As it was first introduced by Husserl, the phenomenological method represented a significant departure from earlier philosophies. Concepts about subjectivity and objectivity which had held constant for centuries were called into question. A new beginning point for philosophy—subjective experience—was introduced along with a methodological practice—bracketing off assumptions—that had previously seemed useless.
Compared to the volumes on ethics, ontology, metaphysics, and politics written by philosophers like Nietzsche, Marx, Mill, and James, Husserl’s descriptions of how he perceives objects in his room are comparatively tame. Yet the idea of phenomenology is quite radical, as phenomenologists following Husserl showed. Heidegger’s phenomenological studies led him to conclude that humans need a new way of ‘being-toward-death’ which yields authenticity. Fanon and de Beauvoir articulated race and gender-based critiques of society by looking at how blacks and women are subjectively constituted. And both Sartre and Meleau-Ponty used phenomenology to revitalize arguments for communist principles. From its beginnings in Husserl’s Logical Investigations to the present, the phenomenological method has been used to discuss many topics and has changed how philosophers engage the world. Below are some recent papers which continue this tradition.
- Bence Nanay, “Perceptual Phenomenology,” Philosophical Perspectives, 2012.
- Farid Masrour, “Is Perceptual Phenomenology Thin?” Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 2011.
- Susanna Schellenberg, “Ontological Minimalism about Phenomenology,” Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 2011.
- Boyd Millar, “Sensory Phenomenology and Perceptual Content,” The Philosophical Quarterly, 2011.
- Anders Nes, “Thematic Unity in the Phenomenology of Thinking,” The Philosophical Quarterly, 2012.
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