Philosophical Midwifery: A New Paradigm for Understanding Human Problems with Its Validation

It Is entirely possible to verify for oneself that we are part of a caring and intelligible universe. The verification is a kind of proof since it is a way of understanding that is based upon a realization that our mind constantly communicates with us and for our benefit. The communications from the mind are as profound as they are utterly appropriate to our circumstance, for while the scope of the mind is pervasive, its precision is always directed to what is personally significant. l We will demonstrate that our choice of goals, the problems we face, the daydreams or fantasies we have and the dreams that visit us in our sleep--each and every one of them are like doorways into the richest source of insights into our life. What we discover through these insights is that the mind itself provides ample evidence of its own goodness and intelligibility.
A demonstration of these claims is essential, the grounds for verification must be clear, and the understanding that leads to the realization that the mind is beneficent and intelligible will be set out clearly. Therefore, we will demonstrate that the problems we have we should have, that their solution is in our highest interest and with the freedom from these problems we can function on a higher and more personally significant level of existence. We will define the nature of man's problems in a new way and describe what these problems are like; we will trace their origins to things we learned and discover why we believed and accepted them as true.
We have identified and called the pathologos those false beliefs that are the source of a certain class of our problems because these beliefs are "sick" or false. Thus, a pathologos is a false belief, one that has been learned but not taught. It is a belief that has been accepted as true about oneself and one's reality, and since it is irreconcilable with the attainment of one's highest goals, it is the cause of much of the chaos experienced in our life.
Philosophical Midwifery is the method for discovering the nature, origin, maintenance, transmission and dissolution of the pathologos.
As part of our work, we set out to verify whether or not this philosophical method correlates with its implementation and follows the specified method of its dialectic. Also, to determine whether PMW uncovers false beliefs or the pathologos said to be the root cause of problems and whether supporting themes of the pathologos are contributing causes of problems both in regard to themselves and as they interrelate with other supporting themes. Also, to determine whether PMW surfaces psychological states and affective or emotionalized behavior as predicted. Further, to determine whether or not the supporting themes of the pathologos are found to have affective content, then the scores found with the supporting themes will be compared with those measuring the emotionalized behavior of the whole dialogue. And then to determine the basis upon which PMW prescribes and evaluates its dialogue sessions
Our conclusion to our validation study was found to reject the long-standing belief held in psychology that a purely rational psychotherapy or a purely rational cognitive method in principle is incapable of raising significant levels of emotionalized behavior and of being empirically verified.
We included chapters that presented two case studies, a comparative study of the dialectic, a relationship of PMW with the Platonic tradition and the evolution of consciousness, the pathologos likeness to recursive algorithms and chaos theory, finding a model of the pathologos in field theory and its function in daydreams. A chapter is devoted to comparing PMW with the theories of present-day psychotherapies and recognized cognitive therapies.

Author: Pierre Grimes Phd, Regina L. Uliana Ph. D.
Publisher: Bookbaby
Published: 04/17/2023
Pages: 374
Binding Type: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781667893631

About the Author
I joined the 36th Infantry division in 1943, taking part in World War II campaigns. After my discharge from the Army in 1945 I headed to college in 1948 and there began my reading of Plato. I was amazed to discover that while Plato urged his followers to study and practice the dialectic and meditation, neither were studied or practiced at the college nor anywhere else.
From 1954 to 1960 I worked as a social worker with alcoholics and came to realize that the clients had similar patterns of behavior. Thus, my first work, Alcibiades," was written as a dialogue featuring Socrates and Alcibiades, showing a dialectical approach to the treatment of alcoholism. It was published in 1961 in the Yale Journal's QJSA. I followed with another publication in 1966 in the QJSA titled "Vinodorus."
From 1962 to 2004 I taught philosophy and during this period I realized it was time to even more carefully study the dialectic. A group of friends and ex-students came together in 1978 to form the Noetic Society for the study of dialogue and dialectic, where I became the director of the Philosophical Midwifery Program. Thus, began a series of demonstrations and lectures on Philosophical Midwifery (PM) in both the US and internationally.
In 1986 Regina L. Uliana, Ph.D., then a Clinical Psychologist, urged me to write a book outlining my dialectical approach to psychotherapy; as a result, we published "Philosophical Midwifery: a New Paradigm for Understanding Human Problems with its Validation," which includes her validation study of two subjects who had entered in the midwifery program. There is also a chapter discussing the implications of this validation study on psychology, and another chapter comparing various psychotherapies with Philosophical Midwifery. In this work, I introduce a new class of problems which I call the Pathologos - false beliefs about the nature of ourselves and our reality.
I presented a demonstration "The Validation of the Grimes Dialectic as a Mode of Psychotherapy" before the Annual Conference of Philosophy in 1996 where I met Lou Marinoff. We both saw the need for a new approach to philosophy called Philosophical Counseling. Thus began the APPA.
While at the Academy of Asian Studies from 1953-1960 I began my formal study of meditation with Lama Tada, and Gi Ming Shien, a Taoist Master. Some years later these studies continued with Zen Masters Myzumi Roshi, Koryu Roshi, and Yasutani Roshi. In 1984 Chong-An S'nim of the Chogye Buddhist order of Korea and I founded the Opening Mind Academy for the purpose of bringing Platonic thought and Ch'an Buddhism together for understanding and experiencing the nature of the inner mind perceiving Enlightenment. In 1984 Chong-An S'nim was given the name Myo Bong and he sealed me as his Dharma Successor, giving me the name Hui-An.
My study of dreams within the context of Philosophical Midwifery included giving five-day workshops at Esalen Institute for some 25 years, from the late 1980s until about 2014."
Regina L. Uliana, Ph.D., is a certified Philosophical Midwife, a certified Philosophical Counselor and a Clinical Psychologist. She received her B.A. in Philosophy from California State University at Long Beach in 1969 and her Ph. D. in Psychology from the University of California, Irvine, in 1976. She met Pierre Grimes as an undergraduate and found Platonic Philosophy and Pierre's way of teaching through dialogue brought a way of understanding she had not experienced before. She decided to change majors from Marine Biology to Philosophy. In her pursuit of graduate studies, she found that Psychology, at the time, was a more inviting path than Philosophy to continue her desire to pursue this dialogue method she experienced that explored both philosophical ideas as well as psychological problems. She, however, continued her love for Platonic thought and was and continues to be an active member of the Noetic Society which Pierre Grimes formalized in 1978. The Noetic Society is an organization for the study of dialogue and dialectic. She has practiced Philosophical Midwifery (PMW) over forty years applying its principles to dreams and daydreams and to personal problems of those striving for personal and meaningful excellence. Philosophical Midwifery in its ideal practice is a lifelong practice. As such, she continues to consult with master and founder of Philosophical Midwifery, Pierre Grimes, perfecting herself personally, as well as refining her understanding of philosophical midwifery. As a clinical psychologist for over forty years, she has modified Philosophical Midwifery for a wide range of psychological problems. She has worked with the severe mentally ill, imprisoned criminal youth, high school students, college students, student athletes and in private practice with individuals and couples. She calls her modified approach Grimes Dialectical Rational Psychotherapy (GDRP). She has written journal articles and presented papers at local, national and international conferences on GDRP and/or its parent Philosophical Midwifery, covering topics that include repeated problematic thinking and behaviors, understanding recidivism, understanding dreams and fantasies in criminal youth, and the sophistry in families. She also provides consultation and workshops and mentors individuals on Philosophical Midwifery. In addition, as a psychologist, she has published many studies contents analyzing psychological states in language behavior. In this PMW book, she shows the impact of philosophical midwifery on the fields of psychotherapy and psychological research.


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