Impact of Descartes

Descartes’ influence on coaching is less obvious than either Socrates or the empiricists that follow. In the very concept of dualism, however, Descartes sows the seeds of what in many ways the axis around which much coaching practice spins: the concept of the self.

By perceiving himself (or his self) as disembodied, Descartes initiated the idea of the thinker/observer who is detached from the world and who is self-conscious and independent. Guignon (2005, p. 43) describes Descartes’ formulation of the concept of the self as a “knowing subject, a self-encapsulated mental substance or a field of consciousness, that represents reality, but is not integrally part of it”. Guignon describes how the self for Descartes is experienced as a “nuclear self, something self-defining and self-contained, rather than as the extended self of earlier times” (p. 43, authors’ italics). Thus the self has no relationship to anything outside itself. The potential impact is a loss of satisfaction – of not knowing our place or our purpose in the world.

Descartes’ dualism supports a coherence theory of truth: if my thinking is the test of my existence (cogito ergo sum) then beliefs are only true because they cohere with other beliefs formulated by the mind during its insular ratiocinations. Howard (2000, p. 129) identifies this as the philosophical foundation of our contemporary individualistic universe:

Everything else, apparently, is open to doubt, but here am I, doubting this, doubting that. Whatever else gets torn away, I remain, questioning, tearing, thinking, thinking, thinking. He suggests that any contemporary reference by clients to ‘finding myself’ or becoming authentic, seems to presuppose a Cartesian model of personal identity. (Howard, 2000, p. 129)

Following Cartesian dualism we may tend to take our clients’ agendas and their rationales as the only measure of truth: clients tell their stories and as long as they are internally consistent or coherent, we tend to believe and value what they say. Dualism also opens the possibility of the self as separate, able to observe and evaluate its own behaviour and perhaps values and beliefs. However, we can see how infinite regress becomes a danger with the coherence theory of truth inherent in Descartes thinking, and in practice there is the ever-present possibility of collusion. At a practical level the objection is immediate: surely we have a duty to assist clients in recognising the limits of their constructed narratives, dreams and plans. The client’s world view must be tested against something outside of itself Similarly, as the reflective observer of our own behaviour, we must find strategies to guard against our selves becoming deluded and self. justifying in their own reliance on coherence.

Descartes has had a substantial influence on subsequent thinking about the nature of knowledge and about identity. Any view of the self as a non-physical mind inhabiting a material body has its roots in Cartesian dualism and this has impacted current counselling (and coaching) practice. As Howard argues, we currently organise our lives to satisfy this tangible self and make ourselves ‘real’. We also need others who will “help us ‘explore’ ourselves, ‘develop’ ourselves, ‘express’ ourselves… ” (Howard, p. 131). Apure Cartesian world is one that has informed some key concepts in coaching, but also creates some of its pitfalls. Our discussion of some of the later philosophers will shed some light on managing these pitfalls.