• 26th International Congress on PCP Belgrade 2025, ARTICLES, Special Section

The Formation of Ironic Subjectivity through Psychotherapy

Miletić, V.

DOI:
10.69995/NARK2572

Keywords:
Personal Construct Psychology, Irony, Neopragmatism, Authenticity.

Abstract:
This paper examines the concept of irony as developed in Kierkegaard’s The Concept of Irony and proposes it as a lens for reinterpreting key aspects of personal construct psychology. Drawing on George Kelly’s epistemological foundations, it argues that constructivist psychotherapy can be understood as an inherently ironic process—one that fosters subjects who recognize the contingency of their self-constructions. Richard Rorty’s notion of the “ironist,” along with his critique of metaphysics, is brought into dialogue with constructivist psychotherapy to illuminate both the generative possibilities and the tensions introduced by this perspective. By integrating Rorty’s neopragmatist framework with constructivist theory, the paper offers a rethinking of therapeutic aims, positioning psychotherapy as a space for the formation of ironic subjectivity rather than the discovery of stable truths.