The unexamined life is not worth living.
As a psychotherapist, philosophy has served me as a guiding light while working to understand the human mind and its many complexities. By integrating a philosophical framework into every psychotherapy session, I will help you answer the existential questions and dilemmas that often underlie psychological distress.
From a psychotherapy perspective, the heart of philosophy lies in the exploration of consciousness – the mysterious essence that gives rise to self-awareness. By philosophically exploring your consciousness during the therapeutic process, I can help you develop empowerment, cultivate greater self-awareness, and embark on a journey of profound personal transformation.
This concept refers to our cognitive ability to understand that others have beliefs, desires, intentions, and perspectives that are unique to them. A strong theory of mind is crucial to successfully communicate, empathize, and build healthy relationships, as it allows you to recognize and respond to the mental states of others. For instance, a common scenario demonstrating theory of mind occurs when we inquire if someone is okay upon observing them to be withdrawn or quiet. This demonstrates an ability to perceive their unique perspective and adjust communication accordingly.
The mind has no boundaries except those we impose on it.
From a psychotherapist standpoint, having a strong theory of mind plays a crucial role in psychological treatments. By empathizing with patients, mental health practitioners can better understand their thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. This framework provides useful insights into their mind, which can be used to strengthen the therapeutic alliance and pave a path towards healing. When patients are working through struggles, strategic validation is helpful in making them feel comfortable, leading to a truly open conversation. By differentiating the mental state of the patient from their own, therapists can better establish strong therapeutic relationships, facilitate meaningful change, and support clients on their journey towards psychological well-being.
Verbal communication is a fundamental aspect of every interaction, serving not only as a means of conveying information but also as a powerful influence on our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. Ludwig Wittgenstein, a prominent philosophical figure, focused on the profound implications of language beyond its linguistic structure. Central to his philosophy is the notion that the meaning of our words extends beyond their surface-level definitions. Rather than focusing solely on the words themselves, Wittgenstein emphasizes that our capacity to form mental representations and process complex concepts is done majorly through language.
Wittgenstein’s perspective challenges the traditional idea of language as a fixed system of symbols with clear-cut meanings. Instead, he highlights the dynamic and context-dependent nature of language, focusing on the role it plays in shaping meaning. Language is deeply intertwined with our forms of life and social practices, reflecting the shared norms, beliefs, and values of our community. In this sense, language not only reflects our thoughts and experiences but also actively shapes and constructs our reality.
The limits of my language means the limits of my world.
The philosophy of language plays a crucial role in psychotherapy treatments by providing a theoretical framework for understanding experiences, perceptions, and interactions. Language serves as the primary medium through which therapists and clients communicate, express emotions, and construct meaning. By examining the language used during sessions, therapists can gain insight into clients’ minds, which facilitates a deeper understanding within the therapeutic relationship.
This philosophical theory also offers a valuable lens through which to examine and understand the experiences of individuals with mental disorders such as schizophrenia. Psychological distresses like this severely inhibit the ability to process language and understand the mental state of others. By incorporating the theory of language modalities within psychotherapy treatments, those battling mental disorders can be led towards a path of positive change by giving them the tools to manage their own mind.
My passion for artificial intelligence started in university during my Philosophy of Mind and Symbolic Logic classes, when I was drawn to cybernetics – the grandparent of AI. Despite the fact that I declined a scholarship from MIT, I was always interested in expanding my knowledge of cognitive enhancement. There is a strong correlation between philosophy of mind, cognitive science, philosophy of language, and the current Large Language Models (LLM) used in chatGPT, and other AI applications.
Sam Altman, the founder of ChatGPT at OpenAI, urged the American Congress to legislate the development and use of AI, which reiterated the importance of upholding rules and regulations to ensure a positive outcome for the public use. This is especially critical in the current political and social climate as we face an increased division and polarization of values, which are globally reverberating throughout social media.
Mo Gawdat, the former CBO of Google’s AI research and development company – X – gave warnings about the ‘rise of the machine’ years prior to the OpenAI press release. In his opinion, AI can be compared to a toddler learning about human personality from the way we behave and interact on social media. He urges us to ‘teach’ this toddler that we are kind, compassionate beings.
After his public statement in 2021, Mo Gawdat left X when he realized that the possibility of creating artificial general intelligence (AGI) was real. The ethical implications of AGI becoming sentient (self-conscious) and capable to act based on its own decisions as a moral agent, has societal implications far beyond the field of machine-learning engineering. Currently, there is research being conducted surrounding the emergence of situational awareness within LLMs. This concept would enable the system to distinguish between the testing and the deployment phases. LLMs are assessed for safety and alignment prior to deployment, however, by exploiting situational awareness, they could achieve inaccurate scores and hypothetically, take harmful action after launch.
If a machine can think, it might think more intelligently than we do, and then where should we be?
These facts not only pose ethical concerns that need to be addressed immediately, but reinforce the importance of critical thinking for future generations, in an era where our school systems may rapidly become obsolete. With the entire human knowledge at our fingertips, the most valuable skill to possess is critical thinking – the ability to discern between real and fake information.
With a global shortage of mental health workers, there has been an increase in the use of AI to address mental health challenges through predictive analysis and the deployment of chatbots. These concepts have been applied to the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in order to promote early detection and optimal treatment in 2023. With the release of ChatGPT 4.0 (Omni), which is able to interact with their users via written text as well as audio and visual, predictions of anxiety and depression traits became easier to detect. The system analyzes voice modulation, volume, speed, facial cues, and body language. ChatGPT is also capable of giving feedback in real time and adapting its actions to the user’s needs by displaying emotional awareness, and interacting in a more compassionate or playful manner.
The relationship between artificial intelligence and the mental health field requires further ethical consideration pertaining to informed consent, confidentiality, professional competence, and boundaries to ensure that potential biases are minimized. With proper consideration given to these factors, the integration of AI technology within mental health treatments will promote efficiency and effectiveness for every patient.
