In search of Buber's Ghosts: A calculus for interpersonal phenomenology

A Boolean analysis of three independently developed methods for the study of interpersonal phenomenology reveals that they are isomorphic with one another. Their shared structure makes it possible to develop a single lucid and rigorous language for the full interpretation of all three methods. This language removes the need for intuitive derivations of terms, reduces semantic confusion, clarifies relations among terms, provides a basis for new applications, and reduces scoring effort by over 95 per cent. The language possesses sufficient generality to be useful in a variety of studies of interpersonal phenomenology. Implications are discussed with reference to three specific applications: the study of process and outcome in marital therapy, the phenomenology of different ethnic groups, and the study of communication and attribution in the families of schizophrenics. “First, there is Peter as he wishes to appear to Paul, and Paul as he wishes to appear to Peter. Then there is Peter as he really appears to Paul—that is, Paul's image of Peter ⃛ and similarly there is the reverse situation. Further, there is Peter as he appears to himself, and Paul as he appears to himself. Lastly, there are the bodily Peter and the bodily Paul. Two living beings and six ghostly appearances which mingle in many ways in the conversation between the two.” (Buber, 1957, p. 107).