What is phenomenology

1. What is phenomenology? Kareem Khalifa Department of Philosophy Middlebury College

2. Outline A very preliminary definition of phenomenology Intentionality Parts and wholes Identity in a manifold Presence and absence A less preliminary definition of phenomenology

3. Preliminary definition Phenomenology is the study of how things appear to consciousness Questions: What is an appearance? What is consciousness? How does one study what appears to consciousness? What is phenomenological methodology?

4. I. Intentionality Intentionality: the directedness or �aboutness� of all conscious activities to objects My belief that it is raining; My hopes for the future; My low opinion of Britney Spears; My dream about dragons; My perception of a cube; My desire for a beer; etc.

5. Two components to intentionality The intending act and the intended object My belief that it is raining; My hopes for the future; My low opinion of Britney Spears; My dream about dragons; My perception of a cube; My desire for a beer; etc.

6. The publicity of intentionality Intentions are not merely �in the mind� They are public; available (in principle) for all of �us� to experience; �in the world� This is true even of intentional objects that don�t physically exist Ex. I mistook a horse for a unicorn. In principle, we could evaluate my experience of the unicorn and see that it is based on my perception of a horse. Such intentional objects (appearances) still exist in some broader sense

7. Update Phenomenology is the study of how things appear to consciousness Questions: What is an appearance? An intended object What is consciousness? Intentionality about objects Lingering questions: How does one study intentional acts� relation to their objects? What is phenomenological methodology?

8. II. Parts and wholes Most intentional objects have a part-whole structure A cube (whole) has six sides (parts) A tree (whole) has branches, leaves, & bark (parts) Elmo (whole) is red (part) A body in motion (whole) has mass, velocity, momentum, & acceleration (parts)

9. Different kinds of parts Pieces: parts that can exist independently of a whole Sides of a cube, branches on a tree Moments: parts that cannot exist independently of a whole Elmo�s redness, a body�s mass

10. More on moments If moment x cannot exist without moment y existing, then x is founded on y, and y founds x. Ex. Red cannot exist without spatial extension, so being red is founded on being spatial, and being spatial founds being red.

11. Concreta and abstracta A concretum is anything that can exist and be experienced as a concrete individual All wholes are concreta All pieces are concreta No moments are concreta An abstractum is anything that cannot exist by itself, but that can be referred to independently of its whole. A moment can only be considered by itself as an abstractum.

12. Problems with abstraction We (and philosophers especially) treat abstracta as concreta, i.e., �forget� the moments upon which the abstracta are founded Ex. The mind is a moment in the world, but we abstract it from the world and then wonder how our thoughts ever correspond to external objects Ex. Mathematical science abstracts formulae from physical objects and social life

13. III. Identity in manifolds Any intentional object appears to us in many different ways (manifold), yet we can still identify it as one and the same thing (identity) Identity transcends (is in a different dimension than) its manifold Each object has its own manifold and thus its own identity

14. IV. Presence and absence All intentional objects exhibit a presence-absence structure. Ex. The sides of a cube facing us are present to our perception; the back of a cube is absent Experience of presence = filled intention Also called an intuition Experience of absence = empty intention Includes memories and anticipations

15. Identity in presence and absence Both empty and filled intentions are directed toward one and the same object Empty and filled intentions comprise part of the manifold of an object�s appearances Ex. The cube has an identity over and above the surfaces that are present and those that are absent. Ex. We are referring to the same event we directly experience (present/full), we remember (absent/empty), and/or anticipate (absent/empty) Unifying an object with respect to empty and filled intentions = act of recognition or identification

16. The �metaphysics� of presence Philosophical tradition: we are aware only of presences Memory, anticipation, imagination deal with absent objects Tradition says that we have concepts of these objects that are present Tends to downplay certain kinds of experiences Knowledge gains primacy over hope, anxiety, etc. One-sided in failing to recognize the necessary interplay between both presence and absence

17. Two kinds of fulfillment Graded or cumulative fulfillment: when an intention is filled gradually by collecting more vivid intentions, a greater preponderance of evidence, etc. Additive fulfillment: when an intention is already filled, but further experience provides additional information about the intended object

18. Update Phenomenology is the study of how things appear to consciousness Questions: What is an appearance? An intended object What is consciousness? Intentionality about objects Lingering questions: How does one study intentional acts� relation to their objects? By studying parts and wholes, identities and manifolds, and absences and presences

19. Exercise