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PREVISUALIZATION
HUMANISTIC PHILOSOPHY :
Humanistic and Pro-Humanistic Ideas, Values, Orientations,
Movements, Methods, and Representatives in Philosophy,
Science, Society, and Social Practices
The HUMANISTIC PHILOSOPHY Project
Author:
Petru Stefaroi
Cover:
Ionut Platon, Petru Stefaroi
________________________________________________________
Copyright © 2016, by Petru Stefaroi. All right reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in
any form or by any means without the prior permission of the
publisher.
ISBN-13: 978-1976560248
ISBN-10: 1976560241
CreateSpace - Amazon.com, USA
________________________________________________________
Includes Bibliography
Printed book : 276 pages
Product Dimensions : 6‖ x 9‖ / 15.24 x 22.86 cm

HUMANISTIC
PHILOSOPHY
Humanistic and Pro-Humanistic
Ideas, Values, Orientations, Movements,
Methods, and Representatives
in Philosophy, Science, Society,
and Social Practices
Petru Stefaroi
“Man is the measure
of all things”
- Protagoras -
“Experience without theory is blind,
but theory without experience
is mere intellectual play”
Immanuel Kant
―Critique of Pure Reason‖, 1787
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE.............................................................................................11
INTRODUCTION AND BRIEF PRESENTATION.......................................15
PART I
PHILOSOPHY.......................................................................................27
PART II
HUMANISTIC PHILOSOPHY..................................................................61
PART III
CORE CATEGORIES, ISSUES,
TOPICS, VALUES OF HUMANISTIC PHILOSOPHY.................................85
PART IV
HUMANISTIC AND PRO-HUMANISTIC IDEAS,
VALUES, ORIENTATIONS, METHODS, AND
REPRESENTATIVES IN THE MAIN BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY........115
PART V
THE HUMANISTIC AND PRO-HUMANISTIC
ORIENTATION IN SOME SOCIO-HUMAN SCIENCES............................137
PART VI
HUMANISTIC AND PRO-HUMANISTIC SOCIAL, CULTURAL
AND POLITICAL MOVEMENTS AND CURRENTS OF IDEAS ..................165
PART VII
ORIENTATION IN ART, EDUCATION, ECONOMICS,
THERAPY, SOCIAL WORK, AND MANAGEMENT...….……………..………175
INSTEAD OF CONCLUSIONS..............................................................247
REFERENCES AND WORKS CONSULTED...………………………………..…255

CONTENTS
PREFACE 11
INTRODUCTION AND BRIEF PRESENTATION 15
PART I. PHILOSOPHY 27
GREAT PHILOSOPHICAL CURRENTS OF IDEAS, SCHOOLS, ORIENTATIONS 28
OUTSTANDING REPRESENTATIVES 28
MAIN BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY 29
IDEAS, VALUES, ORIENTATIONS, MOVEMENTS,
METHODS, AND REPRESENTATIVES IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY 34
THE GREAT OPPOSED ORIENTATIONS/ APPROACHES IN/OF PHILOSOPHY 53
PART II. HUMANISTIC PHILOSOPHY 61

CONCEPT AND BASIC THEORY 62
PHILOSOPHY AS A HUMANISTIC DISCIPLINE/ PHILOSOPHY 73
HUMANISTIC, PRE-HUMANISTIC AND
PRO-HUMANISTIC ORIENTATIONS AND APPROACHES IN PHILOSOPHY 75
OUTSTANDING REPRESENTATIVES
OF THE HUMANISTIC AND PRO-HUMANISTIC PHILOSOPHY 78
METHODOLOGY IN/OF HUMANISTIC PHILOSOPHY 79
PART III. CORE CATEGORIES, ISSUES,

TOPICS, VALUES OF HUMANISTIC PHILOSOPHY 85
AGENCY, LIBERTY, HUMAN FREEDOM, SELF-
DETERMINATION, HUMAN/ PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, RESPONSIBILITY 85
HUMAN BEING. HUMAN NATURE, PERSON, PERSONALITY 90
HAPPINESS, WELFARE, DIGNITY 95
SPIRITUALITY, CULTURE 98
HUMANE SOCIETY, HUMANE
RELATIONSHIPS, MORALITY, HUMANITY, SOCIAL JUSTICE 110
PART IV. HUMANISTIC AND PRO-HUMANISTIC IDEAS,

VALUES, ORIENTATIONS, METHODS AND REPRESENTATIVES
IN THE MAIN BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY 115
HUMANISTIC AND PRO-HUMANISTIC IDEAS, VALUES, ORIENTATIONS,
METHODS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN METAPHYSICS AND ONTOLOGY 115
HUMANISTIC AND PRO-HUMANISTIC IDEAS, VALUES,
ORIENTATIONS, METHODS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN EPISTEMOLOGY 123
HUMANISTIC AND PRO-HUMANISTIC
IDEAS, VALUES, ORIENTATIONS, METHODS AND
REPRESENTATIVES IN AXIOLOGY (ETHICS, AESTHETICS, POLITICS) 128
PART V. THE HUMANISTIC AND PRO-HUMANISTIC

ORIENTATION IN SOME SOCIO-HUMAN SCIENCES 137
ORIENTATION IN PSYCHOLOGY. HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY 137
ORIENTATION IN SOCIOLOGY. HUMANISTIC SOCIOLOGY 146
ORIENTATION IN PERSONOLOGY. HUMANISTIC PERSONOLOGY 150
PART VI. HUMANISTIC AND PRO-HUMANISTIC

SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND POLITICAL
MOVEMENTS AND CURRENTS OF IDEAS 165
HUMANISM 165
HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT. FEMINISM 167
SECULARIZATION, SECULAR HUMANISM. THE ‖HUMANIST MANIFESTO‖ 169
MULTICULTURALISM. HUMANISTIC
PHILOSOPHIES AND PRACTICES OF ORIENTAL INSPIRATION 171
HUMANITARIANISM. ANTI-CAPITALIST
AND ANTI-GLOBALIZATION MOVEMENT 172
POSTMODERN HUMANISM. NEO-HUMANISM AND POST-HUMANISM 173
PART VII. THE HUMANISTIC AND

PRO-HUMANISTIC ORIENTATION IN ART, EDUCATION,
ECONOMICS, THERAPY, SOCIAL WORK, AND MANAGEMENT 175
THE HUMANISTIC ORIENTATION IN ART. HUMANISTIC ART 175
THE HUMANISTIC APPROACH/ METHOD IN EDUCATION
AND TRAINING. HUMANISTIC EDUCATION AND HUMANISTIC TRAINING 181
THE HUMANISTIC APPROACH/ METHOD IN
PSYCHOTHERAPY AND COUNSELING. HUMANISTIC PSYCHOTHERAPY 197
THE HUMANISTIC APPROACH/ METHOD
IN SOCIAL WORK. HUMANISTIC SOCIAL WORK 213
THE HUMANISTIC APPROACH/ METHOD IN MANAGEMENT/LEADERSHIP
AND HUMAN RESOURCES, HUMANISTIC MANAGEMENT/LEADERSHIP 237
INSTEAD OF CONCLUSIONS 247
REFERENCES AND WORKS CONSULTED 255

PREFACE
T
his paper addresses the very complex and vast issue of the
Humanistic Orientation in Philosophy, with what it basically
means, involves - categories, ideas, values, perspectives,
influences, methods, outstanding representatives, etc. The approach is
expanded also to the presence and the impact of these ideas, values,
methods in some socio-human sciences like Psychology, Sociology, and
Personology, in some social, cultural and political movements and
currents of ideas like Humanism, Human Rights Movement, Feminism,
Multiculturalism, Humanitarianism, Anti-Capitalist and Anti-
Globalization Movements, Postmodern Humanism, Neo-Humanism and
Post-Humanism, as well as in some social and therapeutic activities and
practices such as Art, Psychotherapy, Social Work, Education,
Management/ Leadership and Human Resources, etc.
Because of the great complexity, of the vastness and ambiguity of the
term ―Humanistic‖ and of the terms from the same semantic field, like
―Humanist‖, ―Human‖, ―Man‖, ―Humanity‖, ―Humane‖, etc., of the
theoretical-doctrinal disputes and controversies, the book limits their
objectives, purposes, so, to a simple heuristical overview and inventory,
avoiding, as much as possible, the critical, analytical, partisan and/or
comparative doctrinal approaches.
For the same reason (the great complexity and extent of the domain/
theme), for economic reasons as well, in the structure and content of the
book have been brought to attention with priority those ideas, categories,
values, perspectives, approaches, methods, those thinkers, philosophers
corresponding to some humanistic and/or pro-humanistic orientations
which have emerged and imposed as dominant over time, and especially
in the last century, respectively the humanistic-existential/ existentialist
and phenomenological orientations, the humanistic-spiritual and cultural
orientations, and the ethical-humanitarian orientations - framed, as
shown also its title, in the concept of Humanistic Philosophy.
Thus, under the Humanistic Philosophy’s broad umbrella are found,
congruently but also competitively, even antagonistically, concepts,
themes, ideas, values afferent to the existentialist, phenomenological,
contextualist, interactionist, constructivist or realist orientations, to the
spiritual and cultural orientations, but also to the ethical-humanitarian
orientations, found sometimes together, sometimes separately, in the
ideologies, doctrines, and methods that underpin, theoretically-
philosophically and methodologically, the great contemporary social,
cultural, and political movements of humanistic inspiration, or the social
sciences and practices called ―humanist‖, or ―humanistic‖ as humanistic
psychology and humanistic psychotherapy, humanistic sociology and
humanistic social work, humanistic pedagogy and humanistic education,
humanistic management, humanistic art, etc.
Therefore, in the broad area of the concept, idea of Humanistic Philosophy
enter many contradictory concepts, categories, ideas, approaches or
debates such as: agency - concentration of the philosophical reflection/
theory on person, individuality, subject; the individuals have the
constitutional and natural capacity to act independently and to make
their own free choices; reflection and promoting, theoretically-
philosophically, the respect for the human as individual, as a person, for
each person; human dignity and social justice; the idea of human/ social
solidarity, humanitarianism, charity, altruism; the value-idea of equality,
nondiscrimination, tolerance; reflection and promotion of a relative and
contextual-human Ethics, of a Ethics of happiness and human-personal
good, in opposition to the universalistic, functionalist, "oppressive" or
―divine‖ Ethics, without disregarding the interest, the good and the
happiness of the other, the common interest; the philosophical reflection/
theory and promotion of an optimistic attitude towards life and towards
future; the exploitation of the cultural, moral, and socio-human resources
from the society and social contexts; spirituality and creativity; the
scientific and technical progress, etc.
In essence, regarding the theoretical-axiological substantiation of
Humanistic Philosophy, as autonomous discipline of philosophy and
knowledge, the endeavor/ process must starts from the concept-value of
HUMAN, consequently from that of humanism, then follows the
concentration on the phenomenological, existential, spiritual, cultural
and moral mark on the specific theory and methodology, everything,
consequently, in the context and on the basis of a very comprehensive,
large, tolerant perspective, approach, including many trends,
orientations, thinking schools or methods, some of them even appearing
to be in opposition, in contradiction, revealing both the great complexity
and also ambiguity of the philosophical concept of Humanism, that in its
complex and large meaning involves both the rationality, the science and
the technique, but also the spirituality, the human creativity, free will and
imagination.
As it is well known, in the social and human sciences, the term
Humanism has been consecrated through many meanings, we hold
mainly two 1) related to the universal human condition and nature, the
idea of ancestral human unity and solidarity, the representation of the
person/ human as ontological part of a human community, mutual
conditioned by the common human-genetic background and specific
inter-personal interactions - theoretical-axiological sources of the social/
human solidarity, humanity and empathy, socio-human adaptation, and
concern/ care for the other/ each other, and 2) related to the intrinsic/
inner resources and capacities of the human as individual, as person, of
affirmation, self-determination, personal accomplishment and
development, the representation of the person as me, with desires and
needs, as personality, with the attribute of will and freedom, creativity,
responsibility and dignity - sources of the personal fulfillment, change
and empowerment (of the individual and of the community).
The first meaning is, with predilection, exploited and stated by the
traditional philosophy, religion, transpersonal psychology and
anthropology, while the second by the existential and phenomenological
philosophy, humanistic and positive psychology, pedagogy and
psychotherapy. Both are exploited and stated by humanistic sociology,
humanistic social work, and humanistic management.
In agreement with the two established theoretical-axiological meanings
the humanistic approach generates two relatively distinct perspectives of
approach 1) solidarist-humanistic, and 2) individualist-humanistic.
Although, strictly analytically, seems somewhat opposite, in fact, the two
forms - solidarist-humanistic and individualist-humanistic - are ―two
faces of the same coin‖, two sides and dimensions of the same process,
subsumed to a unitary humanistic theory, in philosophy and social
sciences.
Humanism, as global, universal, historical movement and current of
ideas, with its phenomenological and existentialist philosophical
foundations, through all its artistic, social, philosophical, scientific,
ideological, political, educational dimensions, manifestations and
concerns, through the multitude of themes and meanings by which it was
consecrated, as system or mode of thought and action predominating the
human interests, the human values and dignity, as variety of ethical
theories and practices that emphasize the human fulfillment through
knowledge and social development, focusing on the person/ individual/
self, centering on the person's resources, the self-determination, human
solidarity, humanity, human sensitivity, philanthropy, happiness,
promoting the person's welfare, through the constitutional concern for
researching the human being, his nature, essence, condition, through the
interest for promoting of some great general human values and ideals in
the evolution and development of society, through the interest for change
and new, for truth, beautiful, good represents one of the most important
foundation and essential source of the humanistic philosophy as great
discipline of knowledge.
Thus, between humanism, as cultural/ moral/ spiritual pan- and trans-
historical movement, value and attitude, and humanistic philosophy, as a
rational discipline of knowledge, is being established an absolute inter-
determination by which both are continually enriched and resized. This is
also the framework in which this book is realized.
***
Regarding the Destination of this book, its design, content and

bibliography are made in such a way that to be useful both to the
academic/ scientific community, to students, teachers and researchers,
and also to the professional community - artists, educators, managers,
social workers, psychotherapists, health professionals, human rights
activists, activists in the political sphere, etc.
Petru Stefaroi,
2016
INTRODUCTION
AND BRIEF PRESENTATION
I
n this work the sintagm ―Humanistic Philosophy‖ is
approached, represented both as a sub-discipline, branch, issue,
topic, domain, section, part of (general) Philosophy (represented
as the rational/ theoretical/ heuristical investigation of fundamental
questions about existence, knowledge, morals, culture, reason, history,
humanity, etc.), but also as a dimension, goal, ideal, value, sense,
meaning, vocation, valence of Philosophy as a whole, speaking, therefore,
about Philosophy as a humanistic discipline of knowledge.
As a sub-discipline, part of (general) Philosophy, Humanistic Philosophy
is focused on, and brings in attention, especially, the category, the value-
concept of Human Being, with the meaning of agency, individuality,
subject, the person with the attribute of freedom and self-determination,
the respect for the human as individual, as a Person, in opposition to the
approaches that represent the individual human being as a simple
statistical element into a social structure, system, mechanism, in history
and/or society.
In the second meaning, crucial concepts, syntagms, and ideas-values that
are bring in attention, when we speak, therefore, of (general) philosophy
as a humanistic discipline are anthropo-centrism and person-centered
approach in the general process of philosophical knowledge and
investigation. Essentially, philosophy as a humanistic discipline, through
all its branches, orientations, schools, and methods, is an ethics of the
phenomenon, process and act of knowledge in general, and of the
philosophical knowledge in particular, an ethics of the human, of the
man, of humanity, and, especially, ultimately, a philosophy of the human
as an objective, values, ideal, principle of all the demarches, acts of
knowledge and action, epistemologically and methodologically speaking.
Humanistic and Pro-Humanistic Ideas, Values, Orientations, Movements, Methods,
and Representatives in Philosophy, Science, Society, and Social Practices
In general, the humanistic methodology, epistemology and axiology,

in philosophy, but also in sociology, psychology and other socio-human
sciences, in theory and practice, give to human, to person and to the
human (humane) relationships crucial roles, examining with priority the
humanistic fundamental resorts of the micro-groups and particular socio-
human contexts, focusing on the subjective/ human/ socio-human
processes, on the inter-personal/ inter-human relationships and
phenomena of cooperation, attachment, solidarity, love, conflict, etc., in
everyday life, in communities and organizations. Between other
characteristics of the humanistic philosophy’s methodology can be also
mentioned complexity, emergence, divergent reflection/ thinking,
meditation, revelation, inspiration, introspection, creativity, questioning,
humanistic hermeneutics, pro-humanistic deconstruction, heuristic
analysis, qualitative and interpretive approach, idiographic approach, etc.
In the spirit of complexity principle in the methodology of humanistic
philosophy important are so-called theories of complex and emergent
systems. Essentially, this kind of theories highlights the aspects that the
systems (especially the living, human, and spiritual systems) consist of
many interrelated and interdependent components or parts, linked
through many (dense) and often chaotic interconnections. In this sense,
the emergent and complex systems cannot be described by simple rules,
laws, and their characteristics are not reducible to one level of
description. They exhibit properties that emerge from the interaction of
their parts and which cannot be predicted from the properties of the
parts.
Some thinkers and researchers propose the analytic-inductive methods
as principal scientific-methodological tools in philosophy and in the socio-
human sciences and practices, of evaluation, intervention or research of
the socio-human processes and phenomena. These methods may
combine the rigor with the complexity, the general with the particular,
leading to more relevant and useful results for the specific characteristics
of the social and human phenomena and processes, taking both from the
rigor of the quantitative techniques but also from the deepness, flexibility
and comprehensivity of the qualitative techniques.
In evaluation and research the main goal being that, through analysis,
analogies, comparisons, exclusions, similarities, differences, observations
of great extension and profoundness, to extract, with great caution,
several relevant regularities, to serve eventually to the formulation of
16
some minimal empirical statistical conclusions, laws, evaluative

predictions or intervention projects.
The specifics of the qualitative, interpretative and comprehensive
methods in philosophy and the socio-human sciences and practices is
mainly that these are focused largely on capturing the phenomena more
than the essences, universal laws; the object of evaluation, observation
and investigation being most often the event, the socio-human context,
the sentiment, the concrete attitudes, feelings and reactions of people
being in determined social and human relationships and processes. The
advantage is that through this methodology is obtained the access to
social and human aspects which would escape to an eminently positive,
nomological, scientific-technical approach, more focused on capturing the
universal and repeatable evidences, by modelations of mathematical type.
Of great importance in the humanistic methodology is the aspect referring
to the specifics of research. Even if at first glance the humanistic
approach seems somewhat incompatible with the scientific research in
fact their finds can represent very useful knowledge. As specific, in the
humanistic social sciences and practices, including regarding the role of
personality and human relations as values and resources of practice, as
in any paradigm, practice or science of humanistic type, the research is
approached somewhat differently than in the social practices, paradigms
and sciences of non-humanistic, positive orientation, or in the natural
sciences. Because of the complexity of the socio-human relationships and
phenomena, the personality, the human experience cannot be easily and
rigorously investigated and captured by figures, numbers, the research is
so forced to appeal often to methods of qualitative, narrative, subjective,
interpretative or phenomenological type.
Among the most important categories, topics, issues, values of

humanistic philosophy are, as we consider, agency, liberty, human
freedom, self-determination, human/ personal development,
responsibility, human being. human nature, person, personality,
happiness, welfare, dignity, spirituality, culture, humane/ humanist
society, humane/ humanist relationships, morality, humanity, and social
justice.
The humanistic orientations from philosophy, either it is about of the

existentialist approach, or it is about the spiritual or cultural orientations
perceive human agency, liberty and freedom (that involve as well
17
responsibility) as opposed to the so called structural-determinism in

society and live, opposed to the divine or transcendental determinism,
opposed to external forces, opposed to the objective forces and structure,
opposed to super-human forces as structures and universals.
The people’s liberties, freedom, and responsibility, are close linked to the
psychological capacities of the human individuals of self-determination
and self-conduct (free will), but are also very much determined/
conditioned of the degree and specific of development of society in terms
of human rights, law rules, often the freedom, liberty of the individuals
and communities must be conquered, there are not "an absolute given".
In psychological-instrumental, psychological-spiritual, and psychological-
social terms, at the personal, individual level the degree of freedom and
responsibility is, in great measure, determined by the degree of personal-
psychological and human development, that, in the scientific literature, is
associated or identified with a number of other concepts such as psychic/
psychological development, growth, adaptation, social development, high
control, emotional intelligence, etc. It is a crucial category of the
humanist-positive/existential stance/ theory from the social and human
sciences, and implies, highlights issues as high degree of awareness, self-
knowledge, self-esteem, high socio-emotional development, high control of
the emotions, emotional intelligence, realism and balance, powerful will,
resistance to failure and frustrations, personal and social autonomy, etc.
Instead, the person’s humane development is closely determined by the
level of development of the humane Self, humane conscience, humane
character, humane ego, humane personality as a whole, in the context of
a high development of the global personality.
Through the great development of the person's humane Self his
personality as a whole is reformed and is defined through solidarist-
humanistic qualities and behavioral traits such as empathy,
agreeableness, tolerance, humanity, human sensitivity, altruism, etc.
Finally, involving, still, the two main orientations, existential-positive and
spiritual-transpersonal/ cultural, the personal an human development of
the person can be described as a result of the personality developed at a
higher level, the most high, the most close to the condition of human
being as autonomous rational, cultural, spiritual existence, and with its
characteristical attributes - personal development, adaptability, socio-
human efficiency, sociability, high control, emotional intelligence, and as
personality structured through Self, self, conscience, character,
18
motivation, skills, etc. so that determines conducts oriented toward the

wellbeing of the generalized other, toward the common good, to humanity,
and dominant traits such as empathy, altruism, generosity, kindness,
humanity, etc.
Associated to the philosophical concept of human being, and its attributes
of freedom and personal/ human development, are found, very often, in
literature, the concepts of Human Nature, Human Essence, Person, and
Personality, defining categories of the humanistic philosophy, imposing
some very prolific dichotomical debates, especially with respect to the
classical "dialectical" matter-spirit contradiction, humanistic philosophy,
in its large, comprehensive meaning, not having here a rigid positioning,
theorizing and promoting both the thesis of materiality (objectivity) of the
human being, of the person (the secularist approach), but also the thesis
of spirituality (subjectivity) of the human being, person and personality
(the idealistic-subjective approach and the spiritualistic/ metaphysical
approach).
Happiness, welfare, and dignity are, indubitable, important categories

and values in humanistic philosophy, sustaining thesis as: every person,
regardless of age, sex, nationality, race, social status, profession is
entitled to a dignified life, to happiness, to personal fulfillment, wellbeing,
welfare, and dignity; the essential indicator of the human life quality is
the internal satisfaction, the subjective welfare, the happiness and
complacency of the person; the authentic happiness is a source of
freedom, of personal development, social/ professional efficiency and
factor for the acquisition of the social reintegration capacity; the person is
not only a simple consumer of services, of material goods, it is also a
cultural, spiritual, aesthetic being – this has therefore, also, emotional,
cultural, spiritual, aesthetic needs, and, for a full life and fulfillment and
happiness, must be satisfied.
The happiness theory, in the humanistic social practices, as theory of
psycho-social and philosophical-eudaimonical type, is based on the
assumption that the efficiency and the personal/ professional/ social
adaptation of the person in socio-human context is closely related to the
degree of happiness, satisfaction and complacency. To this end, the
psychological-spiritual well-being is a factor of energy and self-
development/ autonomy, so reducing the degree of social vulnerability
and the likelihood to becoming a client of the social services.
19
Positive psychology is the science that, in the last time, studies,

intensively, the theme of happiness. The basic premise of positive
psychology is that human beings are often, perhaps more often, drawn by
the future than they are driven by the past. Essentially, this kind of
psychology highlights the importance in the human life, therapy or
counseling, of some issues and resources as happiness, positive
emotions, orientation to the future, positive expectation, etc.
Afferent to the spiritual-transcendental orientation of humanistic

philosophy, spirituality and Culture, as core categories and values
highlight, in last instance, on the one hand, the constitutional
transcendental and spiritual dimension, content of the human as
individual, as person and personality, and, on other hand, the axiological
and cultural valence and dimension of the society, and of its sub-
components and sub-structures communities - families, organizations,
social relations.
Transpersonal and Spiritual Philosophy, in close connection with
Transpersonal and Spiritual Psychology, represents the person and the
personality as cumulations/ overlappings of personalities, persons and
universals, ancestral or cosmic values, highlighting in particular the
transcendental, ancestral and spiritual content, valences and resources of
the human person. In Transpersonal/ Spiritual Philosophy and
Transpersonal/ and Spiritual Psychology are used especially terms,
concepts, ideas as spiritual evolution, religious conversion, altered states
of consciousness, spiritual practices, spiritual self-development, self
beyond, systemic trance, spiritual crises, peak experiences, mystical
experiences, etc.
The most important psychological-personal of the spiritual qualities of the
person is the spiritual Self. In an elementary interpretation the spiritual
Self is considered the spiritual psychological-ontological sphere/
component/ dimension of the human personality. Through the spiritual
Self, this miraculous onto-formation of the human personality, the
subject accedes to culture, ancestrality, virtue, and history, practically
assimilates, experiential-ontologically and ontogenetically, the evolution/
universe of the human spirituality and community through the contact
with the concrete cultural environment, bearer of universal meanings,
with the values, the ancestral, generalized/ spiritual human experience.
Regarding the culture, as core categories of humanistic philosophy, as it
was shown, it brings in attention the category of Values, highlighting,
20
therefore, the axiological valence and dimension of the society, and of its
sub-components and sub-structures communities - families,
organizations, social relations.
Religion, morals and education, as well, through their psychological-
axiological dimensions and contents (beliefs, convictions attitudes,
knowledge etc.), but also through the ones social/ moral (rituals, Ethics
rules, etc.) can be considered important spiritual and ethical factors/
sources in the ontogenetic process of forming of the person as a whole,
with its principal spheres - the ontological-psychological sphere and,
especially the social-personal sphere. Important are also the structural,
institutional socio-cultural and the socio-moral factors expressed in the
systems of dominant norms and values, in community and society as a
whole.
Besides the values and the categories of the person/ human individuality,
humanistic philosophy brings in foreground the category of humane/
humanist society and other categories afferent to the society like
humane relationships, morality, humanity, social justice. Any social
group, community or organization is, therefore, a humane community as
well.
The humane community and the humanity are build and specifically
define through the common, collective, inter-/ trans-personal emotional,
affective, sentimental, cognitive, attitudinal circumstances,
characteristics and behaviors of the individuals who compose it. So, these
consist mainly of three types of sub-processes or phenomena: 1)
emotional/ affective/ sentimental, 2) cognitive/ intellectual, and 3)
spiritual/ cultural/ moral.
In this perspective each member of a community is, inter alia, a product
of a unique, but also, of a common, collective interaction, all depending
on the personalities of members, place, time, cultural niche, hazard.
Every person being actually part of a particular compathetical system.
This is, in turn, part of a comprehensive system. The most common
compathetical system and most consistent is the family.
Into any micro-community, into any family, the compathetical
consistency is given by the fact that the individual’s personalities are
composed of common emotional, cognitive, and cultural experiences, by
the fact that in each individual personality exists, through empathy and
projection, the others. It is established so a mutual existential
21
dependence between the persons and between the persons and the
community as a whole.
This compathy, humanity, humane community works, through the
organizational culture, also as a system of symbols or values that are
rooted, in great measure, in the individual’s personalities or activism.
These symbols and values are imposed as links and unitary resorts
between the all parts. Their existence and operation give the sense of
belonging, familiar, known, give comfort, safety and happiness.
Between the humane community and the individuals which it constitutes
it is established also an ontological-socio-human balance, an existential
and functional optimum, in which is satisfied, in principle, in a
harmonious and non-confrontational way, both the personal and the
collective necessities.
Essentially, the humanistic-existential (positive) direction/ theory
represents the socio-human (micro-) community through features such
as strong organizational culture, high functionality, high cohesion, unity,
solidity, adaptability, resilience, high autonomy, resistance to crisis and
challenges, good management, etc., while the humanistic-ontological-
cultural/ spiritual approach/ theory of community highlights ideas and
features as people-centered community, dominance of the inter-personal
relationships of attachment, love, respect, dominance of the practices and
customs of mutual helps, social/ group/ community solidarity, harmony,
unity, inter-personal congruency, socio-human, inter-personal,
community functionality, socio-human, moral and cultural integration/
cohesion, the presence/ dominance of people with personality and
behavior traits like altruism, empathy, kindness, goodness, tolerance,
understanding, charity, helpfulness etc.
In this sense, one of the crucial concept, value and objective of practice in
social work, therapy, management, etc. is the Community Development,
reveled both by humanistic-existential (positive) features like social and
economical efficiency, institutional development, high autonomy, high
functionality, planning, democracy, but also by humanistic-ontological-
cultural/ spiritual features like attachment, love, solidarity, altruism,
empathy, kindness, etc.
The humanistic-therapeutic/ assistential and humanistic-managerial
perspective on community/ organization, on the socio-human entities (in
difficulty/ underdeveloped), promotes, therefore, a concept of community
development where it is aimed to empower groups of people and the
22
individuals with those ―humanistic‖ psychological, social, and cultural

skills, capacities, abilities and attitudes that determine, support
beneficial and sustainable/ durable human changes and structures, the
main source of these beneficial and sustainable changes being, in the last
instance, the human (humane, spiritual, cultural, and moral
empowerment of the individuals and communities, through methods,
instruments, and principles that humanistic philosophy promotes them
with priority, such as creativity, self-determination, spirituality, solidarity,
empathy, agency, human freedom, human/ personal development,
responsibility, personality, happiness, dignity, culture, humane/
humanist society, humane relationships, morality, humanity, social
justice, etc.
Regarding the presence of humanistic ideas, values, approaches,

methods at the level of the major branches of philosophy in this
paper, the interest is focused on Metaphysics, Ontology, Epistemology
and Axiology, speaking, consequently, of Humanistic Metaphysics,
Humanistic Ontology, Humanistic Epistemology, and Humanistic
Axiology.
Humanistic Metaphysics puts in the forefront of reflection and research

the question of Human Nature and Essence, what is the constitutional
metaphysical resort and principle of the human being, in general, as
species and cosmic entity, but especially as individual human being, the
constitutional metaphysical resort of the ego, of the soul, of his freedom
and capacity of self-determination (agency).
A great concern of Humanistic Metaphysics is determined by the
ontological relation Mater-Spirit in establishing, determining, highlighting
the constitutional metaphysical resorts, fundaments, and principles of
the human being both in general, as species and cosmic entity, but
especially, as well, as individual, particular, concrete, unique, singular
human being. Are bring therefore, in attention, too, issues as the relation
mater-spirit in establishing the constitutional metaphysical resorts of the
ego, of the soul, of personality, of his will, freedom and capacity of self-
determination, of the human as rational, cultural and social entity.
Other important topic, issue in Humanistic Metaphysics is the heuristic
research, investigation of the social existence and nature, their
properties, in terms of space and time, cause and effect, etc.
23
Humanistic Metaphysics is often in conflict with the modern thought,

with the scientific method, based on scientific experiment and evidence,
but the abstract philosophical/ metaphysical reflection, which looking for
foundations and explanations beyond phenomena, experiments,
evidences and appearances, is very welcome and useful today in the
endeavors for research especially the global, universal, historical socio-
human phenomena and processes.
If Humanistic Metaphysics deals, as has been shown, with the first

principles of the human realities, existence, world, with the relation of
universals to particulars, and the teleological philosophy of causation of
the socio-human existences and phenomena, with the questions
regarding the human nature and essence, what are the constitutional
meta-physical resorts and principles of the human reality, in other word
with what is beyond and behind of the human realities, phenomena and
entities, Humanistic Ontology, instead, putting the human being as
person, individual, in forefront, deals, also, the human realities,
existence, world, with the relation of universals to particulars, and the
teleological philosophy of causation of the socio-human existences and
phenomena, with the questions regarding the human nature and essence,
but is about of the human world of here and not of beyond and behind,
focusing the interest on aspects as the human-individual, personal
existence, the concrete, contextual relationships of attachment and
cooperation between persons, etc.
From the humanistic-ontological point of view the human form of
existence are results of some ontogenetical processes of construction,
these really exist, these have a unique existence, a beginning, a
processual, determined, unique, unrepeatable existence, a the end, and
are not mere multiplications of some hidden, deep, immutable structures,
patterns.
Essentially, in Humanistic Ontology, it is used mostly an existential-
phenomenological paradigm but also dynamic, with its central theme: the
theory of human being and human existence, of the concrete fact, and
namely of the concrete, unique human being, in process, in beingness
and functioning, human being as person with his particular, specific,
unique feelings, emotions and socio-human contexts, imposing an
idiographic-empirical/ emergentical methodology.
In Humanistic Ontology functions the paradigmatic triad being-existent-
existence, where the being (being in itself) of an entity represents the
24
essence, the original content, the invariable, the ontological-metaphysical

foundation of the entities, of the existent and of the existence, the
existent/ existing (being for itself) represents the organization, the
concrete form, unique, part of a context, the exposed side of the being,
acquiring the characteristics of form of the concrete environment where it
exists, while the existence, or the beingness/ functioning (being
outside-itself), represents the processual, contingent, situational-
contextual side, exposed to time, dynamic, experiential, the feeling and
the thinking. In agreement with this ontological paradigm we will consider
that the ontological-psychological sphere (the personal ontos, the soul,
the ego) represents the being of the person, the psychological-personal
sphere (the conscience, personality, the skills) represents the existent/
existing, while the experiential-behavioral sphere (the functioning, the
beingness, the current life/ activity/ experience of the person, its
jouissance, feelings, concrete processual thinking) represents the
existence.
Humanistic Epistemology deals with the philosophical analysis of the

nature of knowledge and how relate these to such concepts as truth,
belief, and justification, the problems of skepticism, the sources and
scope of knowledge and justified belief but from a human/ humanistic
perspective, and especially from a human-individual, personal
perspective, the philosophical and scientific study of knowledge as
experience, phenomenon, the epistemological human experiences as
unique thoughts, as particular/ contextual cognitive-emotional processes
and constructs and less as abstract/ universal informational/ cognitive
structures/ patterns.
The core category of Humanistic Axiology (Ethics, Aesthetics, and

Politics) is the human value, consequently that of humanism, but all from
an individual, personal perspective, opposed to a universal,
transpersonal, panhuman, ancestral or divine perspective. Other core
categories, terms, concepts and ideas are moral relativism contextual
Ethics, relative Ethics, human Ethics, Ethics of the person, inter-
subjectivity etc., the terms being associated to other humanistic terms as
human freedom, agency, human being, person, human relationships,
human nature/ essence, happiness and dignity, self-determination,
responsibility, human development, spirituality and culture, empathy,
love, faith, attachment, etc.
25
Hence, in its essence, the Humanistic Ethics is defined as a human-moral

philosophy which highlights and promotes the good of the person, of the
human individuality, in opposition to an "oppressive", depersonalizing,
universalist Morals, established by a classical, historical Ethics, of
course, without disregarding the interest, the good of the other or the
good, the common interest.
Thus, from the perspective of an Ethics of humanistic orientation, the
person, as a subject, is important and predominates in relations with the
community as a whole and with man as ancestral entity. In Humanistic
Ethics, the person is not a means by which the community/ society or
mankind as history achieves their historical and ancestral objectives, but,
conversely, they are the existential frameworks in which the person is
fulfilled, expresses his vocation for freedom, and finds happiness and
personal accomplishment, in the only life it has.
Too, Humanistic Ethics have crucial role, through its values and ideas in
the establishment of many deontological codes in professional fields as
medicine, social work, psychotherapy, determining specific norms, values,
principles of practice.
Regarding the Humanistic Aesthetics, it brings, especially in art, the
special interest and the focus on the complex human and spiritual world
of emotions, passions, feeling, desires, incorporated in performances from
art domains as theatre, film, literature, sculpture, picture, etc.
As humanistic philosophy of art, Humanistic Aesthetics can be generally
represented as the heuristical-theoretical discipline that theorizes the art
and the artist reflected in a complex manner, incorporating, therefore,
knowledge, ideas, theories, both from philosophy but also from
humanistic sciences as humanistic sociology, psychology, and
anthropology, developing, therefore, a human-centered perspective on art,
and the associated fields.
26
PART I
PHILOSOPHY
P
hilosophy (from the Greek ―φιλοσοφία‖), means, as it is well
known, literally, "love of wisdom", but, as established
discipline and domain of knowledge, as ―the science of the
sciences‖ (as it is also called), is mostly defined as the heuristical
reflection and theoretical-methodological study, with scope, means of
generalization and abstractization, of the fundamental, essential, and
universal problems concerning entities, aspects such as the being,
existence, truth, human/person, society, history, knowledge, values,
happiness, love, reason, language, etc.
In a concise approach, philosophy can be, therefore, represented as the
rational/ theoretical investigation of questions about existence, knowledge,
morals, culture and reason (Teichmann & Evans, 1999).
Unlike other fields of human knowledge, philosophy is first and foremost
reflected in its history and, above all, by its historical currents of ideas,
schools, and orientations, and especially by the great thinkers,
philosophers, representatives who have marked it, who have constituted,
formed, developed, and systematized it.
27
GREAT PHILOSOPHICAL CURRENTS OF

IDEAS, SCHOOLS, ORIENTATIONS
In the glorious history of philosophy, they were imposed, among others,

the following great currents of ideas, schools, and orientations: Ancient
Materialism, Atomism, Eudaimonism, Platonism, Aristotelianism,
Sophism, Cynicism, Skepticism, Epicureanism, Hedonism, Stoicism,
Neo-Platonism, Scholasticism, Empiricism, The Renascentist Humanism,
Enlightenment, Rationalism, The Cartesian Dualism, Pantheism,
Determinism, Contractarianism, Liberalism and Libertarianism, Idealism,
Subjectivism, Immaterialism, Individualism, Kantianism, Moral
Universalism, Fideism, Nationalism. Subjective Idealism, Objective
Idealism, Spiritualism, Romanticism, Absolute Idealism, Dialectical and
Historical Materialism, Utilitarianism, Consequentialism, German
Idealism, Marxism, Pragmatism, Voluntarism, Instrumentalism,
Positivism, Existentialism, Analytic Philosophy, Continental Philosophy,
Scientism, Historicism, Logicism, Philosophy of Language, Logical
Atomism, Logical Positivism, Analytic Philosophy, Semantic Holism,
Ethical Naturalism, Ethical Non-Naturalism, Continental Philosophy,
Phenomenology, Nihilism, Neo-Marxism, , Structuralism, Structural-
Functionalism, Post-Modernism, Constructivism, Deconstructionism,
Post-Structuralism, Neo-Humanism, Neo-Spiritualism, etc.
Crucial contributions to the emergence and consecration of these great

philosophical orientations, currents of ideas and schools, and to the
development of philosophy as a whole, they had and have great thinkers,
philosophers, representatives as Thales, Pythagoras, Heraclitus,
Parmenides, Democritus, Anaxagoras, Empedocles, Hippocratics,
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Protagoras, Epicurus, Epictetus, Marcus
Aurelius, Plotinus, Seneca, Cicero, Porphyry, Boethius, Averröes,
Avicenna, Confucius, St. Thomas Aquinas, Peter Abelard, Saadia Gaon,
28
Ibn Bājja, Albertus Magnus, William of Ockham, Erasmus, Petrarch,

Machiavelli, Roger Bacon, Thomas More, René Descartes, Dutchman
Baruch Spinoza, Gottfried Leibniz, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Bishop
George Berkeley, David Hume, Blaise Pascal, Voltaire, Jean-Jacques
Rousseau, Adam Smith, Immanuel Kant, Johann Fichte, Georg Hegel,
Karl Marx, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, John Stuart Mill, William
James, John Dewey, Auguste Comte, Søren Kierkegaard, Bertrand
Russell, Alfred North Whitehead, Gottlob Frege, Rudolf Carnap, Ludwig
Wittgenstein, Donald Davidson, Emmanuel Mounier, Pierre Teilhard de
Chardin, G. E. Moore, Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul
Sartre, Herbert Marcuse, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Judith
Butler, and others.
MAIN BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
METAPHYSICS
The word Metaphysics comes to the Ancient Greece, where it was a

combination of the word meta, meaning over and beyond, and the word
physics. Thus, the combination means over and beyond the physical
world.
Many philosophers assimilate Metaphysics to philosophy, but it is only a
big (the most important) branch, concerning the theoretical (abstract)
study of the ultimate nature of existence, of the being and of the world.
According to Aristotle, Metaphysics deals with the first principles of
reality, existence, world, with the relation of universals to particulars, and
the teleological philosophy of causation.
Among the most important topics in the metaphysical investigation are
substance/matter, existence, objects and their properties, space and
time, cause and effect, and possibility, the investigation into the basic
categories of being and how they relate to one another, etc. (Malpas: The
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2012).
29
Because Metaphysics is not based on direct experience with material

reality, is often in conflict with the modern thought, with the scientific
method, based on experience and evidence, but the abstract
philosophical/ metaphysical reflection, which looking for foundations and
explanations beyond phenomena, experiments, evidences and
appearances, is very welcome and useful today, both in terms of research
of the natural phenomena but also and the socio-human phenomena and
processes, the metaphysical approach entering even in the sphere of
engineering or cybernetics.
ONTOLOGY
From an Ontological perspective, philosophy has, as core aim, the

study of the being and the explanation of the nature of existence, reality,
knowledge, values etc. (Allen: Penguin English Dictionary, 2003).
Ontology, as one of the the most important domains of philosophy, has in
its center of interest/ research/ knowledge the category of being, the
existence in-itself. Most often, the domain is opposed to Epistemology,
which studies the knowledge in itself and the things mainly scientifically
and categorically, opposed to the ontological approach.
From the ontological point of view the things, even the spiritual things,
really exist, these have a nature, a beginning, a processual, determined,
unique, unrepeatable existence (Hofweber, 2004), also a the end, while
Epistemology, in its purely position, claims that the things are rather
representations and products of some intellectual or sensory-cognitive
―processings‖, and, if the things and phenomena actually exist, are
multiplications of some immutable structures, patterns, epistemologically
subjected to certain intellectual and scientific processes of generalization,
categorization, universalization.
Ontology has consecrated/ established/ proposed, among others, the
paradigmatic ontological triad: being-existent-existence (being in itself -
being for itself - being outside-itself).
In ontological perspective the being (being in itself) of an entity
represents the essence, the original content, the invariable, the
ontological-metaphysical foundation of the entities, of the existent and of
the existence, the existent/ existing (being for itself) represents the
30
organization, the concrete form, unique, part of a context, the exposed

side of the being, acquiring the characteristics of form of the concrete
environment where it exists, while the existence, or the beingness
(being outside-itself), represents the processual, contingental, situational-
contextual side, exposed time, dynamic, experiential, the feeling and the
thinking (Maritain, 1956; Hegel, 1977).
EPISTEMOLOGY
Instead, in an Epistemological approach the essential mission of

philosophy is the study, finding, and explanation of the truth, the nature
and means of knowledge, the study of the nature and grounds of
knowledge (Malpas: The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2012),
especially with reference to its rationality.
Therefore, the accent is put mostly on aspects such as the philosophical
analysis of the nature of knowledge and how it relates to such concepts
as truth, belief, and justification, the problems of skepticism, the sources
and scope of knowledge and justified belief.
A crucial question of the epistemological philosophy is what there are the
most important criteria for knowledge and justification.
AXIOLOGY (ETHICS, AESTHETICS, POLITICS)
Essentially, Axiology is the branch of philosophy concerning with the

study of the nature, types, and criteria of values and of value judgments
especially in Ethics, Aesthetics and Politics (Audi & Deigh, 1995).
As constitutional field of Axiology, Ethics, concerns, through its major
areas of study - meta-Ethics, normative Ethics, and applied Ethics -
especially with questions such as how one should live, what are the best
ways for people to live together, what actions are right or wrong in
determined, concrete social circumstances.
31
The key themes in Ethics, or moral philosophy, are represented by the

relations between good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice
and crime. Ethics is, therefore, essentially linked to the value theory.
Some of the most important its topics are moral responsibility, moral
development, moral character (especially as related to virtue Ethics),
altruism, psychological egoism, moral luck, and moral disagreement.
Today, the classical representations of Ethics are operationalized through

approaches and philosophical formulas as applied Ethics, moral
relativism or descriptive Ethics, that offers a value-free approach to
Ethics, which defines it as a social science rather than a humanity. Its
examination of Ethics doesn't start with a preconceived theory, but rather
investigates observations of actual choices made by moral agents in social
action.
This philosophical-ethical debate between the classical approach based
on universalism and particularism brings in attention the philosophical-
sociological debate between structuralism/ universalism and
existentialism/ phenomenology/ contextualism.
In the structural-functionalist paradigm the person is, nomologically,
represented as a mere individual, as a mere element in the social
machinery, subordinate to the structures and the processes of group,
community, society etc., placing in the background its subjectivity, ego,
soul, the particular Ontology as existence, as being, as uniqueness, as
destiny; instead the humanistic paradigm bring them in the spotlight,
articulating a model of person/ personality of humanistic and spiritual
type. The professional and the client from the social services and
practices are, in this paradigm, mere agents of the institutions of social
control, of the society and community, or (human) elements, more or less
functional or effective, in the social machinery. The specific behavior of
the professional imposes also a view/ perspective from the established
society to/ upon the client (Harkness, 2002), which is, inherently,
methodologically, reduced to the category of element, individual without
personality, without ego, without soul.
The structural-functionalist and instrumentalist theoretical paradigm/
representation of the person and personality is promoted, in literature/
science, mainly by the academic/ scientific sociology but also by the
32
academic/ scientific psychology, being envisaged both the constitutional

issues but also the ones genetic or functional. Sociology, through its
classical method, as science, promotes a structuralist-funcţionalist
approach of the person-community relation, emphasizing the force of the
group, community, the structure against the person, who, objectively, is
constrained to submit to the rules and processes of the group, obeying
and adapting to his specific goals, rules and processes. The more the
community it is bigger and institutionalized all the more decreases the
role of the personality of individuals, their ego, soul, jouissance, in the
forefront moving the factors, and interest of group/ community/ society.
The nomological approach has, as theoretical-axiological foundation, the

thesis that the social entities, the human realities, the human personality
have universal patterns of structuring, functioning, genesis and
development (Cuin, 2006) therefore, the knowledge of a particular/
experimental case allows assigning universal characteristics for all the
cases, including for all persons, being thus passes in the second plan
their personality, particular Ontology, their unique existence, their quality
of person. In the family and child therapy, pedagogy and social work, for
example, the nomothetical sociological monad operates through the
universal representation of the family group, its structure and functions.
Therefore, for example, through the placement of the child in a
substitutive family is reconstructed, theoretically, a situation of
normality, the child regaining, a priori, the lost role-status of daughter/
son, sister/ brother, of family member, etc.
Thus, through its constitutional nature the nomological sociology, the
structural-functionalist paradigm of the person, of the relation between
the person and the community/ society, promote values, categories or
practices such as: first the structure and then the person; focusing on the
community and structural changes; structural, institutional, and
systemic intervention in therapy, education, management, social work,
etc. (Allan et al., 2003; Bailey & Brake, 1975).
As theoretical-epistemological paradigms/ frameworks/ models the
structural-atomistic theories, the general systems theory, and the
structural-functionalist theory explains in the most appropriate way that
approach of the person/ personality. In the structural-atomistic theories
33
and the structural-functionalist theories, also in the classical general

systems theory’s perspective/ light the person/ personality is, on the one
hand, socially, an invariable element into a system, and, on the other
hand, biologically and psychologically, itself a structured system, with
dominant attributes of invariability, generality and universality
(Kellerman, 2012).
IDEAS, VALUES, ORIENTATIONS,

MOVEMENTS, METHODS AND
REPRESENTATIVES IN THE HISTORY OF
PHILOSOPHY
PRE-SOCRATIC PHILOSOPHY
Metaphysics and Ontology

Core topics and ideas:
- all things are composed of substance, matter;
- the trying to establish the single underlying substance;
- whole universe is composed of different forms of water;
- whole universe is composed of different forms air;
- whole universe is composed of different forms fire;
- whole universe is composed of water, air, and fire;
- the theory of the four classical elements (earth, air, fire and
water);
- an unexplainable substance usually is translated as "the infinite"
or "the boundless";
- man is the measure of all things;
- everything is full of Gods;
34
- the theme of infinity;

- the problem of change - how things appear to change from one
form to another;
- the world is in perpetual change, a constant interplay of
opposites.
Epistemology, Logic, Knowledge

- the world can be known without resorting to supernatural or
mythological explanations;
- the use of the counter-arguments;
- paradoxes of motion - the best known of which is that of the
Achilles and the Hare;
- are put the foundations for the study of Logic;
- some thinkers belief that motion is nothing but an illusion;
- the theory of the four classical elements - earth, air, fire and
water;
- the idea of Atomism - all of reality is actually composed of tiny,
indivisible and indestructible building blocks known as atoms,
which form different combinations and shapes within the
surrounding void;
- making the weaker argument the stronger;
- all of reality is governed by numbers;
- reality could be encountered through the study of mathematics.
Axiology (Ethics, Aesthetics, Politics)

- man is the measure of all things;
- the man is the prettiest thing;
- the old men are the holders of truths;
- everything is full of gods;
35
- all you need is love, and five other things;

- the man is led, guided by of his humorous/ liquids.
Outstanding representatives:
- Thales - Zeno and Melissus
- Anaximander - Democritus
- Xenophanes - Anaxagoras
- Pythagoras - Leucippus
- Anaximenes - Empedocles
- Heraclitus - Hippocratics, and others.
- Parmenides
THE GREAT ANCIENT GREEK AND ROMAN PHILOSOPHY

- the great ontological and metaphysical problems must be broken
into a series of particular questions, where can be found more
easier the solutions:
- the Socratic Method in investigation the existence;
- opposition to the Materialism of the Pre-Socratics Metaphysics
and Ontology;
- the emergence of some ontological doctrines such as Realism,
Essentialism and Idealism;
- the theory of Forms and universals;
- is formed a comprehensive metaphysical systems of philosophy;
- the idea of the existence of an ineffable, transcendent, divine
Force, from which the rest of the universe "emanates" as a
sequence of lesser beings (Neo-Platonism);
- we can never know the true inner substance of things, only how
they appear to (Skepticism).
36

- the Socratic Method in Logic and Knowledge;
- the theory of knowledge and how we can acquire it into an
interconnected and systematic philosophy;
- the theory of Forms and universals;
- the world we perceive around us is composed of mere
representations or instances of the pure ideal forms, which had
their own existence elsewhere;
- comprehensive systems of Logic and Knowledge;
- the great epistemological and logical problems must be broken
into a series of particular questions, where can be found more
easier the answers;
- the deductive Logic - the syllogism - a conclusion is inferred from
two other premises, the thesis and antithesis;
- relativistic views on knowledge - there is no absolute truth and
two points of view can be acceptable at the same time; generally
skeptical views on truth and morality (Sophism);
- because we can never know the true inner substance of things,
only how they appear to us (and therefore we can never know
which opinions are right or wrong);
- we should suspend judgment on everything as the only way of
achieving inner peace (Skepticism);
- the self-knowledge (―knowing yourself‖ – Socrates) as a means of
overcoming destructive emotions in order to develop clear
judgment.

- how people should behave in the relations with the other and into
community;
37
- how to live properly and to tell the difference between right and
wrong;
- the Socratic Method in Ethics, Aesthetics and Politics
- the theory of forms and universals in Ethics, Aesthetics and

Politics;
- virtue is a kind of knowledge (the knowledge of good and evil) that

we need in order to reach the ultimate good the aim of all human
desires and actions (Eudaimonism);
- the ideal society, composed of Workers and Warriors, ruled over

by wise Philosopher Kings;
- comprehensive systems of ethical, aesthetical and political and

philosophy;
- people cannot always control their own moral environment;
- ‖man is the measure of all things‖;
- happiness could best be achieved by living a balanced life and

avoiding excess by pursuing a golden mean in everything;
- political stability can be achieved through steering a middle

course between tyranny and democracy;
- rejecting all conventional desires for health, wealth, power and

fame, and advocated a life free from all possessions and property
as the way to achieving virtue (Cynicism);
- the main goal in the people's live is to attain happiness and

tranquility through leading a simple, moderate life, the cultivation
of friendships and the limiting of desires (Epicureanism);
- pleasure is the most important pursuit of mankind, and that we

should always act so as to maximize our own pleasure
(Hedonism);
38
- the self-control and fortitude as a means of overcoming

destructive emotions in order to develop clear judgment and inner
calm and the ultimate goal of freedom from suffering (Stoicism ).
-
Socrates - Epicurus
- Plato - Lucretius
- Aristotle - Seneca
- Protagoras - Cicero
- Gorgias - Sextus Empiricus
- Diogenes - Philo of Alexandria
- Pyrrho - Plutarch
- Epicurus - Alexander of Aphrodisias
- Zeno of Citium - Porphyry
- Epictetus - Proclus
- Marcus Aurelius - Boethius
- Plotinus
MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY

- period named the Dark Ages for Metaphysics and Ontology;
- the thinkers are concerned especially with proving the existence of
God and with reconciling Religion with the classical philosophy of
Greece, particularly with the Aristotelianism;
- the establishment of the first universities, and the academic
studies of philosophy;
- the attempt of reconciliation of the rational Metaphysics and
Ontology with the Islamic theology;
- the attempt of reconciliation of the rational Metaphysics and
Ontology with the Christian theology;
39
- the attempt of reconciliation of the Aristotle's Metaphysics with

the Hebrew scriptures;
- the appearance of the movement called Scholasticism which tried
to combine Logic, Metaphysics, Epistemology and semantics (the
theory of meaning) into one discipline;
- the using of the Ontological Argument for the existence of God by
abstract reasoning alone;
- the five rational proofs for the existence of God;
- rejecting the distinction between essence and existence;
- not more ontological arguments than necessary for the
explanation of the existence of the God.

- period named the Dark Ages for Logic and the rational knowledge;
- the thinkers are concerned especially with proving the existence of
God and with reconciling Religion with the classical Epistemology
of Greece, particularly with the Aristotelian logic;
- the reconciliation of the rational philosophy of Aristotelianism and
Neo-Platonism with the Islamic theology;
- the apparition of the system of Logic known as Avicennian Logic;
- the reconciliation of the rational philosophy of Aristotelianism and
Neo-Platonism with the Christian theology;
- the affirmation of the concept of the "tabula rasa" - humans are
born with no innate or built-in mental content;
- the attempt of reconciliation of the Aristotle's Logic and
Epistemology with the Hebrew scriptures;
- the appearance of the movement called Scholasticism which tried
to combine Logic, Metaphysics, Epistemology and semantics;
- the resolving of the questions by the using the formal Logic and
analysis of language;
40
- discussing philosophy and religious aspects through infinitesimal

and pedantic details - ex. how many angels could dance on the tip
of a needle;
- the Ontological Argument for the logical explanation of the
existence of God.

- values and norms on how people should behave in the
relationships whit the other, in community but also for afterlife;
- ethical and theological questions are how to live properly and
make the difference between good and bad in the spirit of the
Islamic theology, the Christian theology, and the Hebrew
scriptures;
- the trying to use the Aristotelian and Plutonian methods and
solutions in Ethics, Aesthetics and Politics;
- the trying to use the theory of universals in Ethics, Aesthetics and
Politics;
- the attempt of reconciliation of the Aristotle's norms and values
from Ethics and Politics with the Islamic theology and the
Christian theology.
- Boethius - Maximus the Confessor
- Averröes - Saadia Gaon
- Avicenna - Ibn Bājja
- Maimonides - Albertus Magnus,
- St. Anselm - John Duns Scotus
- St. Thomas Aquinas - William of Ockham.
- Peter Abelard
41
THE PHILOSOPHY OF RENAISSANCE AND EARLY MODERN

PHILOSOPHY

- premises for the development of modern Metaphysics and
Ontology;
- revolution in the philosophical-ontological thought;
- the belief that humans can solve their own existential problems
through reliance on reason;
- new senses of critical metaphysical enquiry;
- are maintained many of the traditions of the Catholic Church and
popular superstitions in the current life and popular philosophy,
- the rise of liberalism in the metaphysical thought;
- premises for modern Metaphysics and Ontology;
- it is maintained the divine explanation on Universe and Man ;
- the human body as a kind of machine that follows the mechanical
laws of physics;
- the mind and the body as two different ontological things -
Cartesian Dualism;
- the God as the true substance from which everything else was
made;
- mind and body are two different aspects of a single underlying
substance – monism;
- everything occurs through the operation of necessity;
- the real world is actually composed of eternal, non-material and
mutually-independent elements – monad;
- the apparent harmony becomes from the will of God, who
arranges everything in the world in a deterministic manner;
- humans attain knowledge through ideas or immaterial
representations in the mind;
42
- all ideas actually exist only in God, and that God was the only
active power.

- great advance and development of Epistemology and Logic;
- revolution in the epistemological and scientific thought and
method;
- great advance of the free thought;
- the revival of classical learning;
- the revival of Humanism - the belief that humans can solve their
own problems through reason and the scientific approach;
- new senses of the critical enquiries;
- was attacked many of the Catholic conceptions and popular
superstitions;
- the truth requires evidence from the real world;
- the inductive reasoning;
- the debate between Rationalism (all knowledge arises from
intellectual and deductive reason) and Empiricism (the origin of
all knowledge is sense experience);
- the Cartesian method of knowledge and research – the
methodological skepticism;
- it is sustained also the divine epistemological causality - our
perceptions must be created for us by God;
- the Cartesian Dualism - the mind is a separate entity, the "mind-
body problem";
- premises for the modern formal Logic and Cognitive Psychology -
humans attain knowledge through ideas or immaterial
representations in the mind;
- all of our ideas, whether simple or complex, are ultimately derived
from experience;
- are maintained the conception that all ideas actually exist only in
God, and that God was the only active source for knowledge;
43
- humans can only directly know these ideas or perceptions

(although not the objects themselves) through experience;
- an object only really exists if someone is there to see or sense it -
"to be is to be perceived").

- important advances in Ethics and Aesthetics;
- the revival of ancient idea about civilization;
- the revival of Humanism;
- the revival of classical views on art, especially on picture,
sculpture, and architecture;
- humanism as involvement of the rational thinking, through
science, but also the human artistic creativity and imagination;
- concerns about the human condition and nature;
- the idea of ancestral human unity and solidarity;
- the representation of the human being as ontological part of a
human community, mutual conditioned by the common/ unique
human-genetic common background and specific inter-personal
interactions - theoretical-axiological sources for the social/
human solidarity, humanity/ humanness, socio-human
adaptation, and concern/ care for the other/ each other;
- the representation of the person as me, personality, with the
attribute of will and freedom, creativity, responsibility and dignity
- sources of the personal fulfillment, change and empowerment (of
the individual and of the community);
- the advance of the Political Philosophy;
- the rise of liberalism in arts, Ethics and politics;
- the human body as a kind of machine that follows the mechanical
laws of physics;
- Cartesian Dualism - the mind (or consciousness) was a quite
separate entity, not subject to the laws of physics, which is only
44
able to influence the body and deal with the outside world by a
kind of mysterious two-way interaction;
- mind and body are different aspects of a single underlying
substance which might be called Nature;
- everything occurs through the operation of necessity, leaving
absolutely no room for free will and spontaneity;
- ideas referring to the thesis of Moral Relativism - nothing can be
in itself either good or bad;
- a pre-established divine harmony, the apparent harmony becomes
from the will of God, who arranges everything in the world in a
deterministic manner;
- the importance of human solidarity;
- society as a social contract entered into for the mutual benefit of
all (Contractarianism);
- begins to develop the modern Capitalism, Liberalism and
Individualism in philosophy and society.
- Erasmus Roterodamus - John Locke
- Machiavelli - Thomas Hobbes
- Roger Bacon - Bishop George Berkeley
- Thomas More - David Hume
- René Descartes - Blaise Pascal
- Dutchman Baruch - Voltaire
Spinoza - Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- Gottfried Leibniz - Adam Smith
- Nicolas Malebranche - Edmund Burke
MODERN PHILOSOPHY
- advances in the theories of being and existence – being-in-itself;
being-for-itself; being-for-others;
45
- the dialectical method in Metaphysics and Ontology;

- any attempts to prove God's existence are just a waste of time,
because our concepts only work properly in the empirical world;
- all entities are composed fundamentally and essentially of mind
and/or spirit, the phenomena are mere their materializations –
idealism;
- history goes from matter to spirit – the objective idealism:
- it was not irrational to believe in something that clearly cannot be
proven either way - Fideism;
- the consciousness of the self depends on the existence of
something that is not part of the self;
- is established a connection or synthesis between the conceptions
of nature and spirit;
- "will-to-life" - the drive to survive and to reproduce;
- each person's individual consciousness as being part of an
Absolute Mind;
- the historical-dialectical materialism;
- the super-human, ―God is dead‖ – nihilism;
- premises for existentialism and phenomenology.

- from the opposition between Rationalism and Empiricism to the
combination of the two apparently contradictory doctrines into
one overarching system - Kantianism;
- our senses can only tell us about the appearance of a thing
(phenomenon) and not the "thing-in-itself" (noumenon);
- any attempts to prove God's existence are just a waste of time,
because our concepts only work properly in the empirical world;
- reality, or reality as we can know it, is fundamentally a construct
of the mind or otherwise immaterial - idealism;
46
- it is not irrational to believe in something that clearly cannot be

proven either way - Fideism;
- the consciousness of the self depends on the existence of
something that is not part of the self;
- is established a connection or synthesis between the conceptions
of nature and spirit;
- resolving a thesis and its opposing antithesis into a synthesis;
- history is an on-going process of conflict resolution towards the
Absolute Idea;
- each person's individual consciousness as being part of an
Absolute Mind;
- it is used the dialectical method in Epistemology, Logic,
Knowledge;
- Fideism - the beliefs are arrived at by an individual process that
lies beyond reason and evidence;
- Instrumentalism – the concepts and theories are merely useful
instruments;
- "learning-by-doing" in science;
- positivist ideas - the only authentic knowledge was scientific
knowledge, based on actual sense experience and strict
application of the scientific method.

- in Ethics - the theory of the Categorical Imperative - we should act
only in such a way that we would want our actions to become a
universal law, applicable to everyone in a similar situation (Moral
Universalism);
- we should treat other individuals as ends in themselves, not as
mere means (Moral Absolutism);
- Aesthetic Idealism - only art was able to harmonize and sublimate
the contradictions between subjectivity and objectivity, freedom
and necessity;
47
- "will-to-life" - the drive to survive and to reproduce;

- art (and other artistic, moral and ascetic forms of awareness) as
the only way to overcome the fundamentally frustration-filled and
painful human condition;
- each person's individual consciousness is part of an Absolute
Mind;
- the dialectical method in Ethics, Aesthetics and Politics;
- intellectual bases for later radical and revolutionary ideology and
doctrine of Socialism and Communism;
- Utilitarianism - the right action is that which would cause "the
greatest happiness of the greatest number";
- the quality not just the quantity of happiness, and intellectual
and moral pleasures over more physical forms;
- the coercion in society is only justifiable either to defend
ourselves, or to defend others from harm - the "harm principle";
- the theory of Pragmatism - the meaning of any concept is really
just the same as its operational or practical consequences;
- Instrumentalism – the values and norms are merely useful

instruments in knowledge;
- "learning-by-doing" – in education;
- the man is creator of his values and norms;
- the resorts for happiness are in the person’s interior;
- the applied Ethics - premises for the moral relativism.
- Immanuel Kant - Friedrich Wilhelm
- Johann Fichte Joseph Schelling
- Georg Hegel - John Stuart Mill
- Karl Marx - Francis Herbert Bradley
- Friedrich Engels - Henry David Thoreau
- Jeremy Bentham - C. S. Peirce
- William James
48
- John Dewey - George Herbert Mead

- Auguste Comte - Jane Addams.
- Søren Kierkegaard
CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY

- two great philosophies: Existentialism and Analytic Philosophy;
- Metaphysics and Ontology are approached mostly in
Existentialism and Phenomenology;
- the metaphysical reflection and method less and less used in
philosophy, prevails the scientific-analytical and experimental
methods;
- the metaphysical reflection and method in the so-called
Continental Philosophy – from Scientism to Historicism;
- the metaphysical approach known as Process Philosophy;
- there are not eternal forms;
- the "common sense" - Realism (as opposed to Idealism or
Skepticism) on the grounds that common sense claims about our
knowledge of the world are just as plausible as those other
metaphysical premises;
- that we call reality really consists of objects and events
("phenomena") as they are perceived or understood in the human
consciousness, and not of anything independent of human
consciousness (which may or may nor exist) - Phenomenology;
- the "intentional content" (the mind's built-in mental description of
external reality), which allows us to perceive aspects of the real
world outside;
- the existence of objects only has any real significance and
meaning within a whole social context – ‖being in the world" –
Existentialism:
49
- existence was inextricably linked with time, and that being is

really just an ongoing process of becoming;
- things are in the real world, responding to situations in an
individualistic way;
- secularism and humanism (non/anti-theistic philosophy;
- the "existence is prior to essence" (in the sense that we are thrust
into an unfeeling, godless universe against out will;
- we must to establish meaning for our lives by what we do and how
we act;
- the person always have choices (and therefore freedom) and that,
while this freedom is empowering, it also brings with it moral
responsibility and an existential dread (or "angst");
- the authentic human dignity can only be achieved by our active
acceptance of this angst and despair;
- the world and the society are dominated and determined of
structures and systems – general theory of systems –
structuralism/ structural-functionalism/ systemic-structuralism;
- openness to a variety of different meanings and authorities from
unexpected places, as well as a willingness to borrow
unashamedly from previous movements or traditions - Post-
Modernism;
- fragmentation, chaos theory - Deconstructionism.

- Analytic Philosophy and Scientific Method;
- Logicism, Logical Positivism;
- Philosophy of Language, Semantic Holism, Ordinary Language
Philosophy;
- the evidence-practice approach;
- in Epistemology and knowledge the metaphysical reflection and
method are less used, prevailing the scientific-analytical and
experimental methods;
50
- philosophy should apply logical techniques and be consistent with

modern science;
- a systematic reduction of all human knowledge down to logical
and scientific foundations;
- a statement can be meaningful only if it is either purely formal
(essentially, mathematics and logic) or capable of empirical
verification;
- the picture theory of meaning - thoughts, as expressed in
language, "picture" the facts of the world, and that the structure
of language is also determined by the structure of reality.
- the language as a kind of game in which the different parts
function and have meaning;
- the displacement of the emphasis from the ideal or formal
language of Logical Positivism to everyday language;
- the Semantic Holism - a sentence (or even an individual word) has
meaning only in the context of a whole language;
- "common sense" - our knowledge of the world are just as plausible
as those other metaphysical premises;
- Phenomenology –that we call reality really consists of objects and
events ("phenomena") as they are perceived or understood in the
human consciousness, and not of anything independent of
human consciousness (which may or may not exist);
- certain underlying conditions of truth have constituted what was
acceptable at different times in history.

- Existentialism, Phenomenology, Personalism,
- Neo-Marxism, Neo-Spiritualism, Ethical Relativism,
Deconstructivism;
- Hermeneutics;
- Scientific Sociology, Psychology, Pedagogy, Anthropology;
51
- Radical Philosophical Behaviorism – the human behavior need

never refer to anything but the physical operations of human
bodies;
- Ethical Non-Naturalism – denying the aspect that there exist
moral properties, which we can know empirically, and that can be
reduced to entirely non-ethical or natural properties, such as
needs, wants or pleasures;
- the term "good" is in fact indefinable because it lacks natural
properties;
- "common sense" - our knowledge of the world are just as plausible
as those other metaphysical premises;
- the existence has real significance and meaning within a whole
social context -"being in the world");
- existence was inextricably linked with time, and that being is
really just an ongoing process of becoming;
- responding to situations in an individualistic way;
- "existence is prior to essence";
- people must establish meanings for their lives;
- people always have choices (and therefore freedom);
- freedom is correlated with moral responsibility;
- the authentic human dignity can only be achieved by our active
acceptance of angst and despair;
- all human activity and its products are constructed and not
natural;
- from universality to relativism in Ethics – moral relativism;
- the person’s personality and behavior are formed and determined
mainly by the environmental factors – behavioral psychology;
mainly by the cognitive/ mental patterns – cognitive psychology;
mainly by the unconscious forces – psychoanalysis;
52

mainly by the volitional and spiritual inner factors (self-
determination) – humanistic psychology;
- Neo-Marxism, Feminism, Political Correctness.
- Bertrand Russell
- Alfred North Whitehead - G. E. Moore
- Gottlob Frege - Edmund Husserl
- Kurt Gödel - Martin Heidegger
- Mauritz Schlick - Jean-Paul Sartre
- Otto Neurath - Albert Camus
- Hans Hahn - Simone de Beauvoir
- Rudolf Carnap - Maurice Merleau-Ponty
- Ludwig Wittgenstein - Nicolai Hartmann
- W. V. O. Quine - Herbert Marcuse
- Gilbert Ryle - Michel Foucault
- Donald Davidson - Jacques Derrida
- Emmanuel Mounier (http://www.philosoph
ybasics.com/general_q
- Pierre Teilhard de
uick_history.html.)
Chardin
THE GREAT OPPOSED ORIENTATIONS/

APPROACHES IN/OF PHILOSOPHY
MATERIALISM VS. IDEALISM
The opposition is manifested especially in Metaphysics and Ontology,

having relevance also in Epistemology and Axiology.
53
Materialism, as great and cardinal orientation of philosophy, affirms,

essentially, that the substance, the physical matter, the objective laws,
are the fundamental reality and principle and, consequently, all entities,
processes and phenomena - material, human, spiritual, cultural, social,
moral, political, economic, historical, etc. - must be explained as
manifestations or results of their expression (George: Routledge
Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 1998)
The materialist doctrine sustains that the highest human’s values or
objectives lie in material well-being and in the furtherance of material
progress, the economic or social changes and progresses being mostly
materially caused.
In opposition, Idealism and Spiritualism were imposed as philosophies

that hold that the idea, the spirit, are the fundamental reality and
principle and, consequently, all entities, processes and phenomena,
including the material, physical entities, realities, processes and
phenomena, must be explained as expression or results of their
manifestations and metamorphoses (Hegel, 1977; Kant, 1999).
In the idealistic and spiritualistic perspective, the person’s personality
and behavior are formed and determined mainly by the volitional and
spiritual inner factors (self-determination).
Idealism and spiritualism have great religious dimensions, considering,
for example, through their mystical preoccupations, that the soul
continues to exist after the death of the physical body, after death being
possible for the soul even to learn and to grow spiritually.
RATIONALISM VS. EMPIRICISM
The opposition is manifested especially in Epistemology, having influence

also in Metaphysics and Ontology, but also in Axiology.
Rationalism comes from the traditional/ classical philosophy and

highlights the importance and relevance of the reason, intellect and
philosophical reflection in the activity of knowledge the reality, either
material either spiritual.
54
Rationalists sustain that the truths really exist and that the intellect can
directly grasp these truths. As well, they affirm that certain rational
principles exist in Logic, Mathematics, Ethics, and Metaphysics (Audi &,
Deigh: The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, 1995).
In contrast to rationalism, Empiricism, as philosophy and Epistemology,

sustains that the knowledge and the conclusions of researches have as
core sources the sensory experiences and the practical experiences, and
less the ―pure reason‖.
Therefore, in research, this approach promotes, especially in the last
century, the scientific method, by which all hypotheses and theories must
be tested through experiments, highlighting the importance of the
empirical and scientific evidences in the formation of conclusions and
theories (Achinstein & Barker, 1969).
STRUCTURALISM VS. HUMANISM
The opposition is manifested especially in Axiology, having also influence

in Epistemology, Metaphysics and Ontology.
Essentially, Structuralism, generally highlights the objective and

imperative importance and force of the structure and the relations that
are established into system in opposition to the role of the elements as
individual and unique entities.
For example, in the structural paradigm of the person-society/group
relation, the person is, structurally, represented as a mere individual, as
a mere element in the social machinery, subordinate to the structures
and the processes of group, community, society etc., placing in the
background its subjectivity, ego, soul, the particular Ontology as
existence, as being, as uniqueness, as destiny; instead the humanistic
paradigm bring them in the spotlight, articulating a model of person/
personality of humanistic and spiritual type. The professional and the
client from the social services and practices are, in this paradigm, mere
agents of the institutions of social control, of the society and community,
or (human) elements, more or less functional or effective, in the social
machinery. The specific behavior of the professional imposes also a view/
55
perspective from the established society to/ upon the client (Harkness,
2002), which is, inherently, methodologically, reduced to the category of
element, individual without personality, without ego, without soul.
Sociology, through its classical method, as science, promotes a
structuralist-funcţionalist approach of the person-community relation,
emphasizing the force of the group, community, the structure against the
person, who, objectively, is constrained to submit to the rules and
processes of the group, obeying and adapting to his specific goals, rules
and processes. The more the community it is bigger and institutionalized
all the more decreases the role of the personality of individuals, their ego,
soul, jouissance, in the forefront moving the factors, and interest of
group/ community/ society.
The nomological approach has, as theoretical-axiological foundation, the

thesis that the social entities, the human realities, the human personality
have universal patterns of structuring, functioning, genesis and
development (Cuin, 2006) therefore, the knowledge of a particular/
of person.
In the family and child therapy, pedagogy and social work, for example,
the nomothetical sociological monad operates through the universal
representation of the family group, its structure and functions.
Therefore, for example, through the placement of the child in a
substitutive family is reconstructed, theoretically, a situation of
normality, the child regaining, a priori, the lost role-status of daughter/
son, sister/ brother, of family member, etc.
Thus, through its constitutional nature the nomological sociology, the
structural-functionalist paradigm of the person, of the relation between
the person and the community/ society, promote values, categories or
practices such as:
 First the structure and then the person;
 Focusing on the community and structural changes;
 The community and society empowerment;
56
 Structural, institutional, and systemic intervention in therapy,

education, management, social work, etc. (Allan et al., 2003;
Bailey & Brake, 1975).
The structural-functionalist, or cognitive-behavioral approaches and

guidelines, in psychology, emphasize, in formation and functioning, either
the role of the body structure or the structural neuro-cognitive factors,
either that of the structural societal, cultural, educational factors,
representing the human personality mostly in a cybernetical way (Zheng,
2012), either as a reflection of the structure and physiology of the body or
brain, or as a automatic product of the socio-cultural environment
wherein was formed the personality, through learning, imitation and
internalization of the dominant/ characteristic social roles and behaviors
(Burkitt, 1991), which imprints itself ontogenetically as characteristic
patterns of thought and conduct, thus marking constitutionally the
structure, dynamics and functioning of the personality.
From these positions and perspectives of representation the personality,
in the current specific activity, the psychologist/ psycho-sociologist, the
educator, the manager, etc. aims to approach and solve collectively the
clients’ behavioral, mental, educational, economic, personal problems, to
deal systematically with the social (psycho-social) structural-functional
problems that, apriorically, cause them.
The structural-functionalist and instrumentalist-objectualist paradigm
prioritize the role of the genetic factors, of the body, of the neuro-cognitive
factors, in cooperation with the structural social, cultural, educational
factors, representing the process of personality and person formation and
development as an activation and enabling of certain existing structures,
of a less variable social or biological universal pattern, not recognizing the
self-determination, the ontogenetic autonomy, the role of the subject, or
the importance of certain ideographic psychological-ontological
constructions such as the soul or the ego.
Crucial it is so the cognitive and the technical-behavioral process of
learning of conducts, roles, models (Burkitt, 1991), of maximal
exploitation of the body's resources, of the mind and institutional
environment, putting in the background the importance of the subjective
(heuristic) experiences, the importance of the feelings, the emotions, or of
the will, putting in background the role of the psychological-spiritual
factors, of the self-generative internal dynamics, through an autonomous
57
emergence and superization, through compathetical, subjective-

experiential, spiritual generalization/ abstraction.
The simplistic, bidimensional, cybernetical, biological, even "electronical"
structural-functional and objectual-instrumental representation of the
personality, of the human person, propose reductionist, immanent
structural and functional models, where prevail formations and instances
of biological, material, informational order, where the subject has little
freedom, but also less responsibility, where prevail biological and
psychological forces as the body and the mind (intellect), also
psychological-behavioral functions such as attention, intelligence,
technical performance, etc. (McAdams, 2009).
As theoretical-epistemological paradigms/ frameworks/ models the
structural-atomistic theories, the general systems theory, and the
structural-functionalist theory explains in the most appropriate way that
approach of the person/ personality.
In the structural-atomistic theories and the structural-functionalist
theories, also in the classical general systems theory’s perspective/ light
the person/ personality is, on the one hand, socially, an invariable
element into a system, and, on the other hand, biologically and
psychologically, itself a structured system, with dominant attributes of
invariability, generality and universality (Kellerman, 2012).
In opposition to (social) structuralism, Humanism promotes the objective

and the imperative importance and force of the human being as
individuality, subject, person, ego, will, his creative capacity, in
opposition to the role of the structure and the social system as a whole
(Williams, 2008).
In its complex and large meaning humanism involves both the rational
thinking, through science, especially the socio-human sciences, and the
human artistic creativity and imagination.
As it is well known, in the social and human sciences, the term/ terms
humanism/ humanist/ humanistic/ etc. has been consecrated through
many meanings. In relation to the specific theme of the book we hold
mainly two:
1) related to the human condition and nature, the idea of ancestral
human unity and solidarity; the representation of the person as
ontological part of a human community, mutual conditioned by
58
the common/ unique human-genetic common background and

specific inter-personal interactions - theoretical-axiological
sources of the social/ human solidarity, humanity/ humanness,
socio-human adaptation, and concern/ care for the other/ each
other;
2) related to the intrinsic/ inner resources and capacities of the
human as individual, as person, of affirmation, self-
determination, personal accomplishment and development; the
representation of the person as me, personality, with the attribute
of will and freedom, creativity, responsibility and dignity - sources
of the personal fulfillment, change and empowerment (of the
individual and of the community) (Goodman, 1990).
The first meaning is, with predilection, exploited and stated by

philosophy, religion, transpersonal psychology and anthropology, while
the second by humanistic and positive psychology, pedagogy and
psychotherapy. Both are exploited and stated by humanistic sociology,
social work and management.
In agreement with the two established theoretical-axiological meanings
the humanistic approach to the socio-human sciences and practices
generates two relatively distinct perspectives of approach:
 solidarist-humanistic, and
 existential/ existentialist-humanistic.
Although, strictly analytically, seems somewhat opposite, in fact, the two

forms, solidarist-humanistic and existential/ existentialist -humanistic,
are ―two faces of the same coin‖, two sides and dimensions of the same
process, subsumed to a unitary theory and practice of the humanistic
social and therapeutic sciences and practices, within the larger
theoretical-methodological framework of the science of human as a whole.
Undoubtedly, the humanism, with its phenomenological and existentialist
philosophical foundations, through all its artistic, social, philosophical,
scientific, ideological, political, educational dimensions, manifestations
and concerns, through the multitude of themes and meanings by which it
was consecrated, as system or mode of thought and action predominating
the human interests, the human values and dignity, as variety of ethical
theories and practices that emphasize the human fulfillment through
59
knowledge and social development, focusing on the person/ individual/

self, centering on the person's resources, the self-determination, human
solidarity, humanity, human sensitivity, philanthropy, happiness,
promoting the person's welfare, through the constitutional concern for
researching the human being, his nature, essence, condition, through the
interest for promoting of some great general human values and ideals in
the evolution and development of society, through the interest for change
and new, for truth, beautiful, good, represents one of the most important
foundation and essential source of the humanistic approaches and
methods in the social and therapeutic sciences and practices, of an
authentic humanistic theory of the person and, personality, of the social
relations and social groups, represented with all that created humanity in
his history in domains as philosophy, art, science, anthropology, etc.
In contrast to (social) structuralism, where the persons are mere elements
in invariable systems, and the social relations are without life, emotions,
spontaneity and spirit, the humanistic philosophy have as important
concerns aspects as:
 the observation of how the person specifically lives, loves, suffers in
groups and communities;
 what relationships of attachment are established between persons
in different socio-human contexts, communities, etc.;
 the resilience and the coping of the person in different social
difficult situations;
 how persons solve the current socio-human problems;
 how they adapt to the changes or react to crisis or major events;
 how adjusts, interactive, their behaviors and symbolizes, mutually,
the social existence (the laws, values, customs, rituals, behaviors,
institutions, ideologies) (Znaniecki, 1969).
Humanistic philosophy, through its qualitative, ideographic,

phenomenological, interpretative methods promotes a compathetical
approach of the person-community relationship, highlighting the force of
the persons against the groups/ communities/ structures, that through
the contribution of the individualities that compose them become
human/ humane-compathetical environments of coexistence, beyond the
inherent their objective, standardizing and constraining valence.
60
PART II
HUMANISTIC PHILOSOPHY
T
he sintagm ―Humanistic Philosophy‖ is, usually, approached
and represented, in the specific literature, both as a branch,
as a area, topic, domain, section, part of (general) Philosophy
but also as a dimension, goal, ideal, value, sense, meaning, vocation,
valence of Philosophy as a whole, specking, therefore, about Philosophy
as a humanistic discipline of knowledge.
As a sub-discipline, as a branch, as a area, domain, section, part of
(general) Philosophy, Humanistic Philosophy is focused on, and brings in
attention, especially, the category, the value-concept of Human Being,
with the meaning of individuality, subject, the person with the attribute
of freedom and self-determination, the category, value-concept of agency,
the respect for the human as individual, as a Person, in opposition to the
approaches that represent the person, the individual human being as a
simple statistical element in a social structure, system, mechanism. In
the second meaning, crucial concepts, syntagms, and ideas-values that
are bring in attention, when we speak, therefore, of (general) philosophy
as a humanistic discipline are Anthropo-Centrism and Person-Centered
Approach. Essentially, philosophy as a humanistic discipline, through all
its branches, orientations, schools, and methods, is an ethics of the
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as an objective, values, ideal, principle of all the demarches, acts of

knowledge and action, epistemologically and methodologically speaking.
In general, the humanistic methodology, in philosophy, but also in
sociology, psychology and other socio-human sciences, in theory and
practice, give to human, to person and to the human relationships crucial
roles, examining with priority the humanistic fundamental resorts of the
micro-groups and particular socio-human contexts, focusing on the
subjective/ human/ socio-human processes, on the inter-personal/ inter-
human relationships and phenomena of cooperation, attachment,
solidarity, love, conflict, etc., in everyday life, in communities and
organizations. Between other characteristics of the humanistic
philosophy’s methodology can be also mentioned complexity, emergence,
reflection, meditation, revelation, inspiration, introspection, creativity,
questioning, humanistic hermeneutics, pro-humanistic deconstruction,
heuristic analysis, etc The specifics of the qualitative, interpretative and
comprehensive methods in philosophy and the socio-human sciences
and practices is mainly that these are focused largely on capturing the
phenomena more than the essences, universal laws; the object of
evaluation, observation and investigation being most often the event, the
socio-human context, the sentiment, the concrete attitudes, feelings and
reactions of people being in determined social and human relationships
and processes. The advantage is that through this methodology is
obtained the access to social and human aspects which would escape to
an eminently positive, nomological, scientific-technical approach, more
focused on capturing the structural, universal and repeatable evidences,
by modelations of mathematical type.
CONCEPT AND BASIC THEORY
Undoubtedly, the theoretical foundation of the humanistic philosophy

must starts from the concept-value of HUMAN, consequently from that of
humanism, then follows the concentration on the phenomenological,
existential, spiritual, cultural and moral mark on the specific theory and
methodology, everything, consequently, in the context and on the basis of
a very comprehensive perspective, approach, including many trends,
62
orientations, thinking schools or methods, some of them even appearing

to be in opposition, in contradiction.
As sub-discipline, area, and dimension of the philosophy as a whole,
humanistic philosophy, in its broad sense, is grounded and defined at the
same time on and by a large number of concepts, themes. ideas, values
such as human freedom, agency, human being, person, human
relationships, human nature/ essence, happiness and dignity, self-
determination, responsibility, human development, spirituality and
culture, empathy, love, faith, attachment, etc. (Williams, 2008).
So, under its broad umbrella are found, congruently but also
competitively, even antagonistically, concepts, themes, ideas, values
afferent both to the existentialist, phenomenological, contextualist,
interactionist, constructivist or realistic orientations, as well as to the
spiritual, cultural, ethical, and humanitarian orientations, found
sometimes together, sometimes separately, in the ideologies, doctrines,
and methods that underpin, theoretically-philosophically and
methodologically, the great contemporary social, cultural, and political
movements of humanistic inspiration, or the social sciences and practices
called humanistic as humanistic psychology and humanistic
psychotherapy, humanistic sociology and humanistic social work,
humanistic pedagogy and humanistic education, humanistic
management, etc.
Mainly through the doctrinal-ideological direction/ dimension imprinted
by the termination ism, in the broad area of the concept, idea of
humanistic philosophy enter many other concepts, categories, ideas,
approaches or debates such as:
 Concentration of the philosophical reflection/ theory on person,
individuality, subject;
 Agency – individuals have the constitutional and natural capacity
to act independently and to make their own free choices;
 Reflection and promoting, theoretically-philosophically, the
respect for the human as individual, as a person, for each person;
 Human dignity and social justice (Humanistische Akademie,
1998);
 The idea of human solidarity, humanitarianism, charity, altruism;
 The value-idea of equality, nondiscrimination, tolerance;
63
 Concentration of the philosophical reflection on promoting with

priority of the general/ universal/ ancestral HUMAN interests and
aspirations in relation to other beings, entities or forms of
existence;
 Highlighting, philosophically, the human nature and essence of
the person in the relation to the explanations of cybernetic,
biologist or structuralist-mechanicist type;
 Highlighting, philosophically, the human nature and essence of
the society and humanity in relation to the explanations of
cybernetic, statistical, structuralist-functionalist, structuralist-
mechanicistic, or deistic type;
 Reflection and promotion of a relative and contextual Ethics, of a
Ethics of happiness and human-personal good, in opposition to
the universalistic, functionalist, "oppressive" or divine Ethics, of
course, without disregarding the interest, the good and the
happiness of the other, the common interest;
 The philosophical reflection/ theory and promotion of an
optimistic attitude towards life and towards future;
 The exploitation of the cultural and socio-human resources from
the society and social context (Krill, 1978);
 Spiritual empowerment, personal/ human development and self-
determination (Payne, 2011);
 Empathy, attachment and human relationships (Payne, 2011, p.
4);
 Secularism, non-theistic approach.
In the last century and also today many philosophers start, in their
humanistic philosophical approaches, with the belief that there is no God,
believing in situation, relative, contextual Ethics, the primary goal of
humanism being the establishment of a one-world government.
But in its essence, beyond any ideological-doctrinaire order, humanistic
philosophy is distinguished by its special attitude towards man, towards
society and social practices, generating the focus of interest on
individuality, person and personality, on micro-community and human
64
interpersonal relationships, on creativity, spirituality and on human

resources in the social practices and activities.
The humanistic approach rejects the assumptions of the behaviorist-
environmentalist perspectives which are characterized as social/
external-deterministic, focused on stimulus-response behavior, also
rejects the biologistic-psychodynamic approaches, because it is mostly
biological-deterministic, with unconscious irrational and instinctive forces
that are considered to be determinant for the person’s thought and
behavior (Bugental, 1964).
Instead, from the humanistic theory’s position, every healthy individual
has, inherently, an Ego and a Personality, will, and through these,
freedom, the capacity of self-determination, the capacity to achieve its
potential in human, social and spiritual terms; all depending on its
internal activism and of the willingness for change, self-fulfillment, and
happiness (Plotnik and Kouyoumdjian, 2007).
An important moment in the recent history of humanistic philosophy is
the postulation of what was consecrated as the five core principles of
humanistic psychology, in the ―Journal of Humanistic Psychology‖ by
James Bugental, in 1964, respectively 1) Human beings, as human,
supersede the sum of their parts. They cannot be reduced to components;
2) Human beings have their existence in a uniquely human context, as
well as in a cosmic ecology; 3) Human beings are aware and are aware of
being aware - i.e., they are conscious. Human consciousness always
includes an awareness of oneself in the context of other people; 4) Human
beings have the ability to make choices and therefore have responsibility;
5) Human beings are intentional, aim at goals, are aware that they cause
future events, and seek meaning, value, and creativity.
(http://academic.udayton.edu/jackbauer/
Readings%20595/Hum%20Psy%205%20principles.pdf).
Person and personality are addressed in humanistic philosophy by the
two cardinal guidelines of the humanistic theory, respectively existential-
phenomenological and ontological-spiritual/ humane, speaking, therefore,
in humanistic-ontological perspective of spiritual/ humane personality,
and, in existential-positive perspective of strong and developed
personality.
Core concepts in humanistic-existential philosophy are Ego, Personal
Development and Strong Personality, implying features as freedom, will,
personal and social efficiency, socio-emotional development, high control
65
of emotions, emotional intelligence, realism and balance, resistance to

failure and frustrations, hope, orientation to future. positive attitude,
optimism, active thinking, high degree of awareness, self-knowledge, self-
esteem, professional development, personal and social autonomy,
interpersonal development, mature personality, adaptability.
One of the most important ways of achieving these humanistic-personal
attributes is the emancipation, empowerment and development through
spiritualization and humanization, through spiritual and human/
humane empowerment and development. Even if it is a very complex and
difficult endeavor, the humanization, spiritualization and humane-
spiritual/cultural integration/ development of the person are considered
miraculous solutions for many kinds of problems, sufferings, deviances,
etc.
Therefore, the humanistic-epistemological foundation in the
representation of the person, in humanistic philosophy, is his approach
as complex personality, promoting the representation of the person as
Ego, the power of the consciousness and of the will, the freedom,
responsibility and self-determination, the development of the person in
accordance with his characteristics and choices.
The ego is, inter alia, the expression of the need of the person of
individualization, recognition, appreciation and self-accomplishment, of
permanent security, of positive hedonic state, of balance, of beingness.
Paradoxically, the subject is a product of the lack, but which seeks to
suppress it, what makes us to define the subject rather as a resort,
mechanism, instrument than a "being", an independent formation, still,
the establishment of the ego represents, in this light, a victory of the
being against nothingness, ensuring the opening and browsing of the
ontogenetical processes of formation of the person as an individual
through individualization, following to be completed by recognition,
appreciation, self-accomplishment.
In processes crucial role have the onto-projective ego and the spiritual
ego, which try to conserve the specific personal existence, the
uniqueness, originality of the person, to represents at higher, intellectual,
projective, teleonomical level the authentic needs and goals of the subject,
which meets very important roles in the configuration of the motivational
and axiological system of the person, in forming of some higher mental
faculties such as the will or the conscience, at the spiritual ego level being
concentrated enormous energies, forces and information which,
66
specifically assimilated and integrated, become important resources of

cultural development, social adaptation, and self-accomplishment.
Within the humanistic-ontological paradigm of the person/ personality
the Ego can be represented, as well, as the central ontological-
psychological formation - approached in its large representation (Maslow,
.2011; Bickhard, 2012).
As it was shown, the formation of the ego and the process of
individualization ia a necessity, together with the processes of
culturalization and humanization, with which it completes and interacts,
even if, at least in the psychoanalytic perspective, they are somewhat
opposite; the processes of culturalization and humanization are guided by
the other's interests, the common good, while the process of formation of
the Ego is guided by the personal-endemic motivational resorts, by the
individual intrinsic jouissance, by impulse, needs and unconscious, by
the self.
It is difficult to operate with limits, thresholds, steps, unique, unitary age
periods relating to the time when is properly, ontogenetically, installed
the Ego, when it is formed and established with its defining attributes
(Freud, 1990).
However, the formation of the ego and the individualization of the process
of personalization does not mean a simple counterbalance or
manifestation of the biological, instinctual forces of the self and the ontic
subject, but also means a personal marking of the humanizing processes;
moreover, also those formations, resorts, forces that we represent as
belonging to individuality are re-dimensioned and enriched through the
incorporation of the spiritual, cultural, moral and human acquisitions
(Brody & Axelrad, 1970).
In the complex, profound, process of formation of the ego and of
individualization they have crucial role the principles, laws,
characteristics properties of process like as the promergence and the
dismergence, emergence and imergence, transmergence and telegence,
conmergence and sinmergence. The promergence and the dismergence
are opposite ontological-procesual properties, and reflect the objective
tendencies of the process of individualization of conservation and
development, as opossition to entropy, degradation, because at any
moment a number of ego-ontosformations, dimensions or processes are
in growing, advancement, forming, are promergent, and others are in
degradation decline, involution, are dismergent.
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In the process of forming of the personal ego/ self and its sub-formation
the emergence is the quality/ capacity/ property of the processes that
makes possible the appearance of new entities, structures, properties etc.
from the previous ones, defined as sources, factors, conditions (Frankl,
1967). The emergence generates new realities and qualities. Usually the
new entities are more complex and better adapted to the environmental
factors. The imergence represents the property and capacity of the
process of ontosfication to forming, developing, evolving it in themselves,
in itself, from nothing, of inertia, "subversively", simultaneously with the
developments, evolutions, changes caused by the determined, objective
identified factors. Transmergence represents the property and capacity of
the process to carry out without limitations and physical barriers of space
and organization. Telegence means much the same thing, but concerns
the temporal aspect of the processes of ontosfication.
Conmergence entails the transmergence, the telegence, the imergence and
the promergence and represents the tendency of the processes to organize
and concentrate it "thematically" in ego-ontosformations, ego-ontos-
structures, etc., reflecting the inherence of some functions, beyond any
limitations of "logistic" or temporal order. Sinmergence is the quality/
capacity/ property of the individualizing processes which makes it
possible the coexistence, simultaneously, of some ego-ontos-personal
entities in the same personal "space", the functioning and beingness of
some distinct ego-ontos-entities, structures, relationships, processes on
the same material, biological, informational, spiritual support.
The process of ego formation and individualization respects, covers,
passes through the six principals stages, like all the other formations and
personal spheres, respectively, of contact and acquisition/ accumulation,
structuration/ centralization and constitution/ holistization, of
establishing/ networking, and ontification/ fulfillment. The ego,
comprises, in its broad and comprehensive acceptation/ sphere, in our
opinion, mainly, formations such as the onto-projective and the spiritual
ego, the social ego, and the humane ego.
An important dimension and branch of humanistic philosophy it is the

spiritual and transpersonal approach/ orientation, that represent the
human being as a cumulation/ overlapping of personalities, persons and
universal, ancestral or cosmic values, highlighting in particular the
transcendental, ancestral and spiritual content and, valences and
resources of the human personality (Lajoie & Shapiro, 1992). In the
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humanistic-transpersonal/ transcendental/ spiritual philosophy are used

especially terms, concepts, ideas as spiritual evolution, religious
conversion, altered states of consciousness; spiritual practices; spiritual
self-development; self beyond; spiritual crises; peak experiences; mystical
experiences (Anderson, 2011; Lajoie & Shapiro, 1992).
The humanistic-ontological/ spiritual approach to person highlights
especially the inner-ontological psychological-spiritual and psychological-
humane sphere/ content of the personality, of the spiritual self, of the
soul, their aesthetic, playful, moral or religious resources. This
perspective gives, as is natural, so, to the ontological-spiritual sphere the
primary etiological, structural and existential role in formation, structure,
beingness and functioning of the person. It highlights and promotes
personality traits and qualities such as spirituality, virtue, humanity/
humanness, altruism, empathy, love, faith, etc.
In the humanistic-ontological/ spiritual/ transpersonal approach a
crucial rol, in the human being’s structure and ongenetical formation, the
Soul, being represented, alongside the religious approach/ representation
as the general humane-altruistic and pan-human/ transpersonal
psychological-ontological sphere/ component/ dimension of the human
personality. The soul brings together, emergently and transmergently, at
a higher level, more complex, deeper and synthetic, the onto-formations
from the affective (social) soul and spiritual soul levels, generating the
extraordinary ability, ancestral, unique, of the person to feel, live and
think as a human being, as an ancestral being, as an exemplar human
being, but also as a humane being, by their ability to resonate, empathize,
compathize with the human and spiritual experience of the other persons,
even if they are not part of the inner circle of acquaintances, relatives,
colleagues etc.
Through the formation and establishment of the soul the personality as a
whole is reformed and is defined by solidarist-humanistic/ transpersonal
qualities/ virtues and behavioral traits such as empathy, agreeableness,
tolerance, humanity, human sensitivity etc. - qualities related, therefore,
not only to the contingent social sphere of the subject, but to all that is
human, universal-human, trans-, pan-human, anywhere and anytime.
Nor the functioning, nor the genesis, nor the existence of the human soul
would not be possible without a strong cultural, anthropo-social, pan-
human dimensioning. Therefore, the human soul is established and
operates by two complementary cardinal processes: oriented to himself, of
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humanization and universalization of the self, ego self- personality, and of

cultural, anthropo-social setting, oriented towards other people, to world,
society, values.
As mentioned above, another area of interest in humanistic philosophy is

the society, its history, with emphasis on the social relations as human
relationships, thus speaking of human history and human society, or
humanistic society.
The humane/ humanistic society and humanity are build and specifically
define through the common, collective, inter-/ trans-personal emotional,
affective, sentimental, cognitive circumstances, characteristics and
behaviors of the individuals who compose it. So, these consist mainly of
three types of sub-processes or phenomena: emotional/ affective/
sentimental, cognitive/ intellectual, and spiritual/ cultural/ moral.
In this perspective each member of a society is, inter alia, a product of a
unique and but also of a common, collective interaction, depending on the
personality of the others, place, time, cultural niche, hazard. Every
person being actually part of a particular human/ humanistical system.
This is, in turn, part of a comprehensive system. The most common
human/ humanistical system and most consistent is the family.
Into any micro-community, into the family, the human/ humanistical
consistency is given by the fact that the individual’s personalities are
composed of common emotional, cognitive, and cultural experiences, by
the fact that in each individual personality exists, through empathy and
projection, the others. It is established a mutual existential dependence
between the persons and between the persons and the society as a whole.
This humanity, human/humanistic society works, through the
organizational culture, also as a system of symbols or values that are
rooted in the individual’s personality or activism. These symbols and
values are imposed as links and unitary resorts between the two parties.
Their existence and operation give the sense of belonging, familiar,
known, give comfort, safety and happiness.
Between the human/humanistic society and the individuals which it
constitutes it is established a ontological-socio-human balance, an
existential and functional optimum, in which is satisfied, in principle, in a
harmonious and non-confrontational way, both the personal and the
collective necessities. The human/humanistic society and the humanity
can also have a negative influences, may be an area of non-value, of
70
conflict, hostility or social exclusion, or can have a coherent organization

and functioning but founded on non-value, on antisocial attitudes, or
may be poorly organized, dysfunctional, immature. In both cases, the
members are exposed to personal/ humane/ spiritual under-
development, marginalization and social/ moral maladjustment.
The optimal condition for the construction and functioning of a strong,
developed, equilibrate personality, a adaptable and happiness person, are
the ones opposites, namely positive, functional humanity, social/ human
solidarity, unity, communication, cooperation, in the family, society,
organization etc. (Cusick, 2011).
The culture offers both an axiological model, but represents also an
inexhaustible reservoir of spiritual and epistemological resources in the
processes of forming of the superior formations and spheres of the
person/ personality, mostly of the social-personal sphere, of the social
ego, of the conscience and character.
Religion, morals and education, as well, through their psychological-
axiological dimensions and contents (beliefs, convictions attitudes,
knowledge etc.), but also through the ones social/ moral (rituals, Ethics
rules, etc.) can be considered important spiritual and ethical factors/
sources in the ontogenetic process of forming personality (Wallace, 1980).
The role of the culture, religion morals, and education being so more
important in the formation, beingness and functioning of the latter one, of
the social-personal / psychological-social sphere because these provide
models, values, knowledge, cultural and moral frames of forming and
developing.
Regarding the society and the human relationships, among the most
important concerns of humanistic philosophy are also aspect as the
observation of how individuals as complex and unforeseeable human
beings, as persons specifically live, love, suffer, interact, what attachment
relationships are established between them in relationships of kinship,
friendship, enmity, interest, collegiality, power relationships (Mills, 1959;
Znaniecki, 1934), how persons and groups adjust, interactively, their
behaviors and symbolizes, mutually, the social existence (the laws,
values, customs, rituals, behaviors, institutions, ideologies) (Znaniecki,
1969), the resilience and coping with difficult situations, how persons and
groups solve the problems, how persons and groups adapt to the changes
or react to crisis or major events (Merton & Nisbet, 1961), etc.
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Essentially, the humanistic approach and method make the accent on

human subjectivity and creativity, highlighting how individuals respond
to social constraints and actively assemble social worlds, dealing with
concrete human experiences, with their socio-human, inter-personal,
inter-human organization. promoting a kind of society in which there is
less exploitation, oppression and injustice. From the perspective of
humanistic philosophy’s principles, the person, as being, subject, self
matter and prevail in the relationships with the society as a whole and
with the man as ancestral entity (Mills, 1959).
In this sense, in the humanistic philosophy reflections and concerns the
person is not a simple element, or a tool, means for society or humanity
to achieve their objectives, the historical and ancestral goals, but,
conversely, the society are the existential frame where the person is
fulfilled, where expresses its vocation for freedom and finds the happiness
in the unique and irreducible existence and life that it has (Merton &
Nisbet, 1961). Humanistic philosophy is also a militant discipline of
knowledge, this is the reason why one of the most important purposes/
directions is the study of how to make a better world, the key
commitment is that people matter (Mills, 1959; Znaniecki, 1934).
As Project, the specific theory of humanistic philosophy attempts to meets

and organize, epistemological-methodological, the humanistic theory/
theories and methodology from the contemporary social and human
theory, sciences and practices, in a system, providing both a unitary
theoretical and methodological framework, and a forum for theoretical-
philosophical debate and innovation.
In the fields of educational, assistential, therapeutic, artistic or
managerial practices, the humanistic philosophical ideas and methods
are reveled in values and concepts as 1) Promoting the concrete and
complex human being, the individuality and personal happiness, its
fundamental interests, feelings and values, the spiritual well-being of the
person/ client (Payne, 2011); 2) Humane personality and humane
relationship like the fundamental resources of practice (Stefaroi, 2013); 3)
Human dignity, social justice, equality, solidarity (Humanistische
Akademie, 1998); 4) The exploitation of the cultural and socio-human
resources from the society and social context (Krill, 1978); 5) Spiritual
empowerment, personal/ human development and self-determination
(Payne, 2011); 6) Social justice, equal opportunities, solidarity, socio-
human society, human relationships (Payne, 2011, p. 4), etc..
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In this connection, the core mission and task of the humanistic social
practices would be to promote a human/humanistic attitude in the
practitioner-person relationship, by creating a socio-human environment
based on empathy, love and humanity, by humanizing the society, by
changing the customers and communities through empowerment,
personal/ society development and responsibility, starting from the
person/ society’s right to happiness and well-being, but also from their
right to dignity and self-determination.
Happiness is, therefore, in humanistic philosophy, an important category
and value. From the humanistic perspective, every person, regardless of
age, sex, nationality, race, social status, profession is entitled to a
dignified life, to happiness, to personal fulfillment, the essential indicator
of the human life quality being the internal satisfaction, the subjective
felt, the happiness and complacency of the person. The authentic
happiness is a source of personal development, social/ professional
efficiency and factor for the acquisition of the autonomous social
reintegration capacity.
PHILOSOPHY AS A HUMANISTIC DISCIPLINE
Essentially, philosophy as a humanistic discipline, through all its

branches, orientations, schools, and methods, is an ethics of the
as an objective, as a values, ideal, principle of all the demarches, acts,
processes of knowledge and action, epistemologically and
methodologically speaking.
In this sense, crucial concepts and syntagms that are bring in attention
when we speak of (general) philosophy as humanistic discipline are
Anthropo-Centrism and Person-Centered Approach (Williams, 2008).
In the same time, philosophy as a humanistic discipline, too, through all
its branches, orientations, schools, and methods, is an ethics of the
human, of the man, and, especially, a philosophy of the human as a
73
person, subject, ego, with desires and dreams, of a person with

personality, ego and soul, of a person who lives and suffers and not of a
person who is a simple element into a social system/ mechanism, in
society and history, mere object of scientific research, or of
transcendental/ divine projects (Reichmann, 1985).
Humanistic Social Philosophy is, in this sense, as theoretical-
philosophical discipline, the study and interpretation of society and social
institutions in terms of –humanistic-ethical, metaphysical and ontological
values and categories rather than in mere empirical or scientifical terms.
Being a branch of humanistic philosophy, humanistic social philosophy
explores, therefore ethically, metaphysically and ontologically, issues at
socio-human society/ group/ organization level, at level of social
behaviors and social institutions, addressing social-humanistic aspects
like how the persons, as social and human beings, behave and empathize
mutually in groups, communities, society, organizational environments,
etc. (Thomas, 2007).
But, the humanistic dimension, valence and aim of the philosophy is best
highlighted by the humanistic-existentialist approach/ current, promoted
and developed by thinkers such as Kierkegaard, Husserl, Heidegger,
Sartre, de Beauvoir, Merleau-Ponty, Nietzsche, which by definition places
the human individuality and the human interest in the foreground of
knowledge and practice.
Are, therefore bring in foreground concepts, ideas, and values as the
human-individual (personal) condition and nature, emphasis on real,
lived life, interest in topics such as happiness and distress, the limit
experiences, the existential crises and impasses, the willpower and ability
to self-determination, freedom and responsibility, the limits of the
personal freedom, the ontological congruence between person and
environment, the concrete social existence, the displacement of the
interest from the abstract, metaphysical themes, towards the existential,
phenomenological themes, the primacy of the man as an individual,
person, ego, and uniqueness in society, the limits of the human being,
the human being’s fragility, interest for personal growing and autonomy,
the power of reason, the self-knowledge, the self-realization, the self-
actualization, etc. (Heidegger, 1962; Husserl & Moran, 2012).
As crucial concepts and syntagms of philosophy as humanistic discipline,
anthropo-centrism and human-centered approach, are most reveled and
applied in therapy, education, social work and management through
74
techniques or methods as client-centered intervention, child-centred

education, employee-centered management, etc.
For example, the person/ client-centered therapy is known and applied
taking in consideration aspects and ideas as: the therapist must accept
the client unconditionally, without judgment, disapproval or approval; the
therapist experiences an empathic understanding of the client's internal
frame of reference; the therapist helps the client to believe that the
therapist has an unconditional love for them; the psychotherapist/
counselor must manifest increased trust in the client potential and in its
capacity to recover, rehabilitate, grow and develop with its own resources,
the role of the therapist being principally to guide it; the therapeutic
relationship must be a relationship in which each person's perception of
the other is very important; into the framework of the therapeutic
relationship must to exist an empathetical/ compathetical congruence
(emotional, cognitive etc.) between the client and therapist; the therapist
must involve in the therapeutic relationship his own experiences to
facilitate the rehabilitation, development, emancipation, empowerment of
the client (Rogers, 1977).
Bernard Williams (2008) holds that the differences between the
philosophy as a humanistic discipline (focused on human/ person’s good,
wellbeing) and the philosophy as a scientific discipline (focused on finding
general, universal laws through experiments) are reflected in the
differences that are established between ethical beliefs and scientific
beliefs. He argues that the scientific beliefs enjoy a kind of objectivity
which ethical beliefs lack.
HUMANISTIC, PRE-HUMANISTIC AND PRO-

HUMANISTIC ORIENTATIONS AND
APPROACHES IN PHILOSOPHY
As it was highlighted in the book, under the great ‖umbrella‖ of

humanistic philosophy are found, congruently but also competitively,
75
even antagonistically, many concepts, themes, ideas, values, orientations

and approaches.
This is why it is very difficult to list from a single perspective all, and with
great accuracy, the guidelines, schools, approaches that compose and
define it.
That's why the enumerations from below must be taken and interpreted
with great caution, tolerance and flexibility.
HUMANISTIC, PRE-HUMANISTIC AND PRO-HUMANISTIC

ORIENTATIONS AND APPROACHES IN PHILOSOPHY FROM
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE:
o Eudaimonism,
o Epicureanism,
o Hedonism,
o Stoicism,
o Renascentist Humanism,
o Enlightenment,
o Rationalism,
o Liberalism and Libertarianism,
o Idealism,
o Subjectivism,
o Immaterialism,
o Individualism,
o Kantianism,
o Subjective Idealism,
o Spiritualism,
o Religious Spiritualism,
o Romanticism,
o Dialectical and Historical Materialism,
o Utilitarianism,
o Marxism,
o Voluntarism,
76
o Pragmatism,
o Personalism,
o Existentialism,
o Ethical Naturalism,
o Phenomenology,
o Nihilism,
o Neo-Marxism,
o Constructivism,
o Neo-Humanism,
o Neo-Spiritualism, etc.
HUMANISTIC, PRE-HUMANISTIC, AND PRO-HUMANISTIC

ORIENTATIONS AND APPROACHES IN PHILOSOPHY FROM
DOCTRINAIRE/DISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES:
o Existential-phenomenological orientations and approaches
o Secular, a/non/anti-theistic orientations and approaches
o Spiritual and religious orientations and approaches
o Humanitarian orientations and approaches
o Individualistic-psychologistic orientations and approaches
o Anthropo-centered, human-centered approaches
o Anthropological orientations and approaches
o Pan-human and historical orientations and approaches
o Societal orientations and approaches
o Cultural orientations and approaches
o Ethical orientations and approaches
o Evolutionary orientations and approaches
o Marxist and Neo-Marxist orientations and approaches
o Post-modern humanistic and pro-humanistic orientations and
approaches
o The anti-cybernetic, anti-technologization, globalization
orientations and approaches.
77
OF THE HUMANISTIC AND PRO-HUMANISTIC
PHILOSOPHY
Because, as it was highlighted in the book, under the great ‖umbrella‖ of

humanistic philosophy are found, congruently but also competitively,
even antagonistically, many concepts, themes, ideas, values, orientations
and approaches, is very difficult to list with great accuracy the great pre-
humanistic, pro-humanistic and humanistic thinkers, philosophers, the
outstanding representatives of the humanistic and pro-humanistic
philosophy as discipline, that's why the enumerations from below must
be taken and interpreted with great caution, tolerance and flexibility.
Still, it can be said that crucial contributions to the emergence and
consecration of the great humanistic and pro-humanistic philosophical
orientations, currents of ideas and schools, to the development of the
humanistic philosophy as an important domain and dimension of
philosophy as a whole, they had and have great thinkers, philosophers,
representatives as:
Protagoras, Averröes,
Epicurus, Avicenna,
Epictetus, Confucius,
Thales, St. Thomas Aquinas,
Heraclitus, Peter Abelard,
Parmenides, Ibn Bājja,
Democritus, Albertus Magnus,
Socrates, William of Ockham,
Plato, Erasmus,
Aristotle, Petrarch,
Marcus Aurelius, Roger Bacon,
Plotinus, Thomas More,
Seneca, René Descartes,
Cicero, Dutchman Baruch Spinoza,
Porphyry, Gottfried Leibniz,
Boethius, Bishop George Berkeley,
78
Voltaire, Emmanuel Mounier,

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin,
Adam Smith, Edmund Husserl,
Immanuel Kant, Martin Heidegger,
Johann Fichte, Jean-Paul Sartre,
Georg Hegel, Herbert Marcuse,
Karl Marx, Michel Foucault,
Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Judith Butler,
Schelling, Cornel West,
John Stuart Mill, Jacques Derrida,
John Dewey, Slavoj Žižek.
Auguste Comte, Alain Badiou,
Søren Kierkegaard, Simon Blackburn,
Bertrand Russell, William Lane Craig,
Donald Davidson, John Haldane.
METHODOLOGY IN/OF HUMANISTIC

PHILOSOPHY
The core value and principle of the humanistic philosophy’s methodology

is the ideothetical/ ideographical approach/ method.
If the nomological methodology has, as theoretical-axiological foundation,
the thesis that the social entities, the human realities, the human
personality have universal patterns of structuring, functioning, genesis
and development (Cuin, 2006), the knowledge of a particular/
of person, the ideographical, phenomenological, interpretative methods
promotes a comprehensive-interpretative and contextual approach of the
human, of person-community relationships, highlighting the force of the
persons against the groups/ communities/ structures, that through the
79
contribution of the individualities that compose them become human/

humane-compathetical environments of coexistence, beyond the inherent
their objective, standardizing and constraining valence.
Methodology in humanistic philosophy determines the concentration of
interest to aspects as the observation of how the person specifically lives,
loves, suffers in groups and communities, what relationships of
attachment are established between persons in different socio-human
contexts, communities, how adjusts, interactively, people their behaviors
and symbolizes, mutually, the social existence (the laws, values, customs,
rituals, behaviors, institutions, ideologies) (Znaniecki, 1969).
Generally, the humanistic methods, in philosophy, sociology or
psychology, in theory and practice, give to person and the human
relationships crucial roles, examining with priority the laws of the micro-
groups and particular socio-human contexts, focusing on the subjective/
human/ socio-human processes, on the interpersonal relationships and
phenomena of cooperation, attachment, solidarity, love, conflict, etc., in
everyday life also in organizations.
Between other characteristics of the humanistic philosophy methodology
can be mentioned:
o complexity
o emergence
o reflection
o meditation
o common sense
o revelation
o inspiration
o introspection
o creativity
o questioning
o hermeneutics
o deconstruction.
In the spirit of complexity principle in the methodology of humanistic

philosophy important is the so called theory of complex and emergent
systems. Essentially, the theory highlights the aspects that the systems
80
(especially the living and spiritual systems) consist of many interrelated

and interdependent components or parts, linked through many (dense)
and often chaotic interconnections (Smuts, 1973). In this sense, the
emergent and complex systems cannot be described by simple rules,
laws, and their characteristics are not reducible to one level of
description. They exhibit properties that emerge from the interaction of
their parts and which cannot be predicted from the properties of the parts
(Ludwig von Bertalanffy, 1968).
In these theories (which include, among others, the chaos theory and the
holistic theory) the formation of the person/ personality, of the human
being involves characteristics, properties, processes, principles such as
promergence, emergence and imergence, transmergence and telegence,
conmergence and sinmergence. In the light of these theories the
processes take place, largely, without limitations and physical barriers of
―space‖, time and organization, transcending the structures, the
organizations, and the entities already constituted, attracting and
involving them in the processes of forming, constituting and establishing
of the new formations, without altering them (Gleick, 1987). The degree of
freedom/ action is very large, the number of combinations and the
facilities of structuration and formatization being almost unlimited; one of
the most important explanation is given by the fact that in the emergent
and complex systems the processes have the extraordinary quality to
permit the transcendence and the multiplication to infinit of the
informational/ spiritual entities, taking place without time limitations
and barriers, by the fact/ explanation that the processes have the
tendency to organize and concentrate them "thematically" in formations,
persoms, structures, spheres etc., reflecting the inherence, the objective
necessity of some functions, beyond any limitations of "logistic" or
temporal order, the entities coexist, simultaneously, in the same "space",
the functioning and beingness of some distinct entities, structures,
relationships, processes on/ through the same material, biological,
informational, spiritual support, framework.
The humane and spiritual experiences and the promergent processes are
involved in complex, emergent, dynamic mechanisms and entities, every
formation, sphere, personality, the person as a whole being so a product
of the ontogenetical incorporation, union, synthesis, of the conmergent,
emergent, transmergent unitary organization of the sub-entities/
formations, structures, energies, mechanisms, of the processes of
81
organization in new structures, formative entities, formations, spheres,

usually upper structurally and axiologically.
The socio-human, cultural and institutional experiences are involved in
complex, emergent, dynamic mechanisms and entities, every social
formation and structure, the community as a whole is a product of the
ontogenetical incorporation, union, synthesis, of the conmergent,
emergent, transmergent unitary organization of the sub-entities/
formations, structures, energies, mechanisms, of the processes of
organization in new socio-human structures, entities, institutions,
usually, too, upper structurally and culturally.
Florian Znaniecki (1934), proposes the analytic-inductive method as
principal scientific-methodological tool in philosophy and in the socio-
human sciences and practices, of evaluation and intervention, of research
of the socio-human processes and phenomena. This method may
combines the rigor with the complexity, the general with the particular,
leading to more relevant and useful results for the specific characteristics
of the social and human phenomena and processes, taking both from the
rigor of the quantitative techniques but also from the deepness, flexibility
and comprehensivity of the qualitative techniques.
In evaluation and research the main goal being that, through analysis,
analogies, comparisons, exclusions, similarities, differences, observations
of great extension and profoundness, to extract, with great caution,
several relevant regularities, to serve eventually to the formulation of
some minimal empirical statistical conclusions, laws, evaluative
predictions or intervention projects.
The specifics of the qualitative, interpretative and comprehensive methods
in the socio-human sciences and practices is mainly that it focuses
largely on capturing the phenomena more than the essences, universal
laws; the object of evaluation, observation and investigation being most
often the event, the socio-human context, the sentiment, the concrete
attitudes, feelings and reactions of people being in determined social and
human relationships and processes.
The advantage is that through this methodology is obtained the access to
social and human aspects which would escape to an eminently positive,
nomological, scientific-technical approach, more focused on capturing the
structural, universal and repeatable evidences, by modelations of
mathematical type (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005).
82
Of great importance in the humanistic methodology is the aspect referring

to the specifics of research. Even if at first glance the humanistic
approach seems somewhat incompatible with the scientific research in
fact their finds can represent very useful knowledge
As specific, in the humanistic social sciences and practices, including
regarding the role of personality and human relations as values and
resources of practice, as in any paradigm, practice or science of
humanistic type, the research is approached somewhat differently than in
the social practices, paradigms and sciences of non-humanistic, positive
orientation, or in the natural sciences. Because of the complexity of the
socio-human relationships and phenomena, the personality, the human
experience cannot be easily and rigorously investigated and captured by
figures, numbers the research is so forced to appeal often to methods of
qualitative, narrative, analytical, subjective, interpretative or
phenomenological type.
In the humanistic social and therapeutic practices the results of
researches, whether they are products of some studies or investigations of
quantitative, strictly scientific type, or of some studies or investigations of
qualitative, comprehensive, phenomenological or clinical type, are used
especially in what was consecrated as the practices based on research, or
on evidences.
Despite appearances, the professionals and services use the scientific
methodology, the researches’ findings and the evidence-based practice.
It is uses the evidence-based practices and methods to understand and
address, scientifically and experimentally, especially aspects such as the
client’s contextual human relationships and behavior, the client’s human
growth/ development in deferent type of communities, the interpretation
and modelation the clients’ situations of difficulty, etc. (Payne, 2011, 46;
Roberts & Yeager, 2006, 196).
The construction of the evaluative/ diagnostic table starts, yet, with what
is identified as existing, real, concrete and sensitive (Payne, 2011, 76).
Further, the practitioner’s work is based on the (scientific or clinical)
researches and studies' conclusions upon the type of case it works.
This having the task to realize ―modelations‖ of the identified difficult
situations in report to the researches' findings without abdicating but
from the fundamental values and principles of the humanistic
methodology related to the immense complexity of the human being, of
the socio-human phenomenon, of the client’s personality, of the specific,
83
concrete human relationships where it lives (O'Hare, 2005, 153; Rubin

and Babbi, 2012, 233).
Finally, in the specific and concrete activity of intervention and change the
practices based on researches and evidences propose, aim, the
focalization on the concrete, complex and phenomenological socio-human
reality of the client (person or group) but by means of the scientific and
clinical knowledge, through embedding in activity the conclusions of the
relevant and useful researches, of the previous scientific and clinical
studies and experiences, relevant and effective for the respective client
system, case, problem, situation of difficulty, or of learning in the case of
humanistic education/ pedagogy.
84
PART III
CORE CATEGORIES, ISSUES, TOPICS,
VALUES OF HUMANISTIC PHILOSOPHY
A
gency, liberty, human freedom, self-determination, human/
personal development, responsibility, human being. human
nature, person, personality, happiness, welfare, dignity,
spirituality, culture, humane society, humane relationships, morality,
humanity, social justice, are, as we have seen, the core categories, topics,
values of humanistic philosophy.
AGENCY, HUMAN FREEDOM, SELF-

DETERMINATION, HUMAN/ PERSONAL
DEVELOPMENT, RESPONSIBILITY
Humanistic philosophy is the most important and relevant place, field

where to be approached, discussed and defined topics, value or
philosophical categories as agency, liberty, human freedom, self-
determination, human/ personal development, responsibility, free will,
etc. They are also its essence and definition.
85
The humanistic orientations from philosophy, either it is about of the

existentialist approach, either it is about the spiritual or cultural
orientations perceive human agency, liberty and freedom (that involve as
well responsibility) as opposed to the so called structural-determinism in
society and live, opposed to the divine or transcendental determinism,
opposed to external forces, opposed to the ―objective‖ forces and
structure, opposed to super-human forces as structures and universals.
The people’s liberties, freedom, and responsibility, are close linked to the
psychological capacities of the human individuals of self-determination
and self-conduct (free will), but are also very much determined/
conditioned of the degree of development of society in terms of human
rights, law rules, often the freedom, liberty of the individuals and
communities must be conquered, there are not "a given".
In psychological-instrumental, psychological-spiritual, and psychological-
social terms, at the personal, individual level the degree of freedom and
responsibility is much determined by the degree of personal-psychological
and human development,
In the scientific literature, the concept personal development is associated
or identified with a number of other concepts such as psychic/
psychological development, growth, adaptation, social development, high
control, emotional intelligence, etc. It is a crucial category of the
humanist-positive/existential current/ theory from the social and human
sciences, and implies, highlights issues as:
 High degree of awareness, self-knowledge, self-esteem (Maslow,
2011);
 High socio-emotional development, high control of the emotions,
emotional intelligence (Erikson, 1998);
 Realism and balance;
 Powerful will, resistance to failure and frustrations;
 Positive attitude, optimism, active thinking (Seligman, 2002);
 Maximal capitalization of the skills and talents (Maslow, 2011);
 Professional development;
 Personal and social autonomy;
 Interpersonal development (Erikson, 1998);
 Hope, projectivity, orientation towards the future;
86
 Mature personality, adaptability (Rogers, 1980);

 Psychological-emotional well-being, satisfaction, happiness,
hedonism (Seligman, 2002);
 Maximization and capitalization of the internal potential of
development, self-actualization, optimization, personal and social
efficiency (Rogers, 1980);
 High capacity of overcoming the crisis, the existential anxieties,
the frustrations (Frankl, 2009).
Instead, the person’s humane development is closely determined by the

level of development of the humane Self, humane conscience, humane
character, humane ego, humane personality as a whole, in the context of
a high development of the global personality.
Through the great development of the person's humane Self his
personality as a whole is reformed and is defined through solidarist-
humanistic qualities and behavioral traits such as empathy,
agreeableness, tolerance, humanity, human sensitivity, altruism etc.
Generally, the humane and spiritual/ transpersonal development of the
person involves features such as:
 altruism;
 empathy;
 humanness;
 attachment;
 love;
 dedication;
 spirituality;
 happiness;
 aesthetic sensibility;
 helpfulness, kindness;
 affection;
 benevolence;
 forbearance;
 gentleness;
 goodness;
 grace;
 graciousness;
 hospitality;
87
 patience;
 sympathy;
 tenderness;
 tolerance;
 understanding;
 amiability;
 beneficence;
 charity;
 clemency;
 consideration;
 delicacy;
 helpfulness;
 indulgence;
 philanthropy;
 serviceability, etc. (Stairs, 2000; Sinnott-Armstrong, 2014).
THIS IS
ONLY
A PREVISUALIZATION
88
INSTEAD OF CONCLUSIONS
This section contains some of the most representative fragments of

the paper. Their choice was made to be like a synthesis with
conclusive aim. The succession of the fragments respects the
thematic/ ideatic thread of the book.
“In essence, regarding the theoretical-axiological substantiation of

Humanistic Philosophy, as autonomous discipline of philosophy and
knowledge, the endeavor/ process must starts from the concept-value of
HUMAN, consequently from that of humanism, then follows the
concentration on the phenomenological, existential, spiritual, cultural and
moral mark on the specific theory and methodology, everything,
consequently, in the context and on the basis of a very comprehensive,
large, tolerant perspective, approach, including many trends, orientations,
thinking schools or methods, some of them even appearing to be in
opposition, in contradiction, revealing both the great complexity and also
ambiguity of the philosophical concept of Humanism, that in its complex
and large meaning involves both the rationality, the science and the
techniques, but also the spirituality, the human creativity and free will and
imagination.” (pp. 12-13)
“In this work the sintagm “Humanistic Philosophy” is approached,

represented both as a sub-discipline, branch, area, topic, domain, section,
part of (general) Philosophy (represented as the rational/ theoretical/
heuristical investigation of fundamental questions about existence,
knowledge, morals, culture, reason, history, humanity, etc.), but also as a
89
dimension, goal, ideal, value, sense, meaning, vocation, valence of

Philosophy as a whole, specking, therefore, about Philosophy as a
humanistic discipline of knowledge.” (p. 15)
“Philosophy (from the Greek “φιλοσοφία”), means, as it is well known,

literally, "love of wisdom", but, as established discipline and domain of
knowledge, as “the science of the sciences” (as it is also called), is mostly
defined as the heuristical reflection and theoretical-methodological study,
with scope, means of generalization and abstractization, of the
fundamental, essential, and universal problems concerning entities,
aspects such as the being, existence, truth, human/person, society, history,
knowledge, values, happiness, love, reason, language, etc. In a concise
approach, philosophy can be, therefore, represented as the rational/
theoretical investigation of questions about existence, knowledge, morals,
culture and reason (Teichmann & Evans, 1999).” (p. 25)
“Essentially, Structuralism generally highlights the objective and imperative

importance and force of the structure and the relations that are established
into system in opposition to the role of the elements as individual and
unique entities.” (p. 55)
“In opposition to (social) structuralism, Humanism promotes the objective

and the imperative importance and force of the human being as
individuality, subject, person, ego, will, his creative capacity, in opposition
to the role of the structure and the social system as a whole (Williams,
2008).” (p. 58)
“As sub-discipline, area, and dimension of the philosophy as a whole,

humanistic philosophy, in its broad sense, is grounded and defined at the
same time on and by a large number of concepts, themes. ideas, values
such as human freedom, agency, human being, person, human
relationships, human nature/ essence, happiness and dignity, self-
determination, responsibility, human development, spirituality and culture,
empathy, love, faith, attachment, etc. (Williams, 2008). So, under its broad
umbrella are found, congruently but also competitively, even
antagonistically, concepts, themes, ideas, values afferent both to the
existentialist, phenomenological, contextualist, interactionist, constructivist
or realistic orientations, as well as to the spiritual, cultural, ethical, and
90
humanitarian orientations, found sometimes together, sometimes

separately, in the ideologies, doctrines, and methods that underpin,
theoretically-philosophically and methodologically, the great contemporary
social, cultural, and political movements of humanistic inspiration, or the
social sciences and practices called humanistic as humanistic psychology
and humanistic psychotherapy, humanistic sociology and humanistic social
work, humanistic pedagogy and humanistic education, humanistic
management, etc.” (p. 65)
“Essentially, philosophy as a humanistic discipline, through all its

branches, orientations, schools, and methods, is an ethics of the
philosophical knowledge in particular, an ethics of the human, of the man,
of humanity, and, especially, ultimately, a philosophy of the human as an
objective, as a values, ideal, principle of all the demarches, acts, processes
of knowledge and action, epistemologically and methodologically speaking.
In this sense, crucial concepts and syntagms that are bring in attention
when we speak of (general) philosophy as humanistic discipline are
Anthropo-Centrism and Person-Centered Approach (Williams, 2008).” (p.
73)
„It can be said that crucial contributions to the emergence and consecration
of the great humanistic and pro-humanistic philosophical orientations,
currents of ideas and schools, to the development of the humanistic
philosophy as an important domain and dimension of philosophy as a
whole, they had and have great thinkers, philosophers, representatives as:
Protagoras, Cicero,
Epicurus, Porphyry,
Epictetus, Boethius,
Thales, Averröes,
Heraclitus, Avicenna,
Parmenides, Confucius,
Democritus, St. Thomas Aquinas,
Socrates, Peter Abelard,
Plato, Ibn Bājja,
Aristotle, Albertus Magnus,
Marcus Aurelius, William of Ockham,
Plotinus, Erasmus,
Seneca, Petrarch,
91
Roger Bacon, Søren Kierkegaard,

Thomas More, Bertrand Russell,
René Descartes, Donald Davidson,
Dutchman Baruch Spinoza, Emmanuel Mounier,
Gottfried Leibniz, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin,
Bishop George Berkeley, Edmund Husserl,
Voltaire, Martin Heidegger,
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Jean-Paul Sartre,
Adam Smith, Herbert Marcuse,
Immanuel Kant, Michel Foucault,
Johann Fichte, Judith Butler,
Georg Hegel, Cornel West,
Karl Marx, Jacques Derrida,
Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Slavoj Žižek.
Schelling, Alain Badiou,
John Stuart Mill, Simon Blackburn,
John Dewey, William Lane Craig,
Auguste Comte, John Haldane.” (pp. 77-78)
“The core value and principle of the humanistic philosophy’s methodology

is the ideothetical/ ideographical approach/ method. If the nomological
methodology has, as theoretical-axiological foundation, the thesis that the
social entities, the human realities, the human personality have universal
patterns of structuring, functioning, genesis and development (Cuin, 2006),
the knowledge of a particular/ experimental case allows assigning
universal characteristics for all the cases, including for all persons, being
thus passes in the second plan their personality, particular Ontology, their
unique existence, their quality of person, the ideographical,
phenomenological, interpretative methods promotes a comprehensive-
interpretative and contextual approach of the human, of person-community
relationships, highlighting the force of the persons against the groups/
communities/ structures, that through the contribution of the individualities
that compose them become human/ humane-compathetical environments of
coexistence, beyond the inherent their objective, standardizing and
constraining valence.” (pp. 80-81)
“Agency, liberty, human freedom, self-determination, human/ personal

development, responsibility, human being. human nature, person,
personality, happiness, welfare, dignity, spirituality, culture, humane
250
society, humane relationships, morality, humanity, social justice, are, as

we have seen, the core categories, topics, values of humanistic philosophy.”
(p. 85)
“Without any doubt, the humanistic philosophy is established and defined

mainly around the concept, the idea, the philosophical category of Human
Being, with the two consecrated meanings, on the one hand, of
individuality, personality, uniqueness, entity, subject of existential law,
limited temporally and spatially, of determined ego and experience,
determined interaction and cohabitation, with the attribute of agency, free
will, freedom and responsibility, and, on the other hand, of being, entity,
value with the attribute of humanity, spirituality, species and superior
existence, having qualities as rationality, intelligence, empathy, altruism,
love, creativity, activity, etc.” (p. 90)
“Associated with the philosophical concept of human being are found, very
often, in literature, the concepts of Human Nature, Human Essence, Person,
and Personality, defining categories of the humanistic philosophy, imposing
some very prolific dichotomical debates, especially with respect to the
classical "dialectical" matter-spirit contradiction, humanistic philosophy, in
its large, comprehensive meaning, not having here a rigid positioning,
theorizing and promoting both the thesis of materiality (objectivity) of the
human being, of the person (the secularist approach), but also the thesis of
spirituality (subjectivity) of the human being, person and personality (the
idealistic-subjective approach and the spiritualistic/ metaphysical
approach).” (p. 92)
“Besides the value and the categories of the person, human individuality,
humanistic philosophy brings in foreground the category of humane society
and other categories afferent to the society like humane relationships,
morality, humanity, social justice.” (p. 110)
“Essentially, in Humanistic Ontology, it is used mostly an existential-

phenomenological paradigm but also dynamic, with its central theme: the
theory of human being and human existence, of the concrete fact, and
namely of the concrete, unique human being, in process, in beingness and
functioning, human being as person with his particular, specific, unique
251
feelings, emotions and socio-human contexts, imposing an idiographic-

empirical/ emergentical methodology.” (p. 117)
“From the perspective of Ethics of humanistic orientation, the person, as a

subject, is important and predominates in relations to the community as a
whole and with man as ancestral entity. In humanistic Ethics, the person is
not a means by which the community/ society or mankind as history
achieves their historical and ancestral objectives, but, conversely, they are
the existential frameworks in which the person is fulfilled, expresses his
vocation for freedom, and finds happiness and personal accomplishment, in
the only life it has.” (p. 129)
Humanistic psychology, often called “the third force” in psychology after

psychoanalysis and behaviorism (Bugental, 1964; Maslow, 1968),
promotes mainly the representation of the person as ego and personality,
the power of the consciousness and of the will, the freedom, responsibility
and self-determination, the development of the person in accordance with
its characteristics and choices. (p. 140)
“Essentially, the humanistic approach and method in sociology make the

accent on human subjectivity and creativity, highlighting how individuals
respond to social constraints and actively assemble social worlds, dealing
with concrete human experiences, with their socio-human, inter-personal,
inter-human organization. promoting a kind of society in which there is less
exploitation, oppression and injustice. From the perspective of humanistic
sociology’s principles, the person, as being, subject, self matter and prevail
in the relationships with the society as a whole and with the man as
ancestral entity (Mills, 1959).” (p. 148)
“Humanistic Personology could be defined as the theoretical domain/

discipline that researches, theorizes and represents the person, the human
personality, in a complex and ideothetical manner, incorporating
knowledge, ideas, theories from the humanistic-existentialist and spiritual-
transpersonal spheres of thought/ philosophy and culture, from humanistic
psychology, humanistic sociology, and other disciplines, sciences and
practices of humanistic orientation/ approach, developing, consequently, a
multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and profound humane, spiritual and
existential-positive perspective on the individual human phenomenon, on
252
the personal human being, on the human as individual, individuality,

personality and PERSON.” (p. 151)
“Humanism, as global, universal, historical movement and current of ideas,

with its phenomenological and existentialist philosophical foundations,
through all its artistic, social, philosophical, scientific, ideological, political,
educational dimensions, manifestations and concerns, through the
multitude of themes and meanings by which it was consecrated, as system
or mode of thought and action predominating the human interests, the
human values and dignity, as variety of ethical theories and practices that
emphasize the human fulfillment through knowledge and social
development, focusing on the person/ individual/ self, centering on the
person's resources, the self-determination, human solidarity, humanity,
human sensitivity, philanthropy, happiness, promoting the person's
welfare, through the constitutional concern for researching the human
being, his nature, essence, condition, through the interest for promoting of
some great general human values and ideals in the evolution and
development of society, through the interest for change and new, for truth,
beautiful, good represents one of the most important foundation and
essential source of the humanistic philosophy as great discipline of
knowledge.” (p. 167)
“Humanistic education/ teaching uses the human personality as core

resources and values with priority in the objectives regarding the personal-
psychological development and formation, where the educator, with his
humane and developed global personality and behavior, succeeds to have
a greater efficiency, both in the objectives involving the psychological
welfare and happiness of the child, as well as in those pursuing his
formation and development.” (p. 192)
“The person-centered psychotherapy and counseling are linked especially

to the name of Carl Rogers. Through the person/ client-centered therapy/
psychotherapy, the person/ client-centered counseling, or the rogerian
psychotherapy as it is also called, Rogers (1951) has the crucial merit to be
worked to the foundation of the modern psychotherapy as a whole, also
through the non-directive therapeutic-humanistic methods and values
promoted in theory and practice, with large application also in education,
social work and other domain of the socio-human practices and activities.
The core idea of the established client-centered therapy, promoted by
253
Rogers and developed by followers, is that, in the therapeutic process must

to take the client’s accounts seriously, because his personality is the basis
for helping and healing, by finding his inner resources, in his personality
and concrete (circumstantial) socio-human relationships.‖ (p. 205)
“Humanistic social work, as the third way in contemporary social work, is

a theory and axiology that generates a reaffirmation/ restatement of the
fundamental/ constitutional humanistic values of social work,
incorporating, in the same time, in a (relative) new coherent and unitary
theory, all what penetrated in social work in the last decades, especially
from humanistic psychology and psychotherapy, but also from humanistic
philosophy, microsociology and humanistic sociology, from human rights
philosophy/ movement, etc. These being, also, among the main its
theoretical sources and foundations” (p. 222)
“Essentially, the humanistic approach to management is guided by ideas,

principles, values and objectives as: the manager must manifest increased
trust in the employee’s potential and creativity, the employee as being,
subject, self, ego matter and prevail in the relationships with the
organization as a whole and with the economical goals, the manager
experiences an empathetic understanding of the employee's personality
and personal/ social situation/ problems, the organizational/ professional
relationship must be a relationship in which each person's perception of the
other is very important, the employee must be involved in the
organizational processes with all his psychological-personal and
organizational/ professional experiences, the manager must to contribute to
the solving of the employee’s personal (psychological, familial, social)
problems, challenges, the manager induces a sense of freedom and mutual
responsibility in organization, etc.” (p. 238)
THIS IS
ONLY
A PREVISUALIZATION
254
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HUMANISTIC PHILOSOPHY:
Humanistic and Pro-Humanistic Ideas, Values, Orientations, Movements,

Methods, and Representatives in Philosophy, Science, Society, and Social
Practices
by Petru Stefaroi
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CreateSpace Store, and other retail outlets.
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REFERENCES AND WORKS CONSULTED...………………………………..…255

PART II. HUMANISTIC PHILOSOPHY 61

PART III. CORE CATEGORIES, ISSUES,

PART IV. HUMANISTIC AND PRO-HUMANISTIC IDEAS,

PART V. THE HUMANISTIC AND PRO-HUMANISTIC

PART VI. HUMANISTIC AND PRO-HUMANISTIC

PART VII. THE HUMANISTIC AND

INSTEAD OF CONCLUSIONS 247

REFERENCES AND WORKS CONSULTED 255

Regarding the Destination of this book, its design, content and

In general, the humanistic methodology, epistemology and axiology,

some minimal empirical statistical conclusions, laws, evaluative

Among the most important categories, topics, issues, values of

The humanistic orientations from philosophy, either it is about of the

responsibility) as opposed to the so called structural-determinism in

motivation, skills, etc. so that determines conducts oriented toward the

Happiness, welfare, and dignity are, indubitable, important categories

Positive psychology is the science that, in the last time, studies,

Afferent to the spiritual-transcendental orientation of humanistic

individuals with those ―humanistic‖ psychological, social, and cultural

Regarding the presence of humanistic ideas, values, approaches,

Humanistic Metaphysics puts in the forefront of reflection and research

Humanistic Metaphysics is often in conflict with the modern thought,

If Humanistic Metaphysics deals, as has been shown, with the first

essence, the original content, the invariable, the ontological-metaphysical

Humanistic Epistemology deals with the philosophical analysis of the

The core category of Humanistic Axiology (Ethics, Aesthetics, and

Hence, in its essence, the Humanistic Ethics is defined as a human-moral

GREAT PHILOSOPHICAL CURRENTS OF

In the glorious history of philosophy, they were imposed, among others,

Crucial contributions to the emergence and consecration of these great

Ibn Bājja, Albertus Magnus, William of Ockham, Erasmus, Petrarch,

MAIN BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY

The word Metaphysics comes to the Ancient Greece, where it was a

Because Metaphysics is not based on direct experience with material

From an Ontological perspective, philosophy has, as core aim, the

organization, the concrete form, unique, part of a context, the exposed

Instead, in an Epistemological approach the essential mission of

AXIOLOGY (ETHICS, AESTHETICS, POLITICS)

Essentially, Axiology is the branch of philosophy concerning with the

The key themes in Ethics, or moral philosophy, are represented by the

Today, the classical representations of Ethics are operationalized through

academic/ scientific psychology, being envisaged both the constitutional

The nomological approach has, as theoretical-axiological foundation, the

and the structural-functionalist theories, also in the classical general

IDEAS, VALUES, ORIENTATIONS,

Metaphysics and Ontology

- the theme of infinity;

Epistemology, Logic, Knowledge

Axiology (Ethics, Aesthetics, Politics)

- all you need is love, and five other things;

THE GREAT ANCIENT GREEK AND ROMAN PHILOSOPHY

Metaphysics and Ontology

Epistemology, Logic, Knowledge

Axiology (Ethics, Aesthetics, Politics)

- the Socratic Method in Ethics, Aesthetics and Politics

- the theory of forms and universals in Ethics, Aesthetics and

- virtue is a kind of knowledge (the knowledge of good and evil) that