Intro to Philosophy

Nov. 9, 2004

Phenomenology

Cartesian background Advantage: Looks at appearances as

appearances of objects. Result: An investigation of human

experience as it is had.

Central Concept: Intentionality Nothing to do with intending to act. About knowledge, not action Gives awareness ‘objects of awareness’ Examples: awareness of pain, itch and the

apple over there. Mind is directed toward objects.

Response to the egocentric predicament

Descriptions of the predicament: pages 9-11.

Mind and world are correlated; p. 12. Mind becomes public; acts in the open, is an

agent of truth. Different kinds of intentionality

• Intentionality is highly differentiated.• Appearances are real; they belong to being.

Appearances

Things have ways of appearing In part, investigate this through

investigating structures of intentionality

Structures of Intentionality

Identity through manifold Part-whole Presence-absence

Perception of a cube “The presently visible sides are surrounded by a

halo of potentially visible but actually absent sides”.

Object permanence - we aren’t surprised by different views of objects.

Blend: “What is given to me when I see a cube is a blend of sides that are present and sides that are absent but cointended.”

My activity is also a mixture of parts. What parts?

Sides, etc.

In addition to the sides there are Aspects - ways in which the side is given A profile: a temporally individuated

presentation of an object. Thus two people who get the same

aspect will get different profiles.

Synthesis of the Manifold

Sides, aspect and profiles: in them all, one and the same cube is being presented.

The cube is not the sum of these

First formal structure:

Parts and Wholes: Pieces and moments Concreta and abstrata

Mind is a moment See Soul, p. 26

Simple ideas: from Hume This division is into simple and complex.

Simple perceptions, or impressions and ideas, are such as admit of no distinction nor separation. The complex are the contrary to these, and may be distinguished into parts. Though a particular colour, taste, and smell, are qualities all united together in this apple, it is easy to perceive they are not the same, but are at least distinguishable from each other.

Second formal structure

Identity in manifolds Distinction between things and the manifold

of its appearances The identity is not a member of the manifold

P. 31: phenomenological analysis Self-identity and manifold: p. 32

Third formal structure

Presences and absences: filled and empty intentions

Phenomenological account: includes blends of presences and absences, p. 35. Identity not just in presence

Two kinds of fulfillment: cumulative and additive

•An initial definition

Two attitudes: Natural Phenomenological

Natural Attitude

2 singularities The world The self

The default condition is one of belief Egocentric predicament again: p. 46

Phenomenological attitude It is “all or nothing” Looks at and describes, analyticallly, all the

particular intentionalities and the correslates, and world belief as well, with the world as its correlative.

Bracketing - We bracket the world and all the things in the world

Focus not just on subjective side and intentionalities. Also focus on objects as appearing to us in our natural attitude

Phenomenological Reduction

Two ways: Ontological Cartesian

Ontological: scientific, rigorous Cartesian: frightening, not genuine doubt,

but attempt to doubt

Terms

Doxic Apodictic Noema Noesis Phantasma (p. 61).