Who do you think you are? by Paul King.

This Dialogic Drinks is presented by Paul King who was recently awarded his master’s degree in psychology for his thesis reimagining and analyzing The Imposter Phenomenon. Beginning with a nod to the pre-Platonic and Daoist concept of natural order and constant flux, we will cover the changing landscape of self-identification and presentation to the present day.

That identity is a modern battleground hardly needs explanation. Debate on the issue can lead to heated intractable unpleasantness. Yet, as we do in Dialogic Drinks, debating upon this thorny issue we shall be doing. 

“Who do you think you are” explores a relatively recent development and introduces the work of Professor Hans-Georg Moeller and his former PhD student, and now research academic Paul J. D’Ambrosio. In particular, the idea that in modernity we are in the age of Profilicity - the notion that we are in a time where we create and curate our own identity, guided by second-level confirmation from both social media and career progression - and not as is popularly insisted, of Authenticity.

We will be challenged to think about, and explore, to what extent there is or can be a core ‘self’ in light of our increasingly available innate ability to re-present, reimagine, and promote ourselves.

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.