Phenomenological Research Methodology

Inter-Integralism ~~~ Critical Perspectives on Advanced and Adequate Phenomenology and “Pheno-Practice” for Integral Research

by Wendelin Kuepers

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This contribution investigates the status of phenomenology in integral theory. In particular it will problematise the... more This contribution investigates the status of phenomenology in integral theory. In particular it will problematise the classification of life-worldly phenomenology as a discipline located only in the interior upper-left quadrant or as a Zone 1 perspective in Wilber’s integral model and methodology.
Based on main ideas of classical (Husserlian) phenomenology and its various critiques and further developments, the treatment in integral (AQAL) theory is discussed critically. Especially the ordering of phenomenology into a separate field or zone, the status of consciousness, including the debate related to its structure and states, and inter-subjective dimensions as well as the relation to contemplation and meditation are examined systematically.
Furthermore, then with regard to the more advanced form of phenomenology as developed by Merleau-Ponty its proto-integral potential will be outlined. It will be argued that activating this potential may contributes to correct some of the weaknesses and limitations of conventional integral theory. 
Moreover, it will be proposed that advanced phenomenology provides the foundations for an “adequate phenomenology” in integral research. As part of this more adequate phenomenology and its ontological, epistemological, and methodological dimension some perspectives on what is called integral “pheno-practice” will be offered.
All in all, it is hoped that the critical exploration of phenomenology in its more proto-integral, adequate and pheno-practical forms might enrich integral research, improve its theory building and empirical testing by offering a more inclusive, coherent approach as part of an overarching holarchical ecology of integrative knowledge and practice

Analysing descriptions of lived experiences. A phenomenological approach

by Chiara Sità

Co-authored with L. Mortari, in Tarozzi, Mortari (Eds.) Phenomenology and Human Science Research Today, ZetaBooks, 2010

Il n’y a pas de rapport sexuel: The Irresolvability of the Gadamer-Habermas Debate

by William J. Urban

class paper written Good Friday, April 6, 2012

(Mis)Appropriations of Gadamer in Qualitative Research, Part I

by Marc Applebaum

Published in the Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, Volume 11 Edition 1, May 2011

Within the Husserlian phenomenological philosophical tradition, description and interpretation coexist. Teaching the... more Within the Husserlian phenomenological philosophical tradition, description and interpretation coexist. Teaching the practice of phenomenological psychological research, however, requires careful articulation of the differences between a descriptive and an interpretive relationship to what is given in qualitative data. If as researchers we neglect the epistemological foundations of our work, or avoid working through difficult methodological issues, our work invites dismissal as inadequate science, undermining the effort to strongly establish psychology along qualitative lines. The first article in this two-part discussion is a Husserlian investigation of the meaning of “method” for psychology as a human science. This investigation is undertaken in the light of some researchers’ appropriations of Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics in the service of non-methodical praxes. The second article will address some implications of the attempt to structure qualitative psychological research along “Gadamerian” lines, taking seriously the references to Gadamer’s work made by researchers such as van Manen and Smith.

Disabled horse riders' experiences of Horse-Riding: A phenomenological analysis of the benefits of contact with animals

by Martin Milton

Favali, V. and Milton, M. (2010) ‘Disabled Horse-Rider’s Experience of Horse-Riding: Exploring the Therapeutic Benefits of Contact with Animals’ Existential Analysis, 21.2: pp 251-262.

Choosing a Methodology for Entrepreneurial Research: A Case for Qualitative Research in the Study of Entrepreneurial Success Factors

by Tim Lowder

Embodied ‘Inter-Learning’- An Integral Phenomenology of Learning in and by Organizations

by Wendelin Kuepers

published as:
Kuepers, W. (2008) "Embodied ‘Inter-Learning’- An Integral Phenomenology of Learning in and by Organizations", In: "The Learning Organisation: An International Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 5. pp. 388-408.

Purpose – Based on showing the significance of embodied and relational learning, this paper aims for contributing to a... more Purpose – Based on showing the significance of embodied and relational learning, this paper aims for contributing to a more comprehensive and integral approach to learning in and of organizations and its underlying dynamics.

Design/methodology/approach – Methodologically, advanced phenomenology and an integral framework are used for generating a more comprehensive analysis and relational understanding of learning in organizations.

Findings – Learning in and by organizations is an ongoing embodied, responsive and relational practice. As such it is covering internal and external as well as individual and collective dimensions entangled within an interdependent nexus and developmental context and integral cycle. Based on these findings perspectives on an “inter-learning” are presented.

Research limitations/implications – Some theoretical and methodological implications are discussed as well as avenues for future research outlined.

Practical implications – Some practical implications and specific measurements for different domains of learning are outlined briefly.

Originality/value – The paper contributes to a needed non-reductionist, integral and relational understanding of learning in and by organizations. Following a process-oriented turn, the article provides innovative perspectives on embodied learning as an inter-relational process, including interior and exterior as well as individual and collective dimensions within an intertwined nexus.

Merleau-Ponty, Perception, and Environmental Embodiment: Implications for Architectural and Environmental Studies

by David Seamon

chapter prepared for Carnal Echoes: Merleau-Ponty and the Flesh of Architecture, Rachel McCann and Patricia M. Locke, editors, forthcoming, 2012 or 2013. © David Seamon 2010.

In this chapter, I draw on Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy to explore environmental embodiment—the various lived ways,... more In this chapter, I draw on Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy to explore environmental embodiment—the various lived ways, sensorily and motility-wise, that the body in its pre-reflective perceptual presence engages and synchronizes with the world at hand, especially its architectural and environmental aspects. First, I consider Merleau-Ponty’s interpretation of perception, giving particular attention to his claim that perception involves a lived dynamic between perceptual body and world such that aspects of the world—for example, the heavy hardness of a granite block or the cool smoothness of a chrome railing—are known because they immediately evoke in the lived body their experienced qualities.

Second, I consider the architectural and environmental significance of what Merleau-Ponty calls body-subject—pre-reflective corporeal awareness expressed through action and typically in sync with and enmeshed in the physical world in which the action unfolds. I focus on the taken-for-granted sensibility of body-subject to manifest in extended ways over time and space. I ask how routine actions and behaviors of individuals coming together regularly in an environment can transform that environment into a place with a unique dynamic and character—a lived situation I term place ballet. For both perception and body-subject, I consider how qualities of the physical and designable world—for example, materiality, form, and spatiality—contribute to the lived body’s engagement with and actions in the world.

Da eticidade própria às práticas psicológicas fenomenológico existenciais

by Herlon Bezerra

BEZERRA, Herlon A. Da eticidade própria às práticas psicológicas fenomenológico existenciais. (Apresentação Oral). I Seminário do Lab. de Psicologia em Subjetividade e Sociedade (LAPSUS) - “Consumo, Ética e Brasilidade”. 04 e 05.11.2004.

Num momento cultural em que não são mais possíveis nem as garantias fundamentais da tradição nem a referência moderna... more Num momento cultural em que não são mais possíveis nem as garantias fundamentais da tradição nem a referência moderna à vontade livre de um Eu soberano como instâncias últimas de decisão ética, jurídica e política, revelam-se as práticas psicológicas fenomenológico existenciais, em seu compromisso com aquele horizonte da trágica verdade humana, fundamento da irrepetível singularidade de seu existir que se subtrai por essência a toda captura por parte do conhecer, uma bem sucedida resposta cultural ao modo como se coloca contemporaneamente o problema irrecusável da verdade e sentido da ação humana no mundo – núcleo originário mesmo das questões éticas.

Da Totalidade ao Infinito - Quanto às possibilidades de superação das limitações éticas da Cultura Ocidental Contemporânea: um estudo à luz do pensamento de Emmanuel Lévinas

by Herlon Bezerra

BEZERRA, Herlon A. Da Totalidade ao Infinito - Quanto às possibilidades de superação das limitações éticas da Cultura Ocidental Contemporânea: um estudo à luz do pensamento de Emmanuel Lévinas. Universidade Federal do Ceará. Programa de Pós-graduação em Filosofia. Fortaleza: 2006.(Dissertação)

Este trabalho apresenta dois contextos significadores últimos: (1) por um lado, deve o mesmo ser entendido como... more Este trabalho apresenta dois contextos significadores últimos: (1) por um lado, deve o mesmo ser entendido como participante dos jogos argumentativos praticados na tradição hermenêutica do pensamento filosófico, particularmente naquele espaço teorético que reúne Fenomenologia, Pensamento Existencial e as Filosofias da Vida; (2) por outro lado, este exercício compartilha das preocupações morais que marcam a humanidade nos últimos séculos, em especial àquelas que dizem respeito à possibilidade e necessidade de significação ético-filosófica do multiculturalismo, tenso e caótico, que marca as urbanizadas sociedades contemporâneas, visando produzir condições culturais globais capazes de possibilitar a convivência pacífica entre as inúmeras diferenças em choque cotidiano. Nesse sentido, o mesmo encontra suas direções investigativas nas seguintes pressuposições: embora seja a Ética uma particularidade cultural grega, foi mesma “imposta” às mais diversas culturas “incorporadas” pelo violento processo
global de expansão e domínio em que se possibilitou, estabeleceu e desenvolveu a Civilização Ocidental. Os efeitos das evidentes contradições morais de tal processo
impõem severas limitações éticas à Cultura Ocidental Contemporânea, uma vez que, em resposta a tais contradições, dissemina-se o relativismo como único critério universal de julgamento ético das condutas, quer de indivíduos quer de
coletividades humanas. À luz do pensamento ético de Emmanuel Lévinas, propõe-se neste trabalho que a possibilidade de superação ética de tal condição cultural reside numa difícil escolha a ser hoje realizada pela consciência filosófica: de um
lado, a reposição do universalismo, fictício e violento, possibilitado na tendência intelectualista do logos grego e as abstrações de suas Luzes; de outro, a assunção das exigências advindas da imediaticidade concreta da Sensibilidade e da Proximidade, única fonte para uma universalidade humanamente significativa, já que pré-originária do próprio humano e, assim, anterior a toda possível cultura.

Towards Babel: Language and Translation in Art Therapy

by Jamie Bird

Chapter in edited book: Art Therapy and Postmodernism: Creative Healing Through a Prism
Edited by Helene Burt
Foreword by Joy Schaverien
Published by Jessica Kingsley
September 2011

This chapter has two purposes. The first is to present an inquiry into the phenomenon of Art Therapy that is conducted... more This chapter has two purposes. The first is to present an inquiry into the phenomenon of Art Therapy that is conducted in Britain where the client and therapist do not share a common first-language, such that one or other of the parties is required to engage in a process of translation. Because of the need for Art Therapists to respond to the needs of clients who do not have English as a first language – an increasingly common experience given the nature of the movement of people across national and geographical borders that is a major theme in the modern global society where an increase in conflict and the expansion of economic unification (the European Union for example) leads to increase in voluntary and forced migration– it is felt to be pertinent and essential to explore and think about the nature of language and translation in Art therapy.

The second purpose of this chapter is to critically explore a number of post-modern research methodologies. A qualitative research methodology is employed with an emphasis upon the phenomenological experience of Art Therapists working in a bi-lingual way. Through a process of critical analysis of theory and research associated with the study of language and migration, alongside the employment of progressively focused interviews with Art Therapists, the emergence of themes will enable a greater understanding not only about the specific nature of language and translation in Art therapy but also of the relationship between words and images in Art Therapy more generally.

Allen-Collinson, J. (2011) Feminist phenomenology and the woman in the running body

by Dr Jacquelyn Allen-Collinson

Published in Sport, Ethics & Philosophy, 5 (3): 287-302.

Modern phenomenology, with its roots in Husserlian philosophy, has been taken up and utilised in a myriad of ways... more Modern phenomenology, with its roots in Husserlian philosophy, has been taken up and utilised in a myriad of ways within different disciplines, but until recently has remained relatively underused within sports studies. A corpus of sociological-phenomenological work is now beginning to develop in this domain, alongside a longer-standing literature in feminist phenomenology. These specific social-phenomenological forms explore the situatedness of lived-body experience within a particular social structure. After providing a brief overview of key strands of phenomenology, this article considers some of the ways in which sociological, and particularly feminist, phenomenology might be used to analyse female sporting embodiment. For illustrative purposes, data from an autophenomenographic project on female distance running are also included, in order briefly to demonstrate the application of phenomenology within sociology, as both theoretical framework and methodological approach.

TUNNELLING BELOW

by Alan MacKenzie

SUBTITLE:  Exploring individual perspectives and specific meanings from below ground

This essay explores epistemological implications and supporting arguments of interpretive phenomenology and examines... more This essay explores epistemological implications and supporting arguments of interpretive phenomenology and examines in detail how these might influence A Christians’ view of this particular
method of qualitative study.

Philosophical Pitfalls: The Methods Debate in American Political Science

by Nivien Saleh

Published in: Journal of Integrated Social Sciences, 1(1), 141-176. 2009.

Positivism dominates research in U.S. political science. I will show that even though critical realism is virtually... more Positivism dominates research in U.S. political science. I will show that even though critical realism is virtually unknown in the discipline, realist concepts have found their way into debates among qualitative methodologists. The analysis begins with a juxtaposition of positivist and realist foundations. Next, I will trace the methodology debate that has unfolded in the U.S., examining in what ways it reflects these foundational assumptions. Over the last number of years, I demonstrate, qualitative methodologists have engaged in philosophical hybridity, because they have drawn on realist concepts while continuing to adhere to an empiricist ontology. This kind of cherrypicking is a perilous strategy, and I suggest that methodologists examine their ontological assumptions, especially their views on causation. To do so, they need to engage critical realism. This exercise would benefit political science, because it would provide scholars with exciting new research possibilities. Moreover, critical realism is well-suited to support the discipline’s central quest: gaining insight into the world by using few examined cases to draw inferences to larger sets of unexamined cases.

Phenomenology of Sewerage

by Stephanie Tam

Thesis in completion of the Master of Architecture I degree.

Sewerage design has been in stasis for the past fifty years: prescribed by manuals and codes, sewers are assumed to be... more Sewerage design has been in stasis for the past fifty years: prescribed by manuals and codes, sewers are assumed to be necessary to urban sanitation, and consigned to the expertise of engineers. However, the adequacy of current sewerage practices is questionable. Criticism of their environmental impact has surfaced, and it has become clear in urban planning that sewers have an influence beyond conveying sewage.

Instead of looking at sewerage within the framework of its function, this thesis proposes to understand the influence of sewers within a broader framework, examining qualities that are superfluous to their operation. It is these qualities that afford opportunity for rethinking the meaning of sewerage, and how they can affect the experience of urban life. Deploying a method of phenomenological description, four sewer systems across different eras, cultures, and localities are used to illustrate the numerous experiences that can result from the superfluous qualities of sewerage.

The majority of contemporary sewerage systems are designed for developing countries where there remains a pressing need for sanitation. It is in a low-income context that sewerage design can be recuperated as spatially relevant, and offer designers a pivotal role in responding to the needs of the urban poor. Given the increasing emphasis on infrastructure as the primary component in low-income housing projects, sewerage is in need of designers’s input to advance system design and thereby address the day-to-day lived experience of marginalized communities.

Enactive Cognition and the Neurophenomenology of Emotion

by Brent Robbins

The Unwanted Exposure of the Self: A Phenomenological Study of Embarrassment

by Brent Robbins

Co-authored with Holly Parlavecchio. Published in THE HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGIST, 34(4), 321–345.

The self-conscious emotion of embarrassment has been the focus of much attention by phenomenological and cognitive... more The self-conscious emotion of embarrassment has been the focus of much attention by phenomenological and cognitive researchers in psychology. However, although a variety of theoretical models of embarrassment have been proposed, there has been little consensus in the literature. Through a synthesis of prior theory and empirical research, these authors propose a model of embarrassment in which embarrassment is understood to signify the core, essential theme of a self that has been exposed to unwanted attention. Through an empirical, phenomenological method of analysis of data from 6 undergraduate college students, the authors identify 8 themes of embarrassment and relate them through a structural description of the phenomenon. The findings support the unwanted exposure model of embarrassment.

Writing and Performing Mirror Image

by Heidi Rose