Phenomenology: what it is, concept and main authors
We are going to know what this branch of philosophy consists of.
Much has been tried to understand about the world that surrounds us, trying to do it in the most objective and empirical way possible, however, sometimes, the experiences and sensations that we have of our reality can acquire great importance, especially in the therapeutic context.
Phenomenology is a philosophical branch that tries to understand and give importance to how people experience the world in which we live, both in terms of its most important aspects and in terms of its most important aspects.It is a philosophical branch that tries to understand and give importance to how people experience the world we live in, both in terms of its more physical aspect and in terms of social interaction and emotionality.
Let's take a closer look at this complex philosophical current, what relationship it has with psychology and which have been its most outstanding authors.
- Recommended article: "The 8 branches of Philosophy (and its main thinkers)".
Phenomenology and its relationship with psychology.
Phenomenology is a philosophical movement that emerged during the twentieth century, whose etymological origin is 'phainómenon' (Greek, 'appearance, manifestation') and 'logos' ('science, knowledge'). Thus, it can be understood as 'the study of manifestations.
In this branch of philosophy, the aim is to investigate and describe phenomena or objects as they are experienced by individuals.. This idea is not only applicable in the field of psychology, but also in many other fields of knowledge, making phenomenology cover very varied elements depending on the subject in which it is applied.
In the case of psychology, phenomenology deals with the study of the structures of consciousness from a first-person perspective, that is, taking into account how the person himself experiences it.
What does it deal with?
Clearly defining what phenomenology refers to with its field of study is certainly a complicated task.
As we were already commenting, one could extract as a fundamental idea within this current, which in turn is a method and a philosophical branch, that of to go to understand the things themselves', i.e., to try to understandthat is, to try to understand the world without prejudices, in the form of previous knowledge and theories, which may influence its interpretation.
Origins
Although it is true that we have said that this discipline and philosophical current emerged in the twentieth century, its roots are much earlier. In fact, the first person to use the term 'phenomenology' was the Swiss mathematician and philosopher Johann Heinrich Lambertwho used it in reference to the method he had proposed to explain how to distinguish between truth, illusion and error.
However, the first time the term was defined in the way it is understood today is in the work of the German philosopher George Friedrich Hegel, 'A Phenomenology of Spirit' (1807). In short, in this work he tried to understand and explain the development of the human mind from the sense of existence itself.
But really, phenomenology is not established as the philosophical movement, both theoretical and applied, that it is today in the middle of the twentieth century, when Edmund Husserlof whom we speak in more detail below, founded it methodologically speaking. He was the author of the foundation of transcendental phenomenology and, thanks to him, the movement was transformed into a whole line of complex thought that to this day continues to have great weight within the human sciences.
Phenomenological method and the figure of Edmund Husserl
The phenomenological method not only acquires importance at the philosophical level, but, as we have already mentioned, it has been of great contribution in disciplines that try to understand human beings, such as sociology, psychology and pedagogy.
Edmund Husserl is considered the most responsible for the vision and idea that we have of phenomenology today. Within his theory, the idea of not presupposing absolutely nothing about the reality perceived and studied was defended.. Thus, it can be interpreted that he was contrary to concepts that, although they are very accepted in society, are really constituted of prejudices and preconceptions, such as the idea of 'common sense' and discriminatory ideologies.
The phenomenological method, both the one proposed by Husserl himself and the current conception within psychology, follows the following three stages:
1. Examine all the contents of consciousness.
This means that the person is aware that the object he is perceiving is something sensible, that it is there.
2. Having self-awareness
In this phase, the person determines whether the perceived contents really exist or, on the contrary, are constituted by ideas, i.e., are part of his imagination.
3. Suspending phenomenological awareness
This is nothing more than feeling the perceived object for itself, without entering into reasoning about whether or not it is real, only grasping it.
As can be understood on the basis of these three phases, it is logical to understand why the phenomenological methodology has been accused of being too subjective. After all, it focuses on how the person experiences a phenomenon, not how, in more objective terms, it is received as a stimulus by the sense organs and how the brain, at the physiological level, interprets it.
What is certain is that, to this day, phenomenology continues to aspire to become a current that tries to combine both the subjective aspects that the person experiences with an interpretation as objective as possible of this interpretation. There is no doubt that the method is qualitative rather than quantitative.
Representatives of this current
In addition to Edmund Husserl, there are many great philosophers and thinkers of the last two centuries who can be considered as great representatives of the current, both when it was formally founded and when it was still originating.
The figure of Franz Brentano, who has been attributed as the origin of modern phenomenology, is of great importance. Even before the use of the term as it is known today, there were numerous great figures in history who proposed the phenomenological foundations.
Among them we can find the figure of David Hume, who in his work 'A Treatise on Human Nature' shows himself to be a supporter of the phenomenological approach, although it had not yet been fully conceptualized. Another notable figure is Immanuel Kant, who in 'Critique of Pure Reason' makes a distinction between objects, understood as phenomena, formed and assimilated by human sensibility, and nothings, which could be translated as 'things-in-themselves' (for example, thought itself).
By the middle of the twentieth century, the figures of Martin Heidegger and Maurice Merleau-Ponty are already noteworthy.
Phenomenological therapies
Traditionally, humanistic-oriented therapies have been related to the foundations of phenomenology. From the phenomenological point of view, the therapeutic situation consists of a singular context in which there is at least the intersubjective interaction of two phenomenologies, i.e., the patient's own experiences and the therapist's own experiences.
Thus, the patient experiences his reality in a certain way, which, in turn, is reinterpreted by the psychotherapist himself to whom he confesses his inner world.. Of course, the psychologist will not interpret the patient's world in the same way as the patient does. That is to say, it will be a reinterpretation of an interpretation. However, it follows from humanistic therapies the idea that one should try to understand the patient's own vision when he is making reference to how he sees and feels the world.
Among the therapies, mostly of humanistic-existential orientation, which have emphasized the phenomenological fields of both the patient and the psychotherapist himself, we can find the following.
1. Person-centered psychotherapy
This therapy, formulated by Carl Rogers, is based on reflecting, clarifying and transforming the patient's inner world as he describes it to his therapist.
From the time he formulated it, Rogers defended the idea that the therapist should empathically understand the patient's lived reality, and that clinical descriptions of these experiences should be dispensed with.
Later on, he himself came to emphasize the importance of the fact that two people share their experiential worlds, as they are living them, as they are living them.The latter, as they are living them, thus favoring a mutual enrichment between the worlds perceived by the patient and the therapist.
2. Body Psychotherapy
This therapy, whose foundations are to be found in the thought of Wilhelm Reich, originally advocated immediate phenomenological observation by the therapist of the patient's body and gestures, originally advocated the therapist's immediate phenomenological observation of the patient's body and gestures..
Subsequently, this therapy gave greater weight to the psychological and bodily processes as they are experienced and described phenomenologically by the patient during the psychotherapy session.
Post-Reichian psychotherapy has been developing with the aim of trying to transform the client/patient's experience of himself/herself and his/her own bodily reality.
3. Gestalt
Gestalt therapists have been highlighting the clinical usefulness of contrasting and classifying the most salient differences between the phenomenological experience of the patient compared to that of the psychologist.
Bibliographical references:
- Moreira, V. (2001). Beyond the person: Towards a mundane phenomenological psychotherapy. Santiago de Chile: Editorial Universidad de Santiago.
- Moss, D. (Ed.) (1999). Humanistic and Transpersonal Psychology: A Historical and Biographical Sourcebook. Westport: Greenwood Press.
- Sassenfeld-Jonquera, A., and Moncada-Arroyo, L. (2006) Phenomenology and humanistic-existential psychotherapy. Revista de psicología de la universidad de Chile, 15(1), 89-104.
- Waldenfels, B. (1992). From Husserl to Derrida: Introduction to phenomenology. Barcelona: Paidós.
(Updated at Apr 13 / 2024)