Paul Watzlawick: biography of this psychologist and philosopher

Paul Watzlawick (1921-2007) was an Austrian psychologist, philosopher and theorist, nationalized in the USA, in addition to being author of the well-known theory of human communication, establishes five axioms that govern language in interactions.

In this article we will see a short biography of Paul Watzlawick; We will briefly know his academic and professional career, his thinking, his theoretical orientation and his work.

• Related article: "History of Psychology: main authors and theories"

Brief biography of Paul Watzlawick

Paul Watzlawick was a psychologist, philosopher and theorist who was born in Villach (Austria) in 1921. He studied philosophy and modern languages ​​at the University of Venice and did psychotherapy practices at the Carl Jung-Institut in Zurich, Switzerland. He is an honorary doctorate from the Universities of Liege, Bordeaux and Buenos Aires.

Career path

Paul Watzlawick he made important contributions to the field of psychology with his theory of human communication and with radical constructivism. In addition, he was a reference author in the field of family therapy, systemic therapy and psychotherapy in general.

Paul Watzlawick worked as a professor between 1957 and 1960 at the University of San Salvador, and later joined the Mental Reserach Institute in Palo Alto (California). He remains there until the end of his academic career, also serving as a professor at Stanford University.

He worked close to Jackson and Bateson. In fact, in 1969 posted alongside Jackson and Beavin Human communication, a document where they laid the foundations of systemic constructivism, where they dealt with issues such as communication and the perception of reality.

He passed away in Palo Alto (California) on March 31, 2007.

• You may be interested: "Paul Watzlawick's Theory of Human Communication"

Books

The books by Paul Watzlawick that were translated into the Spanish language were:

• Human communication Theory (with Janet Beavin and Don Jackson), 1981
• Change (with John Weakland and Richard Fisch), 1976
• Is reality real? Confusion, misinformation, communication, 1979
• The language of change, 1980
• The invented reality. How do we know what we want to know? (comp.), 1988
• The construction of the universe. Introductory concepts and reflections on epistemology, constructivism and systems thinking (with Marcelo R. Ceberio), 1998.

Thought

The thought of Paul Watzlawick is located within the current of systemic constructivism, and defends an analytical orientation, focused on the psychological processes of communication.

On the other hand, this author establishes the five basic axioms of the human interaction process in his work Pragmatics of Human Communication, published with Janet Beavin Bavelas and Donald D. Jackson.

Types of communication

Paul Watzlawick distinguishes two concepts in his second axiom: analog communication and digital communication.

Analog communication refers to everything “non-verbal” (gestures, use of spaces, intonation ...) while digital communication encompasses verbal language, and has a more abstract.

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Human communication Theory

Regarding analog communication, Paul Watzlawick alludes to the similarity between what you want to transmit and the mode of communication. This is part of the human essence and human relationships.

Thus, communication between people of two different languages, even when they are not understood, allows a high degree of gestural and expressive understanding. There would be, then, a communication context that would give meaning to human interactions. Such a context would include cultural values ​​such as personal manners, shared sensibilities, etc.

In addition, Paul Watzlawick distinguishes in human communication the content of the message (what is wants to communicate) and the context of the communication (the environmental circumstances that occur in the interaction). The context surrounds the message and acquires the character of metacommunication (that communication that talks about the communication itself).

The 5 axioms of Paul Watzlawick

From his theory of human communication, Paul Watzlawick establishes several axioms that govern language from a constructivist-systemic perspective:

1. Impossibility of not communicating

The first axiom of Paul Watzlawick says that "it is impossible not to communicate." He considers that no one can stop behaving, and that any conduct involves in itself an act of communication.

2. Existence of content and communication relationships

There are two "levels" in any communicative act: the content and the relationships of communication. A) Yes, the relationship (s) influences the content that is conveyed. The content provides what is said and the relationship, how it must be interpreted.

3. Roles of the interlocutors

According to Paul Watzlawick, in the interlocutors there is always one who has the initiative and another who acts in response to the first and, depending on the role, communication is structured.

4. Digital and analog communication

In the interaction between two or more people influences both verbal and non-verbal communication, and both give meaning to the message.

5. Symmetric and complementary interaction

Two types of communication relationships must be taken into account, which affect the way messages are sent and understood: a symmetric one, where the parties meet in an egalitarian position (for example, two members of the same team), and another complementary, where there is a union of authority-follower (the boss with respect to the employee).

The concept of reality

During his career, Paul Watzlawick he always focuses on analyzing reality to understand it. The author distinguishes between realities of the first rank, described by the objectivity of their physical state, and second-order realities, where the complex subjectivity of the meaning that we attribute to said realities.

Thus, There is no "real reality", but instead, there are representations of reality of each one. The pathological imaginaries of people also intervene here, that is, the distorted visions we have of reality.

Thus, health and mental illness are related through "codes" or social and cultural norms, and are not appraisals of a single, certain or immutable interpretation.

Bibliographic references:

• Rizo, M. (2004). Symbolic Interactionism and the Palo Alto School. Towards a new concept of communication. INCOM UAB communication portal
• Bateman, A; Brown, D; Pedder, J. (2005). Introduction to psychotherapy. Manual of psychodynamic theory and techniques. Ed. Ebesa, Barcelona.
• Zoraida, M., Marcela, A., Shirley, M. and Liliana, S. (2016). The human communication axioms in paul watzlawick, janet beavin, don jackson and their relation to Systemic Family Therapy. Luis Amigó University Foundation Magazine 3 (1), 33-50.