What does "phenomenology" mean?
The study of structures of consciousness as experienced from the first-person point of view.
Phenomenology
/fɪˌnɑməˈnɑləd͡ʒi/ noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The study of structures of consciousness as experienced from the first-person point of view.
- Grammar: phenomenology is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: aesthetics, axiology, careful observation, casuistry.
- Useful contrasts: empiricism.
- Usage evidence: Martin Heidegger was a German philosopher, born on 26 September 1889 in Messkirch, died on 26 May 1976. He is best known for his contributions to phenomenology and existentialism.
How to use "phenomenology"
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Meaning check
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Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "phenomenology" in a final draft.
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Before you rely on this definition
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Definition decision workflow
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Check whether "phenomenology" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 The study of structures of consciousness as experienced from the first-person point of view. countable, uncountable
"Writing, individuation, and civilization are all parts of one larger cultural phenomenology."
- 2 a philosophical doctrine proposed by Edmund Husserl based on the study of human experience in which considerations of objective reality are not taken into account wordnet
- 3 A movement based on this, originated about 1905 by Edmund Husserl. countable, uncountable
"The process of questioning back displaces the emphasis in phenomenology from an inquiry into modes of givenness, which assumes that there can be a simple starting point, to an inquiry into modes of pregivenness."
- 4 An approach to clinical practice which places undue reliance upon subjective criteria such as signs and symptoms, while ignoring objective etiologies in the formulation of diagnoses and in the compilation of a formal nosologies. countable, uncountable
- 5 The use of theoretical models to make predictions that can be tested through experiments. countable, uncountable
"He hopes [students] will "do the necessary phenomenology experiments and produce the necessary theory extensions" that will "turn over the present physics.""
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Martin Heidegger was a German philosopher, born on 26 September 1889 in Messkirch, died on 26 May 1976. He is best known for his contributions to phenomenology and existentialism."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "phenomenology"?
Common synonyms include: aesthetics, axiology, careful observation, casuistry, consciousness study, cosmology.
How do you use "phenomenology" in a sentence?
Martin Heidegger was a German philosopher, born on 26 September 1889 in Messkirch, died on 26 May 1976. He is best known for his contributions to phenomenology and existentialism.
How do you pronounce "phenomenology"?
Pronounced /fɪˌnɑməˈnɑləd͡ʒi/.
Etymology
From phenomenon + -logy, from Ancient Greek φαινόμενον (phainómenon, “thing appearing to view”), hence "the study of what shows itself (to consciousness)". According to Martin Heidegger's Introduction to Phenomenological Research, "the expression “phenomenology” first appears in the eighteenth century in Christian Wolff’s School, in Lambert’s Neues Organon, in connection with analogous developments popular at the time, like dianoiology and alethiology, and means a theory of illusion, a doctrine for avoiding illusion." (p.3)