Читать книгу Phenomenology - Anthony Chemero - Страница 9

The simplest reason why you should study phenomenology is because everyone should. Even a fairly superficial study of Husserl, Heidegger, or Merleau-Ponty and those influenced by them can have a profound positive impact on your understanding of a host of issues relating to perception, cognition, and the general meaningfulness of human lives. Phenomenological approaches to a broad spectrum of issues are interesting, accurate, and promising. Any serious study of philosophy or psychology ought to include at least some exposure to phenomenology.

At the more ponderous end of the spectrum, phenomenology is an ontology of human existence. Heidegger is most explicit about this, but Merleau-Ponty and Gibson also think of their work in these terms. So their work may lead you to think that people in general, and you specifically, are a different kind of entity than you might have thought. In particular, you might think that you experience the world by passively and reflectively cognizing objects; the phenomenologist, however, argues that you experience it through competent, unreflective action. At the more lively end, the authors and theories we discuss here provide a host of thought-provoking examples to make you question some basic assumptions about what we perceive. We do not see the shapes and sizes of objects, but the possible actions they afford us, invitations to act shaped by our own bodily capabilities. Such examples make reading about phenomenology both rewarding and entertaining.

If phenomenology is an important and influential school of thought, this is because the main phenomenologists think and write with remarkable insight and creativity. So another good reason to study phenomenology is to become familiar with Husserl, Heidegger, and Merleau-Ponty as authors. Though their writing can sometimes be unclear and frustrating, it is ultimately exhilarating.