectivity/inter-subjectivity and the production of knowledge from within these inter-subjective relations.” (Lugones, 2013, p.3)
The term ‘academic colonialism’ generally refers to the one-sided accumulation of knowledge (Vellinga, 1973). Barker recognises the de-humanising harm of ‘normative’ cultures (2017). Gordon notes that while one group seeks justification, the other is self-justified, arguing that decolonizing knowledge necessitates shifting the geography of reason, which means opening reason beyond Eurocentric and provincial horizons (Henry, 2004; Gordon, 2011; Maldonado-Torres, 2011).
“Collectively, we can build a world where everyone’s existence is valued and respected, not diminished or undermined by our differences, but celebrated and embraced because of them. I carry this hope for this brighter horizon with a heavy heart, aware that achieving genuine change requires immense courage from the world. It necessitates confronting uncomfortable truths, dismantling false ideologies, and challenging systems built on lies.” (McKenzie, 2023, para. 5)
One does not have to peep far over colonised horizons to realise that this whitewashed landscape is a misrepresentation of the global contributors to existential thought and ignores an abundance of more representative resources. To name a few, ‘Black Existentialism and Decolonizing Knowledge’ (Gordon, 2023) shifts the geography of reason within philosophies of existence, race, Black and Africana thought, and global decolonisation. ‘Existential Psychology East-West’ (Hoffman et al., 2009) captures the difference between gifting knowledge across a two-way bridge in contrast to the oppressive imposing/instructing of knowledge upon another culture from an attitude of superiority. ‘Heidegger and Dao’ (Nelson, 2023) and ‘Cross-cultural existentialism’ (Kalmanson, 2020) remind us of the giants whose shoulders the European Elite are standing upon, challenging the Eurocentric canon’s limited perspective on the origins of existential thought and moving towards a speculative era of existentialism.
Without doubt, this paper can barely touch the surface of past and present global existential thinkers, yet hopefully the value and sheer ease of expanding one’s horizons is emphasised. If it does not decolonise philosophy, the existential field will continue to create and sustain the dominance of Euromodern knowledge (Gordon, 2019).
‘Imagining the Future’: Towards Decolonising the Future of Existential Thought
“There may not be as much humanity in the world as one would like to see. But there is some. There’s more than one would think… Love has never really been a popular movement and no one’s ever wanted really to be free. The world is held together by the love and passion of a very few people. Otherwise, of course you can despair. Walk down the street of any city, any afternoon, and look around you. What you’ve got to remember is everyone you’re looking at is also you. Everyone you’re looking at is also you. You could be that person, you could be that monster; you could be that cop… and you’re to decide in yourself not to be.”
James Baldwin (Dixon, 1970)
While tradition is fetishised and the lived impact of a canon lacking in transparency and representation remains ignored, the future of existential thought will remain oppressive and contradict many of the themes it stands for: authenticity, responsibility, and choice to name but a few.
“At a certain point, our books and journal articles, our preoccupations and ideals, disclose something about who we are and what drives us—something about character.” Mendelowitz (2011, p.1)
Kalmanson (2020) reminds us that philosophies should not remain theoretical. They should be practiced; lived. Simply being informed about the damaging colonised landscape within existential academia may not move those who process this information theoretically and unempathetically. Humans are nothing if not experiencers through their subjectivity. Without an injustice to resonate with, this suffering may be blissfully easy to ignore. Yet regardless of our history, one thing that connects us all is our humanity. As the lived experiences of those being harmed by the current canon are given voice, this reality will be harder to ignore than a theoretic exposé of inequality. Slowly but surely awareness of this issue is growing, and we who plant the seeds will continue to nurture them because for us they are not theoretical, they are felt deeply by ourselves and our ancestors.
This article does not advocate for ‘cancel culture’. It advocates for consent. A special level of depth is required to appreciate beauty born from something grotesque, and it is an existential given that each and every being is their own unique blend of light and shadow. Yet this discipline holds extensive social and political power, and guides clinicians to work with vulnerable people. Rightly, it harks about responsibility and transparency. This discipline, therefore, has a responsibility to teach transparently not just which theories exist but who exists behind the theories. This, at the very least, honours individual consent and choice regarding who one may or may not wish to follow and promote.
No longer should students be able to complete an education in ‘existential philosophy’ that Eurocentrifies and whitewashes the origins and evolution of global existential thought. No longer should descendants of families who perished under the Third Reich be gaslit into following Heidegger without being informed of his Nazi involvement. No longer should survivors of sexual abuse be seduced into appreciating de Beauvoir and Sartre only to traumatically happen upon their systematic grooming of young students.
Recent and forthcoming books and events are giving voice to the silenced. ‘Decolonizing Existentialism and Phenomenology’ (Fast, 2023) challenges the history of existentialism, highlighting that colonialism typically produces knowledge from lived experiences and perspectives of White Europeans and Americans. Centring on the experiences of peoples of the African diaspora, gender marginalised people, and queer peoples, new frameworks for understanding structures of meaning and consciousness within oppressive colonial orders are created. ‘Latin America and Existentialism’ (Murillo, 2023) addresses Latin America’s subordinated position in the existentialist canon, reevaluating the importance of its contribution to existentialist thought and rectifying its marginalisation in the current canon. The ‘Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Existentialism’ (Aho et al., 2024) addresses the intersectionality of global existentialisms. ‘Otto Rank and the Creation of Modern Psychotherapy’ (Kramer, 2024) challenges the long-accepted roots of existentialism and psychotherapy. The Global Existential Summits will continue to provide free access to international philosophies for people around the world. With advocates such as Louis Hoffman and Mark Yang involved, the 4th World Congress of Existential Therapy (2026) will give dedicated voice to underrepresented regions of the world.
The First Intervention Is Our Self
Brian: Look, you've got it all wrong! You don't need to follow me. You don't need to follow anybody! You've got to think for yourselves! You're all individuals!
Crowd: Yes! We're all individuals!
Brian: You're all different!
Crowd: Yes, we are all different!
Man in crowd: I'm not...
Crowd: Shhh!
Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)
Worth (2017, p. 1) reminds us that: “the first intervention is our self”, a sentiment captured by the South African philosophy ‘Ubuntu’. From the Zulu phrase “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu” literally meaning that a person is a person through other people, Ubuntu is commonly translated as humanity; “I am because we are”. This African humanist philosophy emphasises caring and community, respect, relationship with others, truth, honesty, dignity, and empathy (Malunga, 2009).
What, if anything, has come up for you as you read this paper? Maybe you’re completely unaffected. Maybe you’ve heard it all before. Maybe you feel personally attacked, angry, ashamed, guilty at your naivety, complicity, and unintentionality. Feel what you feel, let your emotions erupt, but recognise each emotion is a priceless gift whose energy is fuel for profoundly important changes which you are in the position to create. Quell the discomfort by finding perspective. Reach into your compassion and realise that your sorrow is gentle in comparison to those who have been impacted by the systemic shortcoming of the existential canon. No student enjoys being told they’ve made a spelling mistake, yet this feedback enables them to grow and enrich their offerings. The current syllabuses and dialogues are abundant with ‘spelling mistakes’ which result in the amplification of some voices whilst silencing others.
To the institutions, open the doors of your dated and colonised syllabuses and listen to the beautiful global voices who have been banished outside whilst you worship the same texts year after year, term after term, semester after semester. To the educators within these institutions, recognise your responsibilities and stop colonising the minds of those you committed to enrich. And to the students, remember your magnificent agency as a seeker of existential wisdom: seek it from beyond the narrow-minded and constricted resources being made easily available according to out-of-date syllabuses. Let yourself be moved and intrigued, use the names in brackets as stepping-stones to uncover new and wider realms of thought. If someone intrigues you, explore them, and where possible, write to them. The confidence to recognise one’s ability to offer a valuable interconnecting dialogue need not be left to the already-well-connected, and you may be surprised by how delighted your inspirers are to receive appreciation in the form of real human contact rather than statistics, citations, and book sales. The world is an absolute adventure of global existential wisdom for those bold enough to explore it.
Conclusion
Having originated as a humble self-reflective practice, overtime the Western philosophical tradition has sacrificed its dedication to wisdom for scientific legitimisation (Kalmanson, 2020). Once the antithesis of celebrity and status, the current system cultivates followers devoted to a select few European thinkers despite rich sources of existential wisdom readily available from all corners of the world. The ‘self-selective’ process of those who engage with this system is often at the mercy of an oppressive lack of representation and an ostracizing financial cost. The discipline’s illusion of completeness prevents bridges being built between different knowledge systems, keeping the geography of reason firmly in the West and unquestioningly asserting its methods as superior. Especially inappropriate is the fetishisation of method within the context of existential psychotherapy, a movement which promotes the blind application of ideas from an insular pool of thinkers without transparently educating the human behind the theory, resulting in – for example – the work of paedophiles and sexual predators being naïvely applied to working with vulnerable people who have been sexually violated themselves, the author of this paper’s personal journey being one of many examples (Fraser, 2021). While the status quo remains unquestioned, the systematic colonisation of minds will continue, and the discipline will fall further into decay (Gordon, 2014). This paper does not advocate for cancel culture, but rather for a collective paradigm shift towards a new era of transparency, inclusion, and consent.
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