The Phenomenological Technique

The term phenomenology refers to the method of enquiry developed by the German

philosopher, Edmund G.A. Husserl (1859-1938), following his own teacher, Franz

Brentano (1838-1917). Husserl set out to develop the doctrine of phenomenology into

a pure, non-empirical science. He presented a programme for the systematic

investigation of consciousness and its objects. For him, it is of the essence of objects to be correlative to states of mind: no distinction can be made between what is perceived and the perception of it. Husserl contended that experience is not limited to apprehension through the senses, but includes whatever can be an object of thought

(e.g. mathematical entities, moods, desires). For Husserl, the philosopher must begin

from a scrupulous inspection of his or her own conscious, and particularly intellectual, processes. In this inspection all assumptions about the wider and external causes and consequences of these internal processes have to be excluded (“bracketed”). Although this sounds like a programme for a psychology of introspection, Husserl insisted that it was an a priori investigation of the essences or meanings common to the thought of different minds (see Husserl 1982; Passmore 1968, 466-503).

The phenomenological technique is closely related to the perspective of the

existentialists, who insist that abstract reflection as undertaken by traditional Western philosophy is fruitless, and that real philosophy must begin from the subject rather than the object, focusing on the individual’s perception of the world (see Cooper 1999). The phenomenological technique aids the philosopher to appreciate the fact that whatever aspect of reality he or she chooses to reflect on, he or she cannot escape the subjective character of his or her inquiry. This technique also seems to be a bridge between the largely descriptive approach of the natural and social sciences on the one hand (see 3.2 below), and the abstract and reflective approach of philosophy on the

Research Methodology in Philosophy within an Interdisciplinary and Commercialised African Context 97

other. Besides, it seems to be a refinement of the descriptive technique, as it

encourages an appreciation of the subjective element in any knowledge acquired

through experience.

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