"What is hermeneutics?" with Paul King.

A circular or spiral mode of logic justification that helps one understand the whole from the parts, and the parts from the whole, simultaneously.

A practice of thinking in which realisations are “allowed” rather than forced. The thinking and staying in the thinking are vital. One is part of the thinking, there is no way to extricate, isolate, or bracket oneself out. The thinker is the interpreter and must be able to explain, usually in a story-like way, what meaning one has found.

A gift from the gods. It derives from Hermes, the bringer of messages. As he is often mischievous, care must be taken to interpret the messages. Things are often not straightforward and whole situations must be understood to understand what the message means for the receiver, why it was brought, and why then.

A both/and methodology. It illuminates important meaning hidden in ordinary everyday life that is otherwise missed or taken for granted. The aim is to create debate and interpret meaning and understanding and bring to light truths. It reveals the experiences of different people in the same situation. Think of childbirth. The experience of the mother and the doctor are vastly different.

In this week’s DD, we will look at the following.

• How can we begin to apply hermeneutics in our everyday life?
• How can hermeneutics help us understand the both/and of experience in our decision-making about how to improve organisations, leadership and work
• How can hermeneutics help us better relate to the “other”?

Paul King's biography

Paul is currently between a psychology MSc and PhD where he is re-examining "imposter syndrome" using a Hermeneutic phenomenological approach informed by Heideggerian philosophy. He is a personal leadership coach who specialises in small teams and one-to-one development. He has coached MBA, EMBA and MALP (mature) students on behalf of Massey University Business School, mentored dozens of SMEs and on various subjects given hundreds of talks, workshops, seminars etc. He is a member of the peer nominated New Zealand Psychological Society and an associate member of the American Psychological Association.

Before training in psychology Paul specialised in business development, strategic and key account management, negotiation, and product development and delivery, mainly within financial services; he is still a licensed adviser. He is also a singer and multi-instrumentalist musician with decades of live performances and in recent times has become an exhibited professional oil on canvas painter.