Paradoxes of Group Life: Understanding Conflict, Paralysis, and Movement in Group Dynamics

Tracing the Roots of Paradoxical Thought

In recent years, paradoxical thinking has had its greatest impact in the field of family therapy. But a paradoxical perspective has been present in the thought and practice of psychotherapists for most of the twentieth century. More generally, paradox and paradoxical thought have been part of social theory since people began to record their reflections on the human condition. Paradox has long been an explicit element in Eastern religion and philosophy and was written about in the West by Zeno of Elea in the fourth century B.C. (Hughes and Brecht, 1975).

While acknowledging the early roots of paradox, our ...