Appearance of Experience as Form and Process
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Appearance of Experience as Form and Process Mårten Kae Paulsen 1 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Theories of experience guide an understanding of how people’s conceptions of physical objects, events, and ideas are structured and organized. This article reviews how experience is understood as a phenomenon, a concept, and a category of phenomenology, pragmatics, and the experiential learning theory. Based on the review, the article discusses how existing theories of experience appear as static in a systemic view and are enriched when a dynamic view is added. The phenomenon of experience is analyzed as structured in recursive interactions between form and process in four layers, namely attention in sensing, categorization in perceiving, meaning in reflecting, and transformation in creating. Keywords Recursion . Sensing . Perception . Reflection . Creativity
Introduction Variation in Conceptions of Experience Professionals in healthcare, social work, and education interact with people regarding their experiences. Their conceptions of people’s experiences influence their ability to perceive the needs of individuals seeking their help. Therefore, an essential task is to know the principles of how the conceptions of experience vary among professionals. Theories of experience guide an understanding of how people’s conceptions are structured and organized. However, this article differentiates between static and dynamic views of the conceptions of experience. It shows that existing theories appear as static in a systemic view in the sense that they do not clarify how interactions among experiences change over time. It claims that existing theories are enriched when researchers apply a dynamic view to capture change over time. This perspective
* Mårten Kae Paulsen [email protected]
1
Department of Social Work and Guidance, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Lillehammer, PO Box 400, N-2418 Elverum, Norway
Integr Psych Behav
provides new knowledge of experience as a phenomenon, a concept, and a category of the experiential learning theory. When professionals know how the conceptions of experience vary, they may be able to compare their own conceptions with alternatives based on diverse ways to make distinctions among them. The knowledge is useful as a tool to enrich the professionals’ perspectives on how to interact with people’s regarding their experiences. By enriching their perspectives, the professionals can develop a deeper understanding of the principles at work when they interact with a client concerning his or her experience. An expected consequence is that many professionals will be able to counsel, guide, and supervise clients whom they otherwise would have struggled to help. This outcome is achieved since they will have access to more perspectives when reflecting on their interactions with their clients. Significance of People’s Interactions with their Experiences When professionals interact with people during conversations, the people’s experiences are usually significant in t
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