Rhetoric as remedy: Some philosophical antecedents of psychotherapeutic ethics

Abstract

Earliest forms of psychotherapy were based on noble rhetoric and a model of the human encounter regulated by values of virtue and courage (responsible autonomy). In this paper the relationship between noble and base rhetoric and values is considered and applied to the psychotherapeutic setting. Bühler's and Popper's hierarchy of language and values is extended so that the language of expression, communication, description, advice, argument, and promises may be related to noble and base values which, it is argued, therapists and clients invoke to define and condition the therapeutic relationship. An ethical hierarchy of language and values, based on the principle of responsible autonomy, is suggested for psychotherapeutic practice.