premieretat

Hello noble friend! My name is Dr. Peter Yong. I'm a philosopher, writer, coach and consultant (though I prefer to think of myself as a noematic psychopomp). I apply my expertise in philosophy gained by over 20 years of experience in the field to help people reassess their values, reorient their lives, and forge their identities anew after their worldviews have been shaken. Major life transitions such as the end of a relationship, career, or political or religious affiliation force us to step back and reevaluate who we are and what we are striving for. Like Dante the pilgrim at the outset of the Divine Comedy, we awake to find ourselves in a dark wood with no clear way out. In such moments of crisis, we come to question the values that grounded our identities and led us to our current impasse. The term “crisis” is apt here, coming from the Greek noun κρίσις, itself deriving from the verb κρίνω meaning to judge, decide, or interpret. In κρίσις we face the daunting challenge of reevaluating our values to determine whether they are authentic, i.e. adopted according to our own rational standards, or inauthentic, i.e. adopted through external pressures and psychological manipulation. Though this situation can be frightening, it can also prove to be a gift. As the poet Hölderlin observed “where the danger threatens, so also grows the saving power” (Wo aber, Gefahr ist, wächst/ Das Rettende auch.) For, it is in these moments of κρίσις that it becomes possible to arise from what Heidegger calls the ‘they-self (das Man)’ and step forth into authentic Being. The “they”, according to Heidegger, operates as an invisible dictatorship, shaping our view of the world through the value judgements of indeterminate others (Being and Time, H126). When our worlds collapse, and we are forced to stand amid the ruins and ponder what it all amounted to, we enter the dizzy space of freedom. We are able to see how our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors have been constrained by a value system acquired simply by virtue of being thrown into a particular family, religion, or culture. But we are, at the same time, also made aware of the possibility of freely adopting a value system of our own on the basis of reason. This possibility is what Kant called Enlightenment (Aufklärung), “the emergence from one’s self-incurred immaturity, viz., the inability to use one’s own understanding without the guidance from another” (Kant, What is Enlightenment?). I help people seize their autonomy and reforge their identities at this primordial level. You can find out more about my work here: http://premieretat.com/coaching-consulting/