Phenomenology, what is it:
Phenomenology is a philosophical approach and method that focuses on the study of human consciousness and subjective experiences. It was developed in the early 20th century, primarily by the German philosopher Edmund Husserl, and has since become a prominent and influential branch of philosophy. Phenomenology seeks to understand and describe the structure of conscious experience as it is directly given to us, without making assumptions about the existence of an external world or objective reality.
Key characteristics and concepts of phenomenology include:
Bracketing (Epoche): Phenomenologists practice a form of “bracketing,” where they temporarily suspend or set aside any preconceived beliefs, assumptions, or judgments about the phenomenon they are investigating. This allows them to approach the phenomenon with a fresh and open perspective.
Intentionality: Phenomenology emphasizes the concept of intentionality, which means that consciousness is always directed toward something. Every experience is an experience of something, and this intentional structure is at the heart of phenomenological analysis.
Description: Phenomenology is primarily concerned with careful and detailed description of conscious experiences. Phenomenologists seek to uncover the essential and invariant features of these experiences.
Phenomenological Reduction: This is the process by which phenomenologists attempt to strip away the layers of interpretation and presupposition to access the pure, raw data of experience. It involves suspending judgment and looking at phenomena as they present themselves.
Phenomenological Epoché: Similar to reduction, epoché involves setting aside assumptions about the external world and focusing solely on the phenomena as they appear in consciousness.
Eidetic Reduction: This involves identifying and exploring the essential or “eidetic” characteristics of a phenomenon, which are those features that are necessary for the phenomenon to be what it is.
Phenomenology has been influential not only in philosophy but also in psychology, sociology, and other fields. It has given rise to various schools and approaches, including existentialism, hermeneutic phenomenology, and transcendental phenomenology. Existentialist thinkers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Maurice Merleau-Ponty drew on phenomenological ideas to explore human existence and the meaning of life. Hermeneutic phenomenology, as developed by philosophers like Martin Heidegger and Hans-Georg Gadamer, focused on the interpretation of human experience and the role of language and culture in shaping it. Transcendental phenomenology, as articulated by Husserl and later elaborated upon by others like Emmanuel Levinas, delves into the foundational structures of consciousness.
In summary, phenomenology is a philosophical approach that aims to understand and describe the nature of human consciousness and subjective experience by examining phenomena as they appear in our conscious awareness, without presupposing an objective reality beyond these experiences. It is characterized by its rigorous descriptive methods and emphasis on intentionality and the suspension of preconceived beliefs.
Shervan K Shahhian
LIBERTY PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION 