Six Steps To Emergent Knowledge: David Grove's original process

The first key concept of Emergent Knowledge is that of the networking of information formed from knowledge held in a number of spaces. The next is the principle of iteration. In the context of a therapeutic intervention, iteration is the repetition of a question the answer to which incorporates the knowledge gained as a result of the preceding question. It is a simple systemic process. When enough nodes of information integrate – and the number, Grove discovered, was almost always six – a threshold is crossed and new knowledge emerges naturally from the system.

The therapist or coach is neither the instigator nor the interpreter, but the facilitator - the catalyst - of systemic emergence. Scientists, technologists, economists, and psychologists are finding a huge variety of uses for systemic emergence. This paper introduces a basic application in the area of therapy, self-discovery, and coaching. It is in three parts: Principles of Emergent Knowledge, Basic Processes of Emergent Knowledge, and Running an Emergent Knowledge Session.

Matthew and Philip collaborated with David Grove on the development of Emergent Knowledge. Matthew is a therapist and NLP trainer who was David’s assistant. Philip is a psychotherapist who ran EK/6 seminars and co-facilitated clients with David.