What is Phenomenology?

Phenomenology is a philosophical study and movement largely associated with the early 20th century that seeks to objectively investigate the nature of subjective, conscious experience. It attempts to describe the universal features of consciousness while avoiding assumptions about the external world, aiming to describe phenomena as they appear, and to explore the meaning and significance of lived experience.

Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s (1908 – 1961) Phenomenology of Perception invites us to rethink the foundations of how we see and feel our way through the world. The Preface to this work is often used to introduce phenomenology to general audiences.

Please read the Preface to Phenomenology of Perception (*.pdf pages 71 – 86). It is 16 pages long (just under 7,000 words) and may take 30 to 35 minutes to read.

This YouTube video, The Science of Experience – Preface to Phenomenology of Perception, gives a clear and concise summary from the Preface about the idea of phenomenology. For additional context, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy article “Phenomenology” gives a comprehensive overview of the philosophical movement while offering insights into the movement within philosophy and beyond.

NOT required for the MeetUp, but … if you want to take a deeper dive into the topic, these secondary texts, Robert Sokolowski’s Introduction to Phenomenology [1999] and Dan Zahavi’s Phenomenology: The Basics [2025], review the core ideas of phenomenology and the arguments of its principal thinkers, including Husserl, Heidegger, and Merleau-Ponty.

We look forward to seeing you … 😊