Pluralism

Philosophical and Sociological Perspectives

The origins of pluralism as a philosophical thought can be traced to Western philosophy, with roots in early Greek philosophy. Developed in the 5th century B.C. by philosophers Empedocles and Anaxagoras, pluralistic philosophy sought to provide a different explanation for the natural world. Natural world phenomena were previously defined by the Ionian philosophers as based in a single element; pluralistic philosophy challenged this notion and posited that natural world phenomena were based in multiple elements. From this philosophical basis comes the contemporary view of pluralism that posits the existence of multiple realities. Neither of these views of pluralism accounts for a complete explanation of total reality.

From this background, sociological aspects of pluralism were developed. Within sociological theory, pluralism is the social condition that accepts, embraces, validates, and celebrates the multiple cultures and the many beliefs and values that exist in a society. The strength and health of such a society is predicated upon the belief that such a diverse collection of cultures and beliefs is a valuable and integral component to the welfare of that society.

Counseling and Pluralism

In 1990, Paul Pedersen dubbed multiculturalism as the “fourth force” in counseling, which would shift the existing paradigms of counseling and therapy to integrate the cultural experiences and identities of clients. Multiculturalism was seen as the next wave in counseling that would promote the value of a culture-centered approach in working with clients and promote the value of a pluralistic society. Since Pedersen's naming of this fourth force in counseling, the multicultural movement within counseling has grown, and with it has grown the increasing recognition of the value of pluralism in society.

The foundation for multicultural counseling is the inherent assumption and valuing of pluralism. Pluralism, in this sense, was initially seen as the collection of various racial or ethnic cultures and worldviews. Pluralism and culture-centric counseling attempted to then define culture and its constructs (e.g., identity) from etic and emic perspectives. As pluralism and multiculturalism continued to grow and to be explored within the counseling literature, the definition of culture also grew to encompass other aspects of personal and social identity, including, for example, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, spirituality and religion, physical ability, and numerous other personal and social variables, both seen and unseen. From this, the term cultural pluralism was then used to reflect the multifaceted and multidimensional nature of culture and identity.

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