Husserl’s phenomenological data collection method has caused a conversation of how empirical data can come to be. As Husserl believed phenomenology could lead to empirical data claiming understanding (Englander, 2012) Husserl’s work in phenomenology has not ceased by those who’ve followed after him. As a result, several variations of phenomenological research methods have emerged. Of those, two are discussed here. One, Heidegger’s Phenomenological Method which could be argued is synonymous or is phenomenology. Two, The Structure of Behavior by Merleau-Ponty. Husserl’s phenomenology did influence major schools of thought including but not limited to the Duquesne School. As these schools of thought have been influenced by Husserl’s phenomenology they could be considered variations of phenomenology themselves. As such, the variations of phenomenology are endless only limited to the adaptation and variations of the idea of phenomenology in each scholar’s mind.
Heidegger’s Phenomenological Method
Called Heidegger’s Investigative Method by Zuckerman (2015), Martin Heidegger combined Husserl’s phenomenological method with existentialism (Schneider, et al., 2015). This approach of combining phenomenology and existentialism forever tied phenomenology to the existence and focus of self. Heidegger’s focus was on self and existence. He reasoned humans are the only creature who inflect upon themselves and consider the nature and purpose of their existence (Schneider, et al., 2015). Through the meaning of self-experiences from the eyes of the subject are the focus of understanding a phenomenon.
Heidegger’s method was used by Ludwig Binswanger who utilized the method to study mentally ill patients in a hope of understanding the mentally ill’s experience. Binswanger was close to Freud and took Heidegger’s term “being-in-the-world” and combining it with social interaction to better understand one’s identity (Schneider, et al., 2015). This was a pivotal moment as it applied phenomenology to subjects in a hope of understanding to resolve the subject’s issues.
The central tenets of Heidegger’s Phenomenological Method include:
- Humans are able to consider self-existence.
- Self-existence is the center of reasoning.
- Self-existence is understood through personal experience.
- Interviews are conducted in a relaxed manor where the subject’s experience leads the process.
The Structure of Behavior
Maurice Merleau-Ponty utilizing both Husserl and Heidegger pushing phenomenological research toward behavior and understanding the structure of behavior (Schneider, et al., 2015). Utilizing work with subjects who had neurological issues Merleau-Ponty discovered behavior cannot be understood outside of its context. This was a major finding as it expanded and recognized the reality of human complexity, deepening the understand and need for phenomenology to be focused on self in the form of one’s experiences.
The central tenets of The Structure of Behavior include:
- Self is the center of study.
- Structure leads to the understanding of behavior.
- Behavior cannot be understood without the context in which it took place.
Conclusion
In conclusion, these two methods cemented the role of phenomenology within psychology as a discipline focused on self, experience, and context of experience through interviews where the subject leads the direction and time limit of the conversation. Without these two variations of phenomenology, it is possible phenomenology would merely be the focus on qualitative research in the form of attempting to understand quantitative research results. Instead, phenomenology although questioned by some stands on its own as a recognized method focused on the self-studying the experience while discovering and understanding data.
As Schneider et al. (2015) point out one cannot discount Sigmund Freud who essentially pioneered psychology and specifically the process of research humanism and phenomenology have utilized. Freud’s work was based of conversations and observations of patient’s experiences. Freud did not follow the traditional scientific method or conduct quantitative research. He observed and claimed to understand the data, defining syndromes through methods very similar to the phenomenological method. Freud believed experience and interviews could lead to learned data and there for the Freudian Method could be considered a discipline of phenomenology. Between the foundation set by Freud and the work of Husserl, Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty the phenomenological research method has come to be.
References
Englander, M. (2012). The interview: Data collection in descriptive phenomenological human scientific research. Journal of phenomenological psychology, 43(1), 13-35.
Merleau-Ponty, M., & Wild, J. D. (1963). The structure of behavior (p. 131). Boston: Beacon Press.
Schneider, K. J., Pierson, J. F., & Bugental, J. F. (Eds.). (2014). The handbook of humanistic psychology: Theory, research, and practice. Sage Publications.
Zuckerman, N. (2015). Heidegger and the Essence of Dasein. The Southern Journal of Philosophy, 53(4), 493-516.