Ichiro Kishimi

Ichiro Kishimi is a Japanese philosopher and counsellor from Kyoto who writes on ancient Greek philosophy and the psychology of Alfred Adler. He studied Western philosophy at Kyoto University before turning to Adlerian psychology. With the writer Fumitake Koga he wrote The Courage to Be Disliked (2013), a dialogue between a philosopher and an unhappy young man modelled on Plato's dialogues. The book became a bestseller in Japan and Korea and then worldwide, presenting Adler's ideas about freedom, relationships and happiness to a general readership.

Key ideas

• Following Adler, our present is shaped by the goals we pursue rather than determined by past causes such as trauma.
• All of our problems are interpersonal relationship problems.
• Separating tasks, so that we do not take on what belongs to others, frees us from living for their approval.
• Freedom requires the courage to be disliked, and happiness comes from a feeling of contributing to a community.

Major works

• The Courage to Be Disliked (2013)
• Introduction to Adlerian Psychology (1999)

In the conversation

No topics yet. Start one about this thinker.