Ran Lahav, PhD
I received my Ph.D. in philosophy and M.A. in Psychology in 1989 from the University of Michigan, USA. I then taught and published for several years at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, in the field of philosophy of psychology. During those years I was searching for ways to make philosophy meaningful for everyday life.
In 1992 I encountered the field of philosophical practice, which was still in its early stages, and enthusiastically started exploring it and working in it. I began practicing philosophical counseling, and a little later started teaching the field at Haifa University in Israel.
During that time I worked to expand the field to the English-speaking world by publishing articles, and by giving lectures and workshops. But in order to facilitate the process I decided to help create an international dialogue.
In 1994 I initiated the first International Conference on Philosophical Counseling, and co-organized it with Dr. Lou Marinoff, at the University of British Columbia in Canada. Since then such international conferences are being held every year or two. The 9th international conference was held in Sardinia in 2008, and the 10th will be held in Holland in 2010.
In 1995 I published the first book in the English language in the field (Essays on Philosophical Counseling), which was a collection of articles from leading practitioners at the time. Since then I have published articles and books on philosophical practice in several languages, and practiced philosophical counseling and philosophical groups in a variety of settings. I am regularly invited to give workshops and lectures in various countries, I teach courses at Haifa University, and teach in couple of academic institutes in the USA.
During this period I underwent a series of deep spiritual experiences, and soon found myself in a spiritual quest which took me away not only from the academic career but also from philosophical practice. For several years I devoted most of my time to the spiritual quest, which involved periods of solitude in monasteries, spiritual contemplation and meditation, encounters with spiritual and religious people, and spiritual writings and readings. My two spiritual guides at the time were a monk and a nun. I described aspects of this journey in my book Lu – Internal Diaries (in Hebrew), which is based on my spiritual diaries from that time. Later I wrote an additional book, The Chambers of Heaven, which is a philosophical-spiritual novel written in a lighter spirit.
Only years later, in 2002, I began returning to the field of philosophical practice, with the intention of combining philosophical self-investigation and the spiritual quest, so that the two would enrich the other. For years now I have been developing my spiritual and philosophical approaches, explored them in the groups and workshops which I directed, and eventually managed to combine the two into one process.
I am grateful to all those who helped me on my way through conversations and discussions, participation in groups and workshops, support and encouragement.
