PHENOMENOLOGY & THE MATRIX MODEL

I originally put the Matrix Model together in 2001 after publishing Frame Games (1999). When I did, I chose three aspects of Cognitive Psychology (state, meaning, intention) and five aspects from Developmental Psychology (self, power, others, time, and world). Yet without being fully cognizant of it, I unintentionally used the key categories of both Phenomenology. I’ll begin with the Process Matrices of the Matrix Model. Via the three process matrices, we create and experience our sense of reality. It results in our model of the world which we experience as a subjective experience. These three matrices make up the basic content of NLP.

Intentionality Intention came originally from the idea of “to stretch out.” Webster says that the first meaning comes from the verb intend, meaning “to mean or to signify.” “I intend to do something,” and so it secondarily carries the meaning of purpose or design. Within “intention” is the root word tend which refers to “movement toward something, tend toward, tendency.” Because intentionality refers to stretching forward, to tendency, it has within it the idea of tension. The Latin stem is intendeze literally means “to stretch.” From this we get our word “tension.” Intention then is a “stretching” toward something.

Heidegger notes that care is the source of will. If I care about being, I will shepherd it with attention to its welfare.

“Care is a particular type of intentionality ... ‘intentionality’ and ‘care’ lies in the literal term ‘tend,’ which is both the root of intentionality and the meaning of care. Tend means a tendency, in inclination, a throwing of one’s weight on a given side...” (Rolla May, Love and Will, p. 289)

In Phenemenology. intentionality is the key defining characteristic of all lived experiences.

“Intentionality as directedness and specifically as self-directedness, the manner in which we direct ourselves toward things.” (Dermot, 231).

Consciousness is always consciousness about something and intentionality involves directedness. It means directing yourself toward something. As every mental act is related to some object, it intends to something beyond itself. Paul Tillich (The Courage to Be) wrote, “Man’s vitality is as great as his intentionality; they are interdependent. This makes man the most vital of all beings.” Intentionality is being directed toward meaningful contents— what you focus on in the world. Your essential intentionality is to get your life together, collect yourself, be whole, be authentic.

Regarding the intentions of others, Phenomenology starts by seeking to understand the other person from his perspective. It begins with the question, “How could what he says be right?” (Gadmer, p. 292). Similarly, in NLP we begin by assuming positive intentions, people are trying to do something of value and benefit for themselves even when they end up doing hurtful and

evil things.

Meaning Intentionality is an aspect of meaning. We frequently uses these terms synonymously, “I mean to get that report done by the end of the day.” Translation, that’s my intention. That’s what I’m seeing to do. It’s my orientation and direction for this day.

Heidegger famouly wrote, “Language is the house of being.” How you language things is how you create your world. In both NLP and Phenomenology, “all meanings are constituted in and by consciousness” (Dermot, 166). No wonder meaning is central. “Human existence is preoccupied with meaning.” A central task for us then is to understand the world.

“We are historically situated in the task of understanding the world, a world encountered and inhabited in and through language. Language is the medium of the hermeneutic experience.” (Dormet, 248)

This explains why the entire human world is linguistic by nature and why understanding is interpretation from the start. Human experience is hermeneutical inside-out. Hermeneutics is everywhere, in all aspects of human life. Hermeneutics recognizes that understanding is a prerequisite of human life. All understanding is historically conditioned, is partial, and always comes from a point of view. Understanding takes place within the finite boundaries of essentially limited and historically conditioned human living. (Dormet, 251). Conversely, we are separated from others by different horizons of understanding.

“The attempt to understand the other must begin with the recognition that we are separated by different horizons of understanding, and that mutual understanding comes through overlapping consensus, merging of horizons, rather than through the abandonment by one of the interlocutors of his or her initial horizon.” (Dormet, 252)

In Phenomenology the hermeneutic circle and highlights the fact that all conversation is dialectic by nature. By dialogue we co-create our realities and then our shared realities can become our “culture.” If then meaning is a function of context, then a text is the conversation that we have with ourselves and/or others. Via questions and dialogue we construct meaning.

When we ask a question, the question places what is questioned in a particular perspective. It enables us to distinguish between authentic and inauthentic dialogue.

“To someone who engages in dialogue only to prove himself right and not to gain insight, asking questions will indeed seem easier than answering them. There is no risk that he will be unable to answer a question.” (Gadmer, 356)

This is another aspect of reflexivity. Gadmer writes that, “The structure of reflexivity is fundamentally given with all consciousness.” (p. 337). We inevitably think about our thinking and feel about our feelings, and do so in an infinite process that has no end.

State With meaning and intention we induce ourselves into a state of being. We thereby put ourselves in our world of experience engaged with the phenomena of our lives. In Neuro-Semantics we speak about state the grounding of the Matrix. Everything in the Matrix shows up and is

manifested in one’s state.

This term state refers to where we are and what we are experiencing (mentally, emotionally, physically, interpersonally, etc.). A state is a state of mind, state of body, and state of emotion. It is what we experience in our life-world. It is our condition in the world. In Phenomenology state is referred to by the term being and “body.” Being refers to the essence of human existence as such. “The body brings me into a spatial world.”

State also highlights that our nature is not fixed or permanent, it is conditional. It is dependent upon many of the conditions which it comes into contact which is why our states are constantly changing. Rollo May in Courage to be, says that “Being, as being, transcends objectivity as well as subjectivity.” (p. 25).

Conclusion By exploring the phenemenology of the Matrix Model, you can see the close connection which the two fields share.