Phenomenological reduction
From Geography
The concept of phenomenological philosophy came from the philosopher Edmund Husserl. Husserl wanted to make a rigorous science of philosophy. He analyzed how the world appears to individuals by becoming conscious of experiences of phenomena. People have a certain consciousness of objects, which they obtain through experience in daily life. An adult has a life-experience that is made up of a variety of elements.
According to Husserl experience can be reduced. There is an underlying structure where the basis of our elements lie. Therefore we need to undo ourselves of our presuppositions of the world (Campbell, 1991, p.199). Husserl was interested in the social experience of human being and the consciousness that people have when they experience things, without taking the empirical experience into account. Husserl's method focuses on 'being informed' and not on empirical knowledge (Heijloo & Eskens, 2003, p.105). People have to reflect on things happened in the past. Thus, he thinks that we can ‘trace the roots of the problems of the social sciences directly back to the fundamental facts of conscious life (Campbell, 1991, p.199).
References:
Campbell, J. (1991). Alfred Schütz. New York: Penguin
Heijloo, R. & Eskens, E. (Eds.).(2003). Filosofen lexicon. Werk, leven en citaten van tweehonderd grote denkers. Diemen: Veen Magazines.
Published by Christine Hutting and Milou Pollemans
