Maintaining the ability to be unsettled and learn afresh: what philosophy contributes to our understanding of ‘reflection’ and ‘experience’

Abstract

In this paper, Heidegger’s and Gadamer’s examinations of the terms ‘reflection’ and ‘experience’ are explored in depth in order to contribute to discussions about the benefits of critical reflection of practice for practitioners in the helping professions. The importance of maintaining humility and an undogmatic stance is stressed since this allows helping professionals to learn afresh from critical reflection of their practice. As Gadamer points out ‘being experienced’ does not consist of knowing everything or knowing more than anyone else. Rather, he suggests that a truly experienced person is someone who is undogmatic. This encourages practitioners to hold knowledge tentatively and be willing to be surprised by new ways of thinking and being.

Keywords:

• Critical reflection
• experience
• philosophy
• Heidegger
• Gadamer

Notes

1. I am very grateful to Barnabas Palfrey for extensive feedback and dialogue on the topics in this paper. We don’t necessarily agree with one another on everything, but have enriched one another’s thoughts about Erlebnis and Erfahrung. I am also very grateful to Antonio Calcagno for discussion regarding the original German meaning of Erlebnis (literally, to live through), Erfahrung (literally, to travel through) and Besinnung (reflection that is a kind of bending back on what is given in experience in order to make sense of it). Antonio added that for Heidegger Besinnung is also a way of being in the world that has an existential impact and force which he was picking up critical reflection of practice might have also. I have briefly nodded toward Heidegger’s interest in this, but have not had the space to explore this possibility fully or consider implications of this for critical reflection of practice. Interestingly, Jan Fook has written a chapter ‘Finding fundamental meaning through critical reflection’ is included in my recently published (2016) edited book Practising spirituality: reflecting on meaning-making in personal and professional contexts.