Intuition and Nocturnal Dreams: the Lived Experiences of Private Company Executives in the Light of Hermeneutic Phenomenology
Vicente Reis Medeiros
Philosophy of Management March 13, 2026 DOI: 10.1007/s40926-026-00370-w (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 3 |
| Population | Private company owner-executives from Brazilian organizations in service provision (technology and education) and agribusiness (rice farming) |
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Phenomenology philosophy Lived experience Intuition Ethics of care Business ethics Hermeneutics Empirical research Narrative Epistemology Perception Qualitative research Dialogical self Interpretation philosophy Phenomenon Interpretative phenomenological analysis Intentionality |
| Key findings | Nighttime dreams are experienced as intuitive episodes by owner-executives, and these oneiric–intuitive episodes can be understood as expressions of an ethics of care in the manager-organization relationship. |
Abstract
Abstract This empirical study questioned the experience of intuition among private company owner-executives from a phenomenologically informed perspective. The study included three participants from Brazilian organizations operating in the service provision (technology and education) and agribusiness (rice farming) sectors, who shared their experiences through written reports and interviews. The reports showed that nighttime dreams were presented as intuitive episodes, and the participants engaged in meaning articulation between dreams and waking life. The interpretation of the research results was placed in dialogue with central phenomenological concepts. Accordingly, the article argues that the relationship between the being-a-manager and the organization is marked by the character of care ( Sorge ) (Heidegger [1927]1996), and that oneiric–intuitive episodes can be understood as expressions of an ethics of care. In this sense, aspects of Tronto’s (1993) ethics of care were mobilized and articulated in order to illuminate intuitive experiences.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualitative thematic analysis of the phenomenology of near-death experiences Cardiac arrest survivors | 2018 | Qualitative study | n = 34 |
| Phenomenology and Sequelae of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine Use Psychiatrists who had taken MDMA | 1992 | Qualitative study | n = 20 |
| A phenomenology of meditation-induced light experiences: traditional buddhist and neurobiological perspectives American Buddhist practitioners | 2014 | Qualitative study | |
| Evoking the ineffable: The phenomenology of extreme sports. Extreme sports participants across three continents, including BASE jumping, big wave... | 2017 | Qualitative study | n = 15 |
| Phenomenology and content of the inhaled N, N-dimethyltryptamine (N, N-DMT) experience. Naturalistic inhaled N,N-DMT experiences posted to the r/DMT Reddit community | 2022 | Qualitative analysis | n = 3,778 |