Phenomenology

This chapter starts with why the phenomenology of Edmund Husserl as a theoretical framework is useful in the analysis of “blackness.” As a philosophy of self-responsible beginnings, phenomenology has provided vital epistemological resources and method to avoid taking established social and epistemic standards at face value. Because of the complexity of phenomenology, the chapter focuses on important concepts and ideas in phenomenology of Edmund Husserl, starting with his appreciation of the Cartesian meditative method that is foundational to Husserlian transcendental phenomenology. These concepts can make it easy for the reader who is not familiar with phenomenology to understand how phenomenology has been used to analyze “blackness” as a human reality. Concept such as intentionality, phenomenon, natural attitude, phenomenological attitude, reduction, and epoché are explained. The chapter also discusses some misconceptions in Husserlian phenomenology and why transcendental phenomenology rather than existential phenomenology is more useful in the analysis of “blackness.”