Book Review:

The Psychology and Philosophy of Eugene Gendlin, Making Sense of Contemporary Experience Editors Eric R Severson and Kevin C Krycka, Routledge, 2023

This book “brings together a collection of essays written by scholars inspired by Eugene Gendlin’s work, particularly those interested in thinking with and beyond Gendlin for the sake of a global community facing significant crises”.

Gendlin’s philosophy owes much to his philosophical predecessors. Several of the essays tussle with how Gendlin’s work interacts with these major thinkers. It would take a philosopher to make any more fruitful comment about those discussions, so I will leave that to the more philosophically-inclined. But there is more that’s of interest.

Gendlin’s psychology was greatly influenced by Carl Rogers’ person-centred approach. One of the interesting things is how, to use a Gendlin term, he crossed his philosophical reflections with his practice of psychology to create something new, including Focusing, Thinking at the Edge (TAE) and Philosophy of the Implicit (POI).

Interest in Gendlin’s work is now turning towards what it might contribute to understanding our social, cultural, environmental and political context. Several essayists cross their work with Gendlin’s ideas. Donata Schoeller in Towards a concept of “freedom to make sense”, draws directly on Gendlin’s work on the felt-sense and TAE. Her project is to “sketch out features of a freedom that plays out in conditions that allow us to sense the problems, dilemmas and questions that arise from actual experience….. basic patterns within cultural political and economic systems… “

Robin Chalfin, a psychotherapist, quietly insists that Focusing or TAE on their own are not enough to change any system. Rather, it is essential to have a deep knowledge of what keeps systems such as racism or sexism in place as well as using felt-experience (including what she calls the ‘unfelt felt sense’ of our own biases and blind spots) to articulate what is not working in these systems: both must be in place to bring about change.

Ole Martin Sandberg’s essay on Missing the Felt-Sense: when correct political arguments so wrong is right up to date. In discussing the rise of Trump (King of the Gut Feel), he warns against too much reliance on ‘gut feelings.’ On the other hand, we might be more careful about criticising people who, on the surface, didn’t ‘trust the science (of vaccines)’ but their own gut feelings. They may have solid reasons for mistrusting a health system that is not always equitable or transparent. When we can listen to, rather than dismiss this surface mistrust, Sandberg claims, it may well be that new concepts emerge which benefits everyone. He quotes Gendlin’s Process Model :“We must permit exactly what has emerged and we must tell ourselves carefully just how we have it so far”.

Several contributors point to the need to take Gendlin’s work further, to flesh out what’s there implicitly as well as acknowledge the limits of what he addressed concerning the social and political arena. The essayists have no doubt that his work can be useful in helping address challenges facing the world. Grappling with this book might be a good place to start thinking about that.

Mary Jennings

November 2023

The Psychology and Philosophy of Eugene Gendlin, Making Sense of Contemporary Experience Editors Eric R Severson and Kevin C Krycka, Routledge, 2023 available from The International Focusing Institute book store at The International Focusing Institute Store