A philosophical consideration of career counselling: Pragmatic idiographic truth

PETER McILVEEN

doi:10.20856/jnicec.5605

Authors

PETER McILVEEN University of Southern Queensland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20856/jnicec.5605

Keywords:

career counselling, Narrative career counselling, Philosophy, pragmatism, Life design

Abstract

This article is an exploration of career counselling through a philosophical lens, highlighting its epistemic and ethical dimensions. Career counselling is a technology of the self, reliant on narrative constructions that pragmatically function as enabling fictions rather than predictive truths. The concept of ‘pragmatic idiographic truth’ is proposed to describe narratives validated through lived experience and consequences. Ethical reflection is positioned as integral to practice, challenging assumptions of neutrality and emphasising counsellors’ roles in shaping vocational narratives. Philosophical perspectives illuminate the existential demand for agency and responsibility in navigating work and life.

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