Phenomenology and Direct Realism
Alexander Ehmann, Daniel Neumann
The New Yearbook for Phenomenology and Phenomenological Philosophy October 21, 2026 DOI: 10.4324/9781042011384-12 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Key points | Argues that early phenomenology, especially the phenomenological realism of the Munich and Göttingen Circles, and Anglophone direct realism share a fundamental concern: understanding perception, thought, and knowledge as being in direct contact with reality, against views that reduce knowledge to psychological processes, subjective impressions, or pragmatic considerations. |
Abstract
At the turn of the 20th century, several philosophical movements emerged with a shared ambition: to develop a theory of knowledge that takes seriously the idea that we can access the world as it is in itself . These movements opposed reducing knowledge to psychological processes, subjective impressions, or pragmatic considerations. Instead, they sought to ground cognition in the very things the mind encounters – things that exist independently of our mental representations or interpretations. This volume brings together contributions that explore two of the most significant and philosophically rich responses to this challenge: early phenomenology – especially in the form of phenomenological realism as developed within the Munich and Göttingen Circles – and direct realism , a view that gained traction at roughly the same time in the Anglophone world. Though these traditions arose in distinct intellectual and cultural contexts, they share a fundamental concern: how can we understand perception, thought, and knowledge as being in direct contact with reality?
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 |