Philosophical Practice in Humanitarian Crises: Existential Ruptures and the “Way of Well-Being” Model
Interdisciplinary Research in Counseling Ethics and Philosophy - IRCEP December 24, 2025 DOI: 10.59209/ircep.v5i15.132 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 137 |
| Population | Survivors of the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes in Türkiye |
| Intervention | Philosophical group sessions |
| Key findings | Philosophical group sessions using the "Way of Well-Being" model foster emotional expression, conceptual clarity, bodily reintegration, and renewed agency among earthquake survivors. The authors argue that addressing ontological dislocation is essential for sustainable post-crisis recovery, positioning philosophy as an ethical necessity in humanitarian response. |
Abstract
This study considers how philosophical practice can address humanitarian crises such as forced displacement and natural disasters, beyond logistical and psychological interventions. Drawing on fieldwork with 137 survivors of the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes in Türkiye, it examines the existential ruptures caused by the loss of home, community, and bodily orientation. Guided by Heidegger’s concept of Geworfenheit, Spinoza’s conatus and affectus, and Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology of perception, the research applies the “Way of Well-Being,” a five-stage model of Awareness, Analysis, Unity and Integrity, Choice, and Sustainability. Findings indicate that philosophical group sessions foster emotional expression, conceptual clarity, bodily reintegration, and renewed agency. Rather than offering abstract consolation, philosophy here becomes an embodied, dialogical, and relational framework for meaning reconstruction. Addressing ontological dislocation emerges as essential for sustainable post-crisis recovery. The study positions philosophy not as a luxury but as an ethical necessity in humanitarian response, enabling survivors to transform rupture into a space of reorientation and re-creation.