phenomenology
noun
phe·nom·e·nol·o·gy
fi-ˌnä-mə-ˈnä-lə-jē 
plural phenomenologies
1
: the study of the development of human consciousness and self-awareness as a preface to or a part of philosophy
2
a(1)
: a philosophical movement that describes the formal structure of the objects of awareness and of awareness itself in abstraction from any claims concerning existence
(2)
: the typological classification of a class of phenomena
the phenomenology of religion
b
: an analysis produced by phenomenological investigation
Examples of phenomenology in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Psychedelic Experience - Revealing The Mind By Aidan Lyon
Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes, a philosopher of mind and metaphysics at the University of Exeter, in the U.K., agrees with Osmond that a trip should be defined by phenomenology, not pharmacology.
—
Shayla Love, The Atlantic, 20 Oct. 2024
Studies that desire to reach A > 14 involve additional phenomenology and insightful theoretical approximations.
—Aaron Shattuck, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2024
So the real problem is about connecting mechanisms in the brain to these kinds of properties of phenomenology.
—Steven Strogatz, Quanta Magazine, 31 May 2023
As our knowledge improves, less of the human mind will appear mysterious, and more of its phenomenology will be associated with the physical body, in the same way that the charm of the Mona Lisa can be traced back to the specific paint marks left by da Vinci’s brush on the canvas.
—Avi Loeb, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2020
This is the phenomenology of time, or what neuroscientists call time consciousness.
—Conor Feehly, Discover Magazine, 3 Nov. 2021
But the idea that there would be any accompanying bodily phenomenology to this knowledge is plainly nonsensical.
—Justin E. H. Smith, WIRED, 7 Mar. 2023
Human existence, in her handling, seems a primarily somatic enterprise, and her greedily adjectival prose can sometimes read like a sort of dramatized phenomenology.
—Leo Robson, The New Yorker, 29 June 2020
These steps – from phenomenology to causality and ultimately predictive intervention – are challenging for microbiome research efforts, given the enormously complex interactions occurring on the microscale.
—Jeffrey Marlow, Discover Magazine, 13 May 2017
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback
about these examples.
Shayla Love, The Atlantic, 20 Oct. 2024
Studies that desire to reach A > 14 involve additional phenomenology and insightful theoretical approximations.
—Aaron Shattuck, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2024
So the real problem is about connecting mechanisms in the brain to these kinds of properties of phenomenology.
—Steven Strogatz, Quanta Magazine, 31 May 2023
As our knowledge improves, less of the human mind will appear mysterious, and more of its phenomenology will be associated with the physical body, in the same way that the charm of the Mona Lisa can be traced back to the specific paint marks left by da Vinci’s brush on the canvas.
—Avi Loeb, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2020
This is the phenomenology of time, or what neuroscientists call time consciousness.
—Conor Feehly, Discover Magazine, 3 Nov. 2021
But the idea that there would be any accompanying bodily phenomenology to this knowledge is plainly nonsensical.
—Justin E. H. Smith, WIRED, 7 Mar. 2023
Human existence, in her handling, seems a primarily somatic enterprise, and her greedily adjectival prose can sometimes read like a sort of dramatized phenomenology.
—Leo Robson, The New Yorker, 29 June 2020
These steps – from phenomenology to causality and ultimately predictive intervention – are challenging for microbiome research efforts, given the enormously complex interactions occurring on the microscale.
—Jeffrey Marlow, Discover Magazine, 13 May 2017
Dictionary Entries Near phenomenology
Cite this Entry
“Phenomenology.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/phenomenology. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
phenomenology
noun
phe·nom·e·nol·o·gy
fi-ˌnäm-ə-ˈnäl-ə-jē
plural phenomenologies
: the way in which one perceives and interprets events and one's relationship to them in contrast both to one's objective responses to stimuli and to any inferred unconscious motivation for one's behavior
also
: a psychology based on the theory that phenomenology determines behavior
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share