ABSTRACT
This chapter takes on topics that are foundational to coaching yet are almost always ignored in other texts. It attempts to concisely present what can be philosophically said about people in a way that’s useful for coaching and for understanding ourselves. The point is to show a deep grounded view of human life without reference to psychology. Although psychology may be familiar territory for many, its application to coaching has several drawbacks. First, psychological methods may require personal disclosure beyond what the client is willing to do, and they are too subject to trivialization and clichés. This alternative, based in twentieth-century philosophy, takes work because it’s new to many but it will serve the reader well as they coach.
