Husserl's Phenomenological Method

Summary

This lecture introduces phenomenology, a philosophical method developed by Edmund Husserl. It addresses three key questions: the purpose of phenomenology, the phenomenological attitude, and how the method is applied. Phenomenology seeks to explore original human experience without presuppositions, contrasting with scientific and dualistic approaches. It emphasizes understanding reality as a unity and describes experience from within, focusing on human subjectivity. Key concepts include epoche (bracketing), eidetic reduction (essence identification), and the intentionality of consciousness. The lecture highlights phenomenology's paradox: to be truly objective, one must embrace subjectivity and intersubjectivity.

Takeaways

• 📚 Phenomenology was initiated by Edmund Husserl, aiming for a presupposition-less philosophy, distinct from sciences that begin with complex assumptions.
• 🔬 The 'natural attitude' refers to the scientific viewpoint, assuming objective, external reality without questioning how we know it.
• 🧠 Phenomenology seeks to transcend the natural attitude to achieve a more fundamental understanding of human experience.
• 🌀 The concept 'back to things themselves' means returning to the richness of original experience, free from prejudices and preconceived notions.
• 👥 In contrast to the dualistic view of humans as a composite of body and soul, phenomenology views humans as embodied subjects or spirits, emphasizing holistic experience.
• 🔄 The phenomenological attitude prioritizes the unity of experience before analyzing its parts, focusing on totality rather than fragmentation.
• 🗣️ Language is seen as an embodiment of thought and culture, not merely a collection of words, illustrating the holistic view of phenomenology.
• 📝 'Epoche' or bracketing involves suspending judgment on preconceived notions to view the world with fresh eyes, essential for phenomenological analysis.
• 🔍 'Eidetic reduction' is a method to identify the essence of an experience by varying its aspects and seeing what remains invariant.
• 🌐 The intentionality of consciousness implies that consciousness is always directed toward something, reinforcing the interconnectedness of subject and object.

Q & A

What is phenomenology and who founded it?

Phenomenology was founded by Edmund Husserl, whose aim was to create a philosophy with minimal presuppositions. It is the study of phenomena and focuses on understanding human experience in its purest form.

Why was Husserl dissatisfied with the sciences of his time?

Husserl was dissatisfied because the sciences of his time relied heavily on presuppositions, especially naturalistic psychology, which treated mental activity as mechanistically conditioned by nature, ignoring deeper philosophical inquiries.

What is the 'natural attitude' according to phenomenology?

The 'natural attitude' is the scientific attitude, which assumes that the world exists independently of the observer and can be explained by objective laws. It divides the world into subject (the observer) and object (the observed).

How does phenomenology contrast with the scholastic approach?

While scholastic philosophy defines humans as a composite of body and soul and takes a dualistic approach, phenomenology views humans as embodied spirits and emphasizes a holistic understanding of human experience.

What is the phenomenological attitude?

The phenomenological attitude focuses on positing unity before analyzing parts. It emphasizes describing phenomena as they are, without imposing external explanations, and is concerned with experience as lived by humans.

What does 'epoche' mean in phenomenology?

'Epoche' is a Greek term meaning 'bracketing.' In phenomenology, it refers to suspending judgments about the natural attitude and setting aside presuppositions to view experiences freshly and objectively.

What is 'eidetic reduction' in the phenomenological method?

Eidetic reduction refers to reducing an experience to its essence by identifying the invariant features that define it. For example, in reducing the concept of a triangle, one would identify that a triangle must have three angles.

What is the role of intentionality in consciousness according to phenomenology?

In phenomenology, intentionality means that consciousness is always directed toward something. There is no pure consciousness without an object; consciousness is always 'consciousness of something.'

What is the paradox of phenomenology according to Husserl?

The paradox of phenomenology is that to be truly objective, one must be subjective. This means that understanding the world requires acknowledging the subjective nature of human experience.

How does phenomenology view the relationship between subject and object?

Phenomenology sees no strict division between subject and object. The subject (consciousness) is always aware of the object (world), and the object gains meaning through the subject’s experience. This is called the inter-subjectivity of objectivity.