MAY 2008, VOLUME 36, NUMBER 2, Abstract 4
FROM THE EXPLICIT TO THE TACIT: DOES HYPNOSIS FACILITATE THIS KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE?
Keith Dawes, University of Sydney and University of New South Wales
Wendy-Louise Walker, Private practice, Sydney, N.S.W.
Many of the debates surrounding hypnosis relate to whether or not hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness or whether a person, in a state of hypnosis, is able to access parts of their mind which are not normally accessible. This article is a little different from the norm in that it is an exploration of types of knowing/knowledge, basically conscious/unconscious, explicit/tacit, relevant to psychology because a huge component of essential human mental processing occurs out of awareness. The systematic contribution of the Ancient Greek philosophers towards our understanding of the different forms of knowledge is summarised and Baumard’s (1999) typology of categories of knowledge is presented. The notion that all knowledge is, or can be, based on “scientific method” is rejected and contributions of a number of modern authors (e.g., Piaget, Polyani, Nonaka) are explored in a search for the processes underlying human thinking and learning. Finally, traditional and indirect hypnosis are considered as relevant for further study of the explicit/tacit interface.
Many theories have been put forward about what possibly happens in the brain and body when a person enters a hypnotic state or goes into a normal everyday trance state, and a great deal of research has been conducted on direct hypnosis processes. However, very little research has been undertaken on Ericksonian hypnosis, which operates on implicit assumptions which are never on the surface about how a client responds to indirect suggestions. This phenomenological-style article explores explicit and implicit knowledge.