What Is Phenomenology According to Heidegger?

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Diego Sanchez

Phenomenology is a philosophical movement that explores the nature of human experience. According to Martin Heidegger, one of the most influential thinkers in phenomenology, it is a way of understanding the world around us by examining our own subjective experiences.

Heidegger believed that traditional philosophy had lost sight of what was truly important – the experience of being. He argued that we must return to this fundamental experience if we are to understand anything about ourselves and our place in the world.

To do this, Heidegger developed a method called “hermeneutic phenomenology.” This approach involves carefully analyzing our own experiences in order to uncover their underlying meanings and structures.

One of the key concepts in Heidegger’s phenomenology is “Dasein,” which can be translated as “being-in-the-world.” Dasein refers to the way that we exist as human beings, both as individuals and as part of a larger social and cultural context.

According to Heidegger, Dasein is always already situated within a particular historical and cultural context. This means that our experiences are shaped by the language, customs, beliefs, and values of the society in which we live.

Heidegger believed that traditional philosophy had failed to account for this contextual nature of human experience. Instead, it had focused on abstract concepts like reason, logic, and objective truth.

In contrast, Heidegger argued that we must begin with concrete experiences if we are to gain any meaningful understanding of ourselves and our world. By examining these experiences closely, he believed that we could uncover deep insights into what it means to be human.

One way that Heidegger explored these ideas was through his analysis of everyday objects. For example, he argued that something as simple as a hammer has its own unique meaning and significance within our lived experience.

By paying close attention to how we interact with objects like hammers – how they fit into our hands, how we use them to accomplish tasks – Heidegger believed that we could gain a deeper understanding of our own being-in-the-world.

Overall, Heidegger’s phenomenology was a radical departure from traditional philosophy. By focusing on the subjective experience of being human and the contextual nature of that experience, he opened up new avenues for philosophical inquiry and challenged us to rethink some of our most basic assumptions about ourselves and our world.