QL - W4 - Phenomenology (ch.13)

Question 1

What does philosophy mean in Greek? How about phenomenology?

Answer 1

“Love of wisdom”

“appearance”

Question 2

What is valued and is considered a form of knowledge in phenomenology?

Answer 2

Lived experiences

Question 3

Epistemology, ontology or methodology?

“philosophical branch concerned with knowledge and truth”

Answer 3

Epistemology

Question 4

Epistemology, ontology or methodology?

“philosophical branch concerned with nature of reality (being)?”

Answer 4

Ontology

Question 5

Epistemology, ontology or methodology?

“approach to data collection and analysis”

Answer 5

Methodology

Question 6

What are the two types of ontology (study of being)?

Answer 6

1. Objectivism (phenomena exists outside of researcher influence; ie. height, weight)
2. Constructivism (constructed objects, beliefs, ideologies, behaviours, and human action-study identities)

Question 7

What is phenomenology?

Answer 7

Atheoretical…based on philosophical ideas rather than theoretical concepts (Munhall, 2012).

• aims to explore and describe
• all about experiences
• can help expand our horizons when we try to understand

Question 8

List all the philosophers, in order, related to phenomenology.

Answer 8

Brentano, Franz - first stages of phenom.y (concept of intentionality!) preliminary stages German

Husserl, Edmund - (descriptive or transcendental) German

Heidegger, Martin - (interpretive/hermeneutic) German

Gadamer, Hanz-Georg - (philosophical hermeneutics) German

Marcel; Merleau-Ponty; Sarte - all French (Sarte = existentialism)

Question 9

Who is considered to be the “Father of Phenomenology”?

Answer 9

Husserl - descriptive/transcendental

Duquesne school and Dutch school

Question 10

What are Husserl’s main contributions to phenom.y?

Answer 10

1. Intentionality (taken from Brentano)
2. Essences (description of phenomena in pure form)
3. Reduction (bracketing)

Question 11

Husserl - descriptive/transcendental:

How can bracketing be done?

Answer 11

• Dialogue with fellow researchers (before research begins)
• Memos/bracketing journal (during data collection)
• Final report (write down everything that was bracketed)

Question 12

What is the concept of “unknowing”?

Answer 12

• a way of knowing (I know because I know that I don’t know anything)
• coming to participant with a clean slate: you don’t know anything and want to learn
• essential to understanding INTERSUBJECTIVITY and developing perspective
• allows us to have “openness” for the other person, leading to developing PERCEPTUAL SPACE

Question 13

Three phases of phenomenology

Answer 13

1. Preliminary (Brentano)
2. German (Husserl; Heidegger; Gadamer)
3. French (Merleau-Ponty; Sartre)

OR

1. Descriptive/transcendental (Husserl)
2. Interpretive (Heidegger) and Philosophical hermeneutics (Gadamer)
3. Existentialism (Sartre)

Question 14

The shared perceptual space of intersubjectivity belongs to which type of phenomenology?

Answer 14

Husserl’s descriptive phenomenology

Question 15

True or False?

The shared perceptual space of intersubjectivity is related to “unknowing”

Answer 15

True

Question 16

What is intentionality?

Answer 16

From Husserl (taken from Brentano):

• a ‘MENTAL phenomenon, or act of CONSCIOUSNESS, being directed toward some object’

Question 17

Husserl - descriptive/transcendental:

What is epoche?

Answer 17

“to suspend belief”

Focused on describing phenomena as it appears in one’s consciousness, prior to thinking about it, or reflecting upon it

Question 18

Husserl - descriptive/transcendental:

“Phenomena could be captured within consciousness and be described in a pure form” is the definition of…

Answer 18

Universal essence

OR

Eidetic structures

Question 19

Husserl - descriptive/transcendental:

How would Husserl “do phenomenology”?

Answer 19

By bracketing assumptions and biases to capture the pure phenomena.

** Epistemology focus

Question 20

Husserl - descriptive/transcendental:

What are the 3 “different kinds” of intersubjectivity?

Answer 20

1. Personal universe (separate subjective views of reality)
2. Intersubjectivity (two views of interests; closer together!)
3. Perceptual space (shared perceptual field where subjectivities intersect)

Question 21

Heidegger - interpretive/hermeneutic:

Why did he “leave” Husserl’s philosophy and develop interpretive phenomenology?

Answer 21

Because what phenomena means and how it affects individuals existence or being in the world (Dasein) is more important/meaningful than just describing phenomena.

**Ontology focus

Question 22

Heidegger - interpretive/hermeneutic:

What is the process of interpretation where we can continually move between smaller and larger units of meaning in order to determine the meaning of both?

Answer 22

Hermeneutic Circle

** “circle” because you go back and forth to learn and understand the meaning in building and revising understanding

The movement within the circle is a process of re-examining old prejudices in light of another’s truth, allowing something else to emerge beyond our own prejudicial understanding.

Question 23

Heidegger - interpretive/hermeneutic:

Define:
Interpretation
Hermeneutics
Holism

Answer 23

Interpretation: determining the meaning of something

Hermeneutics: study of interpretation

Holism: the whole is more important than the sum of its parts. Meaning is found in the whole

Question 24

Gadamer - philosophical hermeneutics:

Gadamer was interested in HOW its possible to understand, and believed that understanding is only possible through _______ and ________.

Answer 24

History ; language

Question 25

About horizons**

Answer 25

Historically effected consciousness

• Present horizon
• Fusion of horizon (mingling)
• Expanded horizon (after, we come out with more knowledge)

*in support of interpretivism

Question 26

Doing phenomenology slide **ppt slide 53

Answer 26

GROUNDING (based on experiences of everyday life).
That which is ‘common’, is explored…for the purpose of either description or interpretation.

REFLEXIVITY (hermeneutics)…being open to different interpretations to gain greater meaning and understanding. Seen in both but different ways to do it

HUMANIZATION (consider the ontological and existential dimensions that provides context and meaning).
** in support of subjectivity

Question 27

List the 3 challenges of “doing phenomenology”

Answer 27

1. Method slurring
   When you mix methods and don’t stay true to the philosophy of one approach (can be “dangerous”)
2. Not keeping it grounded in philosophy
3. keeping it atheoretical; non-mechanical

Question 28

What is the “beauty” in phenomenology?

Answer 28

1. Offers RICH descriptions and interpretations of ppl’s experiences
2. Creates CONNECTION b/w humans and creates space for greater understanding of one another
3. EXPANDS our perspectives
4. FREEDOM from thinking we have all the answers

Question 29

True or false:

Giorgi is aligned with Gadamer.

Answer 29

FALSE.

Giorgi is aligned with Husserl

Question 30

Giorgi has a 4-step process for analyzing data, with a goal to uncover and produce description of the lived experience. What are the steps?

Answer 30

1. READ to get sense of the “whole”
2. DIFFERENTIATE b/w “meaningful units”
3. TRANSFORM data and highlight themes
4. INTEGRATION of the transformed meaning units with a consistent statement about the participants’ experience

Question 31

Colaizzi had a 7-stage process for analyzing data. What are the steps?

Answer 31

1. READ entire transcript to get a ‘feel’
2. Return to text and extract SIGNIFICANT STATEMENTS
3. Spell out significant statements (FORMULATE MEANING)
4. Repeat and aggregate formulated meanings into clusters of THEMES
   - VALIDATE by referring back to original transcripts
   - Note discrepancies between the various clusters
5. Integrate into EXHAUSTIVE DESCRIPTION of phenomenon
6. Compose a STATEMENT OF ID of its (the exhaustive description) FUNDAMENTAL STRUCTURE
7. MEMBER CHECKING (validation by participants)