Husserl's Phenomenology: Method of Philosophizing
Summary
TLDRThis video script delves into Husserl's phenomenology, a method of philosophizing that seeks to understand the essence of phenomena as they appear to our consciousness. It contrasts the natural attitude, where reality is perceived as separate from experience, with the phenomenological attitude, which employs 'epoché' to bracket assumptions and uncover the true nature of reality. The script explores the phenomenological reduction and 'eidetic reduction', aiming to describe the pure essence of experiences without preconceptions, emphasizing the intentionality of consciousness and its active role in interpreting our experiences.
Takeaways
- 📚 Phenomenology is a method of philosophizing that seeks to understand the nature of consciousness and the world as it appears to us through our subjective experiences.
- 🤔 The phenomenological method was developed as a critique to the Cartesian methodic doubt, emphasizing the intentional nature of consciousness that is always conscious of something beyond itself.
- 👀 Husserl, the forerunner of modern phenomenology, argued against Descartes' view, asserting that the thinking subject is always aware of the world outside of itself.
- 🔍 Phenomenology is etymologically the study of phenomena, which are anything that exists and of which the mind is conscious.
- 🌐 The phenomenological method involves a 'reduction' process, which brackets or suspends preconceived notions to focus on the pure experience of phenomena.
- 🧐 Phenomenological reduction aims to strip away assumptions and get to the essence of phenomena, leading to a deeper understanding of the world as it is experienced.
- 🔄 Eidetic reduction is a technique used in phenomenology to understand the essence of an experience by varying its attributes and identifying what is truly necessary for it to be what it is.
- 💭 Imaginary variation is a method within eidetic reduction that explores the necessary features of an experience by altering its possible attributes.
- 🔮 Intentionality is a key concept in phenomenology, indicating that consciousness is always directed towards something, acting as an ongoing referential process.
- 🌟 The phenomenological attitude involves a shift in perspective that allows for a pure description of phenomena as they are given in experience, without preconceptions.
- 📈 The implications of phenomenology include the realization that consciousness is active and that our immediate, lived experiences take precedence over the objectified world of natural sciences.
Q & A
What is the main topic of discussion in this edition of the daily whiteboard?
-The main topic is the phenomenological method of philosophizing, specifically focusing on the key concepts in Husserl's phenomenology.
What is the historical background of phenomenology mentioned in the script?
-Phenomenology originated as a critique on Descartes' methodic doubts and was developed further by Edmund Husserl as a way to understand the nature of consciousness and the world as it appears to us.
What does the term 'phenomenology' etymologically mean?
-Etymologically, phenomenology means the study of phenomena, derived from the Greek words 'phenomenon' meaning appearance and 'logos' meaning reason or study.
How does Husserl's phenomenology differ from Descartes' methodic doubt?
-While Descartes doubted everything to find certainty in the self, Husserl affirmed the existence of a world outside of the self and focused on understanding the world as it appears to consciousness.
What is the significance of the phrase 'back to the things themselves' in phenomenology?
-The phrase 'back to the things themselves' signifies Husserl's call for a return to pure description of phenomena as they appear to us, without preconceptions or hypothetical speculations.
What is the 'phenomenological reduction' and its purpose?
-The phenomenological reduction is a method of suspending or bracketing preconceived notions about a phenomenon to gain an understanding of its true nature. It transforms the world into a phenomenon and leads us back to the source of the meaning and existence of the experienced world.
What is 'epoché' in the context of phenomenology?
-Epoché is the act of suspending or bracketing all preconceived notions and prejudices about a particular phenomenon under study, allowing for a pure examination of the phenomenon.
What is the difference between perception and intuition in phenomenology?
-Perception is being conscious of an object without necessarily understanding its meaning, while intuition is an insight into the nature and meaning of something through the experience of that something.
What technique does Husserl use to understand the essence of an experience?
-Husserl uses 'eidetic reduction' which involves a method known as 'imaginary variation' to explore what is truly necessary for an experience to be what it is.
What is the concept of 'intentionality' in Husserl's phenomenology?
-Intentionality in Husserl's phenomenology means that consciousness is always an act of doing something and is always referential, pointing or referring to something in the world.
What are the implications of doing pure phenomenology according to the script?
-The implications include the realization that consciousness is fundamentally intentional, meaning it is always about something and that our immediate, lived experience takes precedence over the objectified world of Natural Sciences.
Outlines
📚 Introduction to Phenomenology and Husserl's Method
This paragraph introduces the topic of phenomenology, a method of philosophizing developed by Edmund Husserl. It acknowledges the breadth of Husserl's philosophy and the limitations of covering it in a single edition, focusing instead on key concepts. The historical background provided discusses phenomenology's roots as a critique of Descartes' methodical doubt, emphasizing the cogito 'I think, therefore I am.' Husserl's phenomenology is distinguished by its assertion of the existence of a world outside the self, contrasting Descartes' focus on the thinking self. The paragraph also outlines the etymology of phenomenology, derived from 'phenomenon' meaning appearance and 'logos' meaning reason or study, and positions phenomenology as the investigation of the essence of things as they appear to consciousness.
🔍 Husserl's Phenomenological Method and Reduction
This paragraph delves into Husserl's phenomenological method, which involves a shift from the natural attitude of perceiving reality as separate from subjective experience to a phenomenological attitude that acknowledges the unity of consciousness and reality. The method includes the practice of epoché, or bracketing, which suspends preconceived notions to focus on the phenomena themselves. Phenomenological reduction is introduced as the process of stripping away assumptions to reveal the true nature of reality. The paragraph also explains the concept of eidetic reduction, which seeks to understand the essence of an experience through a process of imaginative variation, aiming to identify the essential characteristics that define a phenomenon.
🧠 The Nature of Consciousness and Intentionality in Phenomenology
The third paragraph explores the intentional nature of consciousness in phenomenology, highlighting that consciousness is always directed towards something, reflecting Husserl's view that consciousness is inherently active and referential. It discusses the phenomenological attitude and the process of phenomenological reduction, which allows for a deeper understanding of the essence of phenomena as they appear to us. The paragraph also introduces the concept of transcendental phenomena, which are experiences that have transcended their physical existence, and contrasts them with material phenomena. The discussion on intentionality emphasizes that consciousness is both an act and a reference to an object, illustrating the active and referential nature of conscious experience.
🤔 The Phenomenological Attitude and Eidetic Reduction
This paragraph continues the discussion on the phenomenological attitude and the process of eidetic reduction, which involves a shift from considering things as realities to viewing them as instances of idealities or pure possibilities. It explains the two fundamental moments of eidetic reduction: the reduction to the sphere of immanence and the movement from fact to essence. The paragraph provides an example of how eidetic reduction can be applied to understand the essence of a table, using the method of imaginary variation to explore the necessary attributes that define the phenomenon of a table. This process leads to an intuitive understanding of the essence of the experience, aligning with Husserl's principle of returning to the things themselves.
🌟 Conclusion: The Significance of Phenomenology in Philosophy
The final paragraph concludes the discussion on phenomenology by emphasizing its significance in philosophy. It reiterates the importance of the phenomenological reduction and the shift in perspective it enables, allowing for a deeper understanding of the essence of phenomena. The paragraph also touches on the implications of phenomenology, particularly the realization that consciousness is intentional, always directed towards phenomena in the world. It highlights the precedence of immediate lived experience over the objectified world of natural sciences in phenomenology. The paragraph ends with a reminder of the active and ongoing nature of consciousness, which is not a passive container of perceptions but an active process of engagement with the world.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Phenomenology
💡Edmund Husserl
💡Intentionality
💡Epoché
💡Eidetic Reduction
💡Imaginary Variation
💡Transcendental
💡Natural Attitude
💡Phenomenological Attitude
💡Back to the Things Themselves
Highlights
Introduction to the phenomenological method of philosophizing by Edmund Husserl.
Phenomenology as a critique on Cartesian methodic doubts and the concept of 'cogito ergo sum'.
Husserl's affirmation of the existence of a world outside the self, contrasting Descartes' initial skepticism.
The definition of phenomenology as the study of phenomena, derived from Greek words 'phenomenon' and 'logos'.
Husserl's phenomenology focuses on the nature and structure of human conscious experience.
The concept of 'natural attitude' versus 'phenomenological attitude' in understanding reality.
The method of 'epoché' or bracketing to suspend preconceived notions for a pure description of phenomena.
Phenomenological reduction as a means to understand the true nature of reality by focusing on pure phenomena.
The idea that consciousness is fundamentally intentional, always directed towards something in the world.
The difference between perception and intuition in phenomenological investigation.
Eidetic reduction as a method to understand the essence of an experience through 'imaginary variation'.
The process of reaching an 'aha moment' in phenomenology through intuition of the essence of phenomena.
The example of understanding the essence of 'man' from both natural and phenomenological attitudes.
The importance of lived experience in phenomenology over the objectified world of Natural Sciences.
The implications of phenomenology for understanding the intentionality of consciousness and its referential nature.
Conclusion emphasizing the significance of phenomenology in making the learning of philosophy accessible.
Transcripts
hello everyone welcome once again sue
filo notes and before I get started with
today's topic I would like to thank you
for visiting us today for another
edition of our daily whiteboard in this
edition I will discuss one of the
methods of philosophizing that is whose
or elles phenomenology or the
phenomenological method of
philosophizing the hers aurelion
tradition please note however that whose
or elles philosophy is very broad as
it's impossible to capsulize his
philosophy just within this edition so
what I will be presenting here are only
the key concepts in whose rels
phenomenology for us to gain a basic
understanding of the phenomenological
method the philosophizing now let's
begin with a brief historical background
of the topic phenomenology was
originally a form of critique on the
Cartesian methodic doubts as we know
Rene dexhart the acclaimed father of
modern philosophy initiated the
philosophical revolution in maternity by
offering a method of philosophizing that
seeks to ground knowledge on the most
universal and self-evident truth that I
exist and that the eye that exists is
essentially a thinking eye the cogito
this is a variation of the famous
Cartesian victim cogito ergo zoom which
means I think therefore I am
the idea here is that decart employed
the methodical in his search for
certainty but systematically doubting
everything at first but in the process
of doubting everything there is one
thing that decart cannot doubt that he
is doubting now if he is doubting then
he must be thinking therefore if he is
thinking then he must be existing
because the act of thinking presupposes
the existence of the one that thinks
thus with a discovery of the self of the
eye that thinks decart concluded that
certainty can be attained
[Music]
unlike Dekker to systematically doubted
the certitude of the world outside of
the self or ego as his starting point in
obtaining certain C Edmund Husserl
affirmed the existence of a world
outside of the self and for whose rel
who was the forerunner of modern
phenomenology the thinking eye is always
conscious of this world it is for this
reason that whose real accuses dexhart
of failing to properly understand the
nature of consciousness which is always
a consciousness of something other than
itself
and this is the starting point of who's
our else phenomenological investigation
for us to fully understand phenomenology
is a method of philosophizing we need to
define phenomenology first and so what
is phenomenology phenomenology comes
from the two Greek words phenomenon
which means appearance and logos which
means reason or study
hence etymologically speaking
phenomenology means the study of
phenomenon the term phenomenon means
anything that exists of which the mind
is conscious a book is a concrete
example of a phenomenon a book is their
existing material and the mind is
conscious of it
however phenomenology is formally
defined as the investigation of the
essence or the nature of material things
or things that appear to us it is
important to know that whose role did
not invent phenomenology out of the
vacuum
the context here is that realism and
idealism had reached an impasse toward
the end of the 19th century regarding
the status of the knower and the thing
known as is well known the realists
argue for the independence of the object
of knowledge while the idealists argue
for the primary of the subject that is
the knower it is in the view of this
impasse that whose rayul offered his
phenomenology as a way out but instead
of making a philosophical speculation of
the nature of reality whose really
argued for the need for philosophy to
turn to a pure description of the what
is of the thing as it appears to us does
the famous was really an motto back to
the things themselves an irrational man
a study in existential philosophy
William Barrett writes for whose real
phenomenology was a discipline that
attempts to describe what is given to us
and experience without obscuring
preconceptions or hypothetical
speculations with this note let me now
briefly sketch whose or else notion of
phenomenology is a method of
philosophizing please note that I will
not discuss in great detail who's really
smart all of phenomenology as our
concern here is just to know the nature
and dynamics of phenomenology as a
method of philosophizing
and for a detailed discussion of the
nature and dynamics of whose eros model
of phenomenology see the internet
encyclopedia of philosophy titled
the phenomenological reduction again
phenomenology for whose RL is a
discipline that attempts to describe or
understand what is given to us in
experience in other words phenomenology
for whose RL provides an account of how
things are phenomena appear to our
awareness or ultimately how the world
appears to us in terms of our subjective
experience of it so phenomenology deals
primarily with a determination of the
nature and structure of human conscious
experience indeed phenomenology is about
reflecting upon our everyday immediate
or to lived experiences in order to gain
some understanding of its underlying
order coherence and structure now it's
to begin with within who Israel's model
of phenomenology which is by the way
called pure phenomenology and contra
distinction to the existential
phenomenology of his followers such as
Martin Heidegger Maurice merleau-ponty
and jean-paul Sartre is the idea that we
normally view a reality from the vantage
point of what who Zurich all's the
natural attitude
for whose real this natural attitude
toward things suggest that people
conduct their life with a common natural
belief that the reality that they
inhabit is fundamentally separable from
their subjective experience of it in
other words for those people with a
natural attitude the world is out there
relative to their experience of its in
contrast to this natural attitude who's
really that it is possible for people to
adopt a phenomenological attitude
wherein they suspend or bracket their
belief and natural attitude and
eventually recognize that it is just a
natural attitude that the knowledge that
they gain from this attitude is not real
or true knowledge
this act of bracketing which is called
epic a allows people that turn their
attention to the ongoing activity of
their consciousness to which their
experience of reality or things is
ultimately constituted according to
who's real the overall act of employing
epic a that is suspending or bracketing
all preconceived notions and prejudice
about a particular phenomenon under
study and then record identify and then
put to one side for us to gain an
understanding of the true nature of
reality is called phenomenological
reduction
and according to Richard Schmitt it is
called phenomenological because it
transforms the world into a phenomenon
and it is called reduction because it
leads us back to the source of the
meaning and existence of the experienced
world and according to frog stuff the
concept of epic AR bracketing can be
better understood in terms of the
phenomenological activity it is supposed
to make possible that is the unpacking
of the phenomena or in other words
systematically peeling away their
symbolic meanings like layers of an
onion until only the thing itself as
meant and experienced remains thus once
subjective perception of the bracketed
phenomenon is examined and analyzed in
its purity it must be noted however that
in phenomenological reduction the mind
does not make up features of reality
that everything must conform to on the
contrary objects in the world or
phenomena already have some kind of
structure or unity and these objective
meaningful features of the things or
phenomena are disclosed to us in our
experience by means of the
interpretations we can give to them in
this way our mind can be viewed as
active because it can create
interpretations of our experience in
meaningful ways
however it must be remembered that there
is already something meaningful in the
objects or phenomena themselves which
can provide confirmation of our
contradiction to that interpretation now
with a phenomenological reduction people
are able to have a shift in perspective
and it is important to note that this
basic shift in perspective as a result
of the employment of phenomenological
reduction enables us to assume a
phenomenological attitude toward our
experience according to some scholars
this can produce some surprising
insights into the fundamental nature of
things in other words with
phenomenological reduction one is able
to get at a pure phenomena from a user's
point of view put differently through
phenomenological reduction we are able
to know and understand the essence or
meaning of things as they appear to us
now to provide a concrete example let us
take man as a phenomenon and then apply
a phenomenological reduction to it for
us to know the essence of man so the
natural attitude may say man is a
rational animal here man is simply
perceived as an animal that thinks but
from the standpoint of a
phenomenological attitude the nature of
man or the understanding of man depends
on how one experiences man
thus with a phenomenological attitude
man can be viewed as a being that
possesses freedom or a being that it
escapes definition here man is more than
a thinking animal this means that the
meaning of a man can vary considerably
depending on the way in which we view a
man whether from the vantage point of a
natural attitude or from the
phenomenological attitude there are some
techniques of doing phenomenology of the
way to go about exploring our
consciousness of reality one way of
doing this is to undertake what who zero
calls eidetic reduction by the way for
whose real identity reduction is a
second reduction which follows the
moment when we have turned our
reflective awareness toward experience
by employing the phenomenological
reduction in fact identical reduction is
a way of understanding the essence of
some experience this is precisely what
whose recalls to the movement from the
fact to essence it must be noted that
for who 0 epoch a has two fundamental
moments namely the reduction to the
sphere of imminence and the movement
from fact to essence so the first moment
involves a suspension of the natural
attitude and placing and abeyance all
beliefs in the transcendental world and
it is important to know that hoosier L
did not use the term transcendental in
the mystical sense for example the way
it is used in the phrase transcendent
God
now for us to understand who else use of
the word transcendent or transcendental
let us visit this word vis-a-vis the
term materiality in whose our alien
phenomenology materiality could mean the
physical existence of things such as
tables chairs books trees cars and alike
on the other hand transcendental
phenomena are those phenomena that have
transcended their materiality such as
feelings thoughts experiences memories
and the like it is for this reason that
who's really Sofi is transcendental
because it is concerned with a
conditions of possibility that make an
experience possible
indeed thoughts memories experiences and
feelings service of the conditions of
possibility that make an experience
possible and the second moment sometimes
called a debt Achra duction involves a
shift to consider things not as
realities but as instances of idealities
that is as pure possibilities rather
than actualities in this way objects are
no longer conceived as material things
but as a census that is meanings
categories ideal types and laws
now let me give an example in order to
drive my point clearly so we may ask the
question what is a table here it is
important to remember according to some
scholars in news er L that what Israel
is after is a special moment in the
inquiries reflective awareness a special
moment in which Jews are calls intuition
was real distinguishes between
perception and intuition in perception
the person may perceive and be conscious
of the fact that she perceives an object
but without understanding its meaning in
essence intuition on the other hand is
an insight into the nature and meaning
of something through the experience of
that something now according to whose
are L eidetic reduction helps bring
about an intuition into something as
essence by employing a method known as
imaginary variation in imaginary
variation The Inquirer varies all the
possible attributes of an experience as
a way of exploring what is truly
necessary for it to be what it is that's
in the question what is a table we may
raise the following points one a table
has four legs to a table is made of wood
three a table has a flat surface for a
table is rectangular in shape and five a
table is used primarily for dining or
putting things on it
or we may ask the following as a way of
varying all possible attributes of an
experience would it still be a table if
it has no legs would it still be a table
if it has no flat surface would it still
be a table if it is not made up of wood
would it still be a table if it's not
rectangular in shape and would it still
be a table if it is not used for dining
or putting things on it eventually
according to WHO Israel this kind of
explanation helps the Inquirer reach or
attain a special moment of intuition
about her experience of the table thus
she may say a table is a four-legged
furniture made up of wood has a flat
surface rectangular in shape and is used
primarily for dining or putting things
on it this what makes a table a table
indeed this is the nature of the
phenomenon table in this case as it
appears to us that is as we experienced
it according to some scholars this is
the kind of aha moment in which the
Inquirer realizes the overall essential
nature of experience this is exactly
what is meant by the dictum back to the
things themselves as that which
characterizes hoosier else project it
must be noted however that whose
realistic tone back to the things
themselves meant the things as we
experience them rather than take them
for granted
[Music]
finally some of the implications as a
result of doing pure phenomenology is
the realization that consciousness is
intentional for whose Riddle
consciousness is understood as
fundamentally intentional this means
that consciousness is an act is always
consciousness of or about something this
consciousness in whose ralien
phenomenology is not directed toward
itself but toward phenomena in the world
it follows therefore that any form of
thinking is based ultimately on the
phenomena in the world for this reason
consciousness or thinking is just
secondary to the lived experience of
phenomena as they show themselves this
explains why for Israel the world of
immediate our lived experience takes
precedence over the objectified world of
Natural Sciences in the phenomenological
parlance intentionality denotes two
things first the intentionality of
consciousness means that consciousness
is always an act of doing something this
consciousness is an activity this is
what is meant when Hooser l say that to
be conscious is to experience an act of
knowing or noises in which the subject
is aware of an object
and second intentionality of
consciousness means that consciousness
is always referential that is
consciousness is always pointing or
referring to something that is also what
is meant when who is real said that a
conscious act is an act of awareness in
which the subject is presented with an
object or no way ma let's take for
example the act of thinking about the
definition of a table thinking about the
definition of a table involves actual
thinking or Nueces at the same time it
involves a referent that is a table
which is the pneuma at the end of it all
for whose real consciousness is not like
a box that contains some perceptions on
the contrary consciousness an active
ongoing referential process all right
that's it for today keep looking forward
to our series of daily whiteboard
editions as we try to make the learning
and understanding of philosophy
incredibly easy thanks for joining us
today in this edition of our daily
whiteboard here at filo notes I hope you
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care
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