A scoping review mapping the role of Husserlian phenomenology in artificial intelligence research
Hendrik Poschmann, Stefania Centrone
Discover Artificial Intelligence October 25, 2026 DOI: 10.1007/s44163-026-02602-4 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Scoping review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | English-language publications on AI or robotics with an explicit Husserlian anchor, 1990–2025 |
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Husserlian phenomenology Artificial intelligence Robotics Lifeworld Embodiment Machine consciousness |
| Key findings | Of 32 included publications, seven offered methodological import or design guidance, as did three of nine separately charted external publications; conceptual translation, critique, and agenda setting predominated. The authors argue that Husserlian distinctions concerning temporality, embodiment, and evidence can structure design and evaluation questions, while separating their own research proposals from the mapped findings. |
Abstract
Abstract AI research increasingly attributes perception, understanding, agency, and consciousness to artificial systems. Husserlian phenomenology offers distinctions through which to examine these claims. This scoping review maps explicit Husserlian uptake in AI and robotics and asks how conceptual engagement relates to methodological and design contributions. Eight primary queries and one overlapping name-variant query were executed through the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph API on 5 December 2025. English-language publications within a 1989–2026 search window were screened for substantive AI or robotics relevance and an explicit Husserlian anchor. Of 5,594 retrieved records, 32 publications from 1990 to 2025 were included. Nine publications recovered by a post hoc PhilPapers check were charted separately using the existing codebook; they were not added to the formal corpus. The corpus clusters around embodied AI, AI epistemology, cognitive architectures, and machine consciousness, with a newer generative-AI cluster. Constitution, intentionality, horizonality, and the lifeworld recur prominently. Conceptual translation, critique, and agenda setting predominate within this sample. Methodological import or design guidance occurs in seven of the 32 publications and three of the nine external publications. That difference qualifies generalization of the quantitative balance. Across both sets, Husserlian uptake spans conceptual interpretation, methodological transfer, and architectural proposals. The synthesis shows how distinctions concerning temporality, embodiment, and evidence can structure design and evaluation questions, while separating the authors’ research proposals from the mapped findings.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body Consciousness: A Philosophy of Mindfulness and Somaesthetics | 2008 | Review article | |
| Phenomenology, Structure, and Dynamic of Psychedelic States | 2016 | Review | |
| Classic Hallucinogens and Mystical Experiences: Phenomenology and Neural Correlates. | 2018 | Review | |
| The lived experience of psychosis: a bottom-up review co-written by experts by experience and academics. Individuals with lived experience of psychosis, family members, and carers | 2022 | Co-written bottom-up review | |
| From autopoiesis to neurophenomenology: Francisco Varela's exploration of the biophysics of being. | 2003 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cites 4
- Philosophical, Experimental and Synthetic Phenomenology: The Study of Perception for Biological, Artificial Agents and Environments Foundations of Science September 6, 2022
- Husserl’s concept of transcendental consciousness and the problem of AI consciousness Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences May 22, 2024
- Robodiment, Self and Temporality:Phenomenological Insights for Cognitive Architectures in Robotics Minds and Machines November 11, 2025
- A Hybrid Human-Neurorobotics Approach to Primary Intersubjectivity via Active Inference. Frontiers in Psychology 2020