Is Phenomenology a fruitful philosophical methodology

Brian August 06, 2017 at 07:20 1475 views 2 comments

I'm not going to try and pinpoint one specific definition of the phenomenological method. I will say that I mean the general philosophical methodologies employed by at least some of Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, or Merleau-Ponty.

Is phenomenology a useful method? Has it produced results? Is there place for it in contemporary philosophy of any tradition?

As a longtime student of phenomenology generally and Heidegger specifically, I am quite interested in what people think and have to say about this question.

Comments (2)

Noble Dust August 06, 2017 at 08:27 #93605 0 likes

delete

Brian A August 06, 2017 at 18:50 #93677 0 likes

There is certainly a place for it in contemporary philosophy; but whether it can be confidently placed within a tradition is a problematic question. For "tradition," to be intelligible, seems to require some principles able to be grounded beyond the comings and goings of phenomena. But phenomenology intentionally does not exceed the domain of phenomena. Therefore it seems difficult to tie it with any tradition per se.

Though I do not subscribe to the tenets of phenomenology, it is certainly "useful" and "productive," since, when sincerely and intelligently delineated, it can, in my view, serve as the background contrast with other views that more piercingly explain reality.