Stuck in between. Phenomenology’s Explanatory Dilemma and its Role in Experimental Practice
Mark-Oliver Casper, Philipp Haueis
Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences October 22, 2022 DOI: 10.1007/s11097-022-09853-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Phenomenology philosophy Dilemma Epistemology Interpretative phenomenological analysis Metaphysics Social science Qualitative research |
| Citations | 7 |
| Key points | Argues that phenomenological approaches, when explanatory, do not offer a unique type of explanation because they either fail to satisfy the explanatory asymmetry constraint or merge with non-phenomenological explanations. |
Abstract
Abstract Questions about phenomenology’s role in non-philosophical disciplines gained renewed attention. While we claim that phenomenology makes indispensable, unique contributions to different domains of scientific practice such as concept formation, experimental design, and data collection, we also contend that when it comes to explanation, phenomenological approaches face a dilemma. Either phenomenological attempts to explain conscious phenomena do not satisfy a central constraint on explanations, i.e. the asymmetry between explanans and explanandum, or they satisfy this explanatory asymmetry only by largely merging with non-phenomenological explanation types. The consequence of this dilemma is that insofar as phenomenological approaches are explanatory, they do not provide an own type of explanation. We substantiate our two claims by offering three case studies of phenomenologically inspired experiments in cognitive science. Each case study points out a specific phenomenological contribution to experimental practice while also illustrating how phenomenological approaches face the explanatory dilemma we outline.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From dopamine to salience to psychosis--linking biology, pharmacology and phenomenology of psychosis. | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How do the brain's time and space mediate consciousness and its different dimensions? Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- From Complexity to Clarity: Confronting Situated Cognition’s Motley Crew Argument Adaptive Behavior May 31, 2026
- Lost Primacies, Lost Wholes: Subjective Experience in the Sciences of Life Philosophies August 12, 2026
- Affective experience in neuroscience and phenomenology: An epistemological analysis of emotions and feelings Theory & Psychology May 13, 2025
Cites 8
- Radicalizing Enactivism The MIT Press eBooks December 14, 2012
- Guiding the study of brain dynamics by using first-person data: Synchrony patterns correlate with ongoing conscious states during a simple visual task Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 22, 2002
- New Mechanisms and the Enactivist Concept of Constitution July 20, 2018
- Mechanistic explanation for enactive sociality Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences June 7, 2018
- The New Science of the Mind August 13, 2010
and 3 more in the library