Husserl's Phenomenology: Method of Philosophizing

Summary

This 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

00:00

📚 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.

05:02

🔍 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.

10:04

🧠 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.

15:06

🤔 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.

20:06

🌟 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.

Keywords

💡Phenomenology

Phenomenology is a philosophical method that focuses on the study of structures of consciousness from the first-person point of view. It is derived from the Greek words 'phenomenon' meaning appearance and 'logos' meaning reason or study. In the context of the video, phenomenology is presented as a way to understand the world as it appears to us through our subjective experiences. The script discusses phenomenology as a critique of Cartesian methodic doubt and as a means to describe what is given to us in experience without preconceptions.

💡Edmund Husserl

Edmund Husserl is considered the founder of phenomenology. He is known for his work in affirming the existence of a world outside of the self and for developing the phenomenological method. The video script mentions Husserl as the forerunner of modern phenomenology and discusses his approach to consciousness as always being conscious of something other than itself.

💡Intentionality

Intentionality refers to the concept that consciousness is always directed towards something—it is about or of something. In the script, intentionality is explained as a fundamental aspect of consciousness in phenomenology, meaning that any act of thinking is based on phenomena in the world, and consciousness is always an act of experiencing something.

💡Epoché

Epoché, or the 'phenomenological reduction,' is the method of suspending or bracketing all preconceived notions and judgments about the world to focus purely on the phenomena as they appear to consciousness. The script describes epoché as a way to turn attention to the ongoing activity of consciousness and to gain an understanding of the true nature of reality.

💡Eidetic Reduction

Eidetic reduction is a technique used in phenomenology to understand the essence of an experience. It involves a shift from considering things as realities to considering them as instances of idealities or pure possibilities. The script uses the example of a table to illustrate how eidetic reduction helps in reaching an intuition about the essence of an experience.

💡Imaginary Variation

Imaginary variation is a method employed within eidetic reduction where the inquirer varies all possible attributes of an experience to explore what is truly necessary for it to be what it is. The script gives the example of questioning the essential features of a table to understand its true nature as a piece of furniture.

💡Transcendental

In the context of Husserl's phenomenology, 'transcendental' refers to the conditions of possibility that make an experience possible, as opposed to 'materiality,' which refers to the physical existence of things. The script explains that transcendental phenomena have transcended their materiality, such as feelings, thoughts, experiences, and memories.

💡Natural Attitude

The natural attitude is the common-sense belief that reality is fundamentally separable from our subjective experience of it. The script contrasts the natural attitude with the phenomenological attitude, where beliefs about the natural attitude are bracketed to focus on the phenomena as they appear to consciousness.

💡Phenomenological Attitude

The phenomenological attitude is an approach where one suspends the natural attitude and investigates the phenomena as they appear to consciousness without preconceived notions. The script describes this as a shift in perspective that allows for a deeper understanding of the essence or meaning of things as they appear to us.

💡Back to the Things Themselves

The phrase 'back to the things themselves' is a motto associated with phenomenology, emphasizing a return to direct experience and description of phenomena without preconceptions. The script explains this as a key aspect of Husserl's phenomenology, aiming to understand the world as it is given to us in experience.

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

find this material helpful and if you do

don't forget to subscribe thanks take

care