Phenomenology is a historical movement of philosophy that aimed to provide the proper foundation for philosophy and sciences. Its founder, Edmund Husserl, started the debate on the distinct methodology and characterization of such philosophical endeavour. In response to the scientific project of building upon theories and data to contribute to empirical knowledge, the Husserlian project aimed to step back and investigate the nature of knowledge through the methodology of “going back to the things themselves”, or, in other words, to subjective experiences.
Nowadays, Husserlian phenomenology and analysis contribute to the philosophical debate as the discipline that studies the structure of subjective experience and consciousness. Through the basic understanding of consciousness, phenomenology has contributed to understanding experiences, such as perception, thought, memory, imagination, emotion, bodily awareness, embodied action, and social activity.
In this seminar, we will cover the historical background of the emergence of
phenomenology and how the critical concepts elaborated by Edmund Husserl from early to late writings can still contribute to the philosophical debate. Readings from Cartesian Meditations: an Introduction to Phenomenology will be provided as complementary to explore the basic notions and phenomenological method.
- Kursleiter/in: Francesca Righetti