Phenomenology as a Subversive Practice

• Published in: The Humanistic psychologist 2024-09, Vol.52 (3), p.240-258
• Main Author: Yanchar, Stephen C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Human; Phenomenology; Practice; Psychology; Theories
• ISSN: 0887-3267; 1547-3333
• DOI: 10.1037/hum0000311

Phenomenology has long been a subversive force in the field of psychology, challenging traditional scholarship based on mechanistic and dualistic assumptions. By virtue of its emphasis on detailed examinations of first-person experience, in conjunction with critical analyses of traditional forms of theory and research, the phenomenological movement has provided a means for the disclosure of important aspects of lived experience. This article offers an overview of phenomenology as a subversive practice in psychology, presented in three parts: (a) a rationale for phenomenological research with a subversive thrust, (b) a scheme for categorizing the general ways in which phenomenological research has been subversive, and (c) suggestions regarding how phenomenological research practices may continue to evolve as a form of disciplinary subversion. Public Significance StatementThis article highlights ways in which phenomenological inquiry-with its emphasis on first-person experience of phenomena and the conditions that make it possible-can illuminate important aspects of human existence and show the limitations of other kinds of psychological research. It provides examples of phenomenological investigations in topic areas such as motherhood, autism, and education. It also offers guidance regarding how phenomenology as a movement may evolve to become more adept at showing the limitations of other kinds of research.