Word
phenomenology
Phoneticsphe·nomenol·o·gy
US/fəˈnɑməˌnɑɫɑˌɡi/
UK/fɪnˌɒmɪnˈɒlədʒi/
Uncountable noun
Definition
n. the study of how people experience and understand the world around them. It looks at things like how we feel, see, and think about our daily lives.
n. the branch of philosophy concerned with the structures of experience and consciousness. It focuses on the first-person perspective of subjective experience rather than objective reality.
Examples
“The researcher used phenomenology to study how patients feel about their treatment.”
“In her thesis, she applied phenomenology to explore how urban residents perceive the changing architecture of their city.”
“While empirical science seeks to measure external variables, phenomenology insists on the primacy of the lived body and the qualitative depth of human intentionality.”
Examples
simple
“The researcher used phenomenology to study how patients feel about their treatment.”
contextual
“In her thesis, she applied phenomenology to explore how urban residents perceive the changing architecture of their city.”
complex
“While empirical science seeks to measure external variables, phenomenology insists on the primacy of the lived body and the qualitative depth of human intentionality.”
Real-World Examples
“Second, they have a vivid phenomenology, a distinctive what-it’s-likeness, as the philosopher Thomas Nagel put it .” Etymology
From phenomenon + -logy, from Ancient Greek φαινόμενον (phainómenon, “thing appearing to view”), hence "the study of what shows itself (to consciousness)". According to Martin Heidegger's Introduction to Phenomenological Research, "the expression “phenomenology” first appears in the eighteenth century in Christian Wolff’s School, in Lambert’s Neues Organon, in connection with analogous developments popular at the time, like dianoiology and alethiology, and means a theory of illusion, a doctrine for avoiding illusion." (p.3)
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domains
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C1 AdvancedIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.7.0–8.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 5.0–5.595–113TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.945–990
- Frequency
- Occasional
- Level
- C1 · Advanced
- Updated
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englishreference.com/q/phenomenology