Plato Not Prozac,Therapy for the Sane,The Middle Way andThe Power of Dao
Lou Marinoff is a Canadian-born academic, author, and Commonwealth Scholar.[4] He isProfessor ofPhilosophy and Asian Studies at TheCity College of New York[5] and founding President of the American Philosophical Practitioners Association.[6] He is known for his books, includingPlato Not Prozac, Therapy for the Sane,The Middle Way andThe Power of Dao, which focus on applying philosophical concepts to address everyday challenges.[7]
He was born on October 18, 1951 in Quebec.[8] Marinoff studied theoretical physics at Concordia University and McGill University before earning adoctorate inphilosophy of science atUniversity College London.[6] The title of his thesis, published in 1992, wasStrategic interaction in the Prisoner's Dilemma: A game-theoretic dimension of conflict research.[9] He then went to theHebrew University of Jerusalem forpost-doctoral work[10] followed by a lectureship at the University of British Columbia.[6]
In 1994, he joined TheCity College of New York where he currently serves as Professor of Philosophy, and of Asian Studies.[6] He was also President and Executive Director of the former American Society for Philosophy Counseling and Psychotherapy, rebranded as the National Philosophical Counseling Association.[11] WithRan Lahav, he co-founded the International Conference on Philosophical Practice (ICPP) in 1994.[12][13][6] He also co-founded the American Philosophical Practitioners Association in 1998, and is the editor of its journal, Philosophical Practice.[12]
Marinoff has also collaborated with institutes and forums such as the Aspen Institute, Biovision, Festival of Thinkers, Horasis, the Institute for Local Government at the University of Arizona, Soka Gakkai International, Strategic Foresight Group, and the World Economic Forum.[6]
He is known for advocating for philosophy as an alternative to traditional psychological and psychiatric therapies. Marinoff's approach centers on the belief that many issues arise not from emotional or chemical imbalances, but from philosophical uncertainties.[12] He established the American Philosophical Practitioners Association (A.P.P.A.) to legitimize and certify practitioners in the field.[14]He believes that many modern problems, such as stress,confusion, andmoral dilemmas, can be addressed through philosophical reflection rather than medical orpsychiatric interventions.[15]
