About Curious Soul Philosophy
Hello, curious souls!
This is the place to practice philosophy as a way of life.
Philosophy is not just some narrowly defined academic discipline. And it’s not just for a university crowd.
It’s a daily practice of critical reflection, engaged conversation, intentional choice, and creative experimentation.
Come experience the practical value of philosophy.
At Curious Soul, we don’t obsess over abstract logic problems on the chalkboard.
We want to know how to live!
And you don’t have to worry about a competition of egos or people trying to prove their superiority.
We’re here to make friends.
In fact, we take some pride in knowing our own ignorance… just like Socrates.
So, really… you don’t have to know it all.
There’s one thing we do know, though. If we can’t laugh at ourselves, we’ll just have to cry.
So, don’t worry… you can drop the game face and be real with us.
We’ve all had our fair share of the tragic and the absurd.
What do we do here?
Individual Philosophical Counseling
So… you know how professionals always treat you in a “one size fits all” kind of way? Even when you try to get individualized help, you’re quickly classified as having this or that kind of problem; then, the “authority figure” starts telling you everything you are and need to do without ever getting to know your particular situation.
They don’t even consider that YOU might know a little something about yourself that could contribute to the conversation about YOUR well-being.
It’s annoying. It’s offensive. And actually, it makes you feel like no one really knows you. It makes you feel really… alone.
We don’t do that.
You’re an individual here. We want to get to know you in all your specificity. We want to learn how YOU see things and how YOU talk about things. We take you seriously.
We’re not going to psychoanalyze you, pathologize you, or put you in a little box that fits our preconceived taxonomy of human types. We’re not here to congratulate ourselves on successfully pigeonhole-ing you according to our theories. In fact, we’re here to do just the opposite.
Let’s set the birdy free!
In philosophical counseling, you’re not going to get a doctor or a professor pulling rank. You’re going to get a philosophical friend who wants to genuinely dialogue with you – who wants to get to know YOU, share big ideas and experiential wisdom, and help you live your best life… whatever that might mean for you.
We are champions for your unique, quirky, wonderful weirdness. We’re not interested in “normal.” (Normal can be boring at best and oppressive or toxic at worst.) In fact, we’ll probably have to critique the hell out of mainstream beliefs and values just to cleanse ourselves and create a better guiding light for ourselves.
We’re not going for normal. We’re going for “healthy.” We’re going for “growth.” We’re going for “thriving.” And that means helping you find your purpose, freedom, integrity, and authenticity for a personally fulfilling life. Together, we’ll get creative in making that happen for you.
With philosophical counseling, you get to become the artist of your life!
Philosophy Workshops
When you start to get into new ways of examining your problems, you’ll probably start thinking…
“I’d like to go deeper on this. I want to study this stuff. I think I could really get something out of it.”
You’ll start wondering…
“Who else is into this? I need some people to talk to. Nobody in my circles finds this interesting.”
That’s where we come in with workshops.
In philosophy workshops, we have a chance to dig in and study the philosophers that have something important to say about how we can flourish in our lives. In small groups, we read, critically discuss, and creatively apply to our lives the insights that bring inspiration and wisdom to our biggest challenges.
And guess what? You get more friends!
You might have noticed not everyone is into talking philosophy. (They might even call you a weirdo for wanting to discuss big existential questions.) But if you don’t have some way to talk about big questions, it feels like you’re missing a part of your soul. We don’t want you to be missing a part of your soul. We’ve got you covered, questioning one. We’re weird, too!
Philosophy Retreats
Listen, you can think about your big ideas all day. But until you put them into practice, they are not doing any work for you. Even Aristotle agrees that thought alone moves nothing.
I know, I know, you’re thinking, “What? Am I just going to turn my life upside down overnight? Isn’t there a way to “try out” these new ideas and see how they work?”
Yep, there is.
Here’s one idea: Let’s go to the woods, read some Thoreau and environmental philosophy, and try out “living simply” and “getting back to nature.” Then, let’s figure out how to incorporate the best of our experiment into our home life, so we can transform it from the inside.
We should be doing this more often. I’ll bring marshmallows. I know… Thoreau didn’t have marshmallows. But we will.
About the Founder
Hi, I’m Monica. I guess you kind of know me now, but I’d like to tell you a bit more…
I’m from Portland, Oregon.
And I’m finally back in my beloved hometown (which is now too expensive for me, but I’ll happily live in a treehouse if I can stay.)
I’m IN LOVE with philosophy.
It’s comforted me.
It’s stimulated my thinking.
It’s helped me grow up.
It’s helped me learn to say my sacred “no.”
It’s actually saved me a couple of times.
No kidding. It’s seriously powerful stuff. It’s soul food. It’s real nourishment.
And after 12 years of schooling in philosophy (first at Lewis & Clark College in Portland and then at the New School for Social Research in New York where I did my Ph.D.), I did the impossible: I got a job… teaching philosophy! (It’s still hard to believe sometimes.)
Monica Vilhauer, Ph.D.
Ph.D. in Philosophy from the New School for Social Research
Certified in Philosophical Counseling from the American Philosophical Practitioners Association
Former Philosophy Professor
Published Author and Editor
I wanted to share philosophy …
… with people who really want it, need it, and crave it.
Believe it or not, it was kind of hard to do that inside the university system.
In the university system, the focus was on scholarly goals, not life goals. At conferences the vibe was mostly competitive – a kind of contest over who could out-argue the other and prove superiority – not a collaborative quest for how to live a better life. The language was esoteric, excluding those who had not studied in elite programs. The debates were so abstract, it was becoming difficult to see how they related to real-world problems.
And often in philosophy classrooms, participants acted as if they were “forced” to be there for a requirement or credit. They seemed closed off to the passionate love of wisdom that had lit a fire in me so many years before.
All these things were rough on morale… even after a decade of teaching and tenure under my belt.
So, I got creative and started Curious Soul Philosophy.
Curious Soul gave me the chance to take philosophy beyond the classroom and stuffy conferences. It gave me a place to connect philosophy with lived experience and make it accessible to a broad audience.
At Curious Soul, I could focus on philosophy’s value for everyday struggles and those pesky existential and ethical crises that try to kill us all.
I could find my spiritual kin who wanted more than anything to deepen their understanding of life.
And I could keep being the student I will always be…
… the one who keeps asking big questions about meaning and purpose, values and ethics, identity, self-development, and empowerment…
… who keeps reading and digesting the wisdom of the ancient Greeks, the existentialists, and the feminist philosophers from whom I learn so much…
… who keeps discussing and communing with fellow curious souls…
… and who keeps transforming my life, step by step.
For me, philosophy is a lifelong adventure of inquiry and experimentation, and I’m honored to share the journey with other curious souls!
Ready to dive into the big questions?
Join us to think deeply and live deliberately.
Call to set up a free 30-minute phone call to see if philosophical counseling is a good fit for you.
Or I’d be happy to get you connected to upcoming workshops and retreats where you can “find your tribe.”
Philosophical Counseling with Monica Vilhauer in the news:
“Wonder, Woman!” in O, The Oprah Magazine
“The Philosopher Will See You Now” in VICE Magazine
