Michael Harding
Michael Harding | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 26, 1944 Croydon, England, United Kingdom |
| Residence | London, UK, United Kingdom |
| Nationality | British |
| Known for | psychology, philosophy, astrobiology, concepts of self and time, Society for Existential Analysis (former Chair) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | psychology, philosophy, astrology |
Michael "Mike" Harding (born 26 October 1944) is a British existential psychotherapist, author and astrological theorist, and a former Chair of the Society for Existential Analysis. His work explores the relationship between language, identity and the experience of time, and the overlap between Western philosophy, psychology and the wisdom traditions of older cultures.
Biography
Harding was born on 26 October 1944 in Croydon, England. He trained as an existential psychotherapist and works in private practice as a therapist and training supervisor. For many years he taught on the foundation and humanities programmes at Regent's University London, drawing chiefly on the thought of Martin Heidegger and Ludwig Wittgenstein.
He has held office in a number of professional bodies. He chaired the Astrological Association of Great Britain, the International Association of Professional Astrologers and the Society for Existential Analysis, and served on the council of the Urania Trust and the Faculty of Astrological Studies, where he directed its course on counselling within astrology. He later served the Society for Existential Analysis as its Registration Officer.
Work
Harding's principal interests lie in theories of language, identity and time, with particular reference to Continental philosophy and the work of Wittgenstein, and in the points of contact between existential philosophy, psychoanalysis and the traditional "wisdom" disciplines. He examined these questions at length in his book Hymns to the Ancient Gods (1992), which argues for astrology as a subject to be considered as a psychology and philosophy in its own right rather than through the frameworks of other disciplines. Earlier he collaborated with the astrologer Charles Harvey, with whom he co-wrote Working with Astrology (1990), a study focused in part on mundane and business applications. He has also contributed numerous articles to philosophical and specialist periodicals.