The most important concepts of philosophical therapies find their roots in Socrates’s maieutics. Although this practice has been neglected for centuries, especially in academic research, Foucault brought it to the forefront of his last lectures about the story of Plato’s Alcibiades and the idea of ​​self-care. Taking care of oneself, through Plato’s prism, always invokes the Other and talks to him. The other is always an objective judge of our states, thoughts, arguments, ideas, attitudes towards ourselves. The aim of this presentation is to draw parallels between the ancient ideas of the Other and its significance for self-knowledge and modern philotherapy practices, i.e. the possibility of their realization as a lifelong tool for leading a wise life.

Zoran Kojčić is the coordinator of international projects in philosophy and ethics in the association “Petit Philosophy”. He obtaind doctorate degree in philosophy from the University of Sofia. His research interests include philotherapy, philosophy of education, practical philosophy, philosophical practice, ethics and bioethics. Within the practical and theoretical work on philotherapy, he has special research interest in philosophical works of Plato, Stoics, Existentialists and Foucault, but also the importance of the elements of rhetoric for philosophical practice, the concept of self-care and what it means to live a healthy life.