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PHENOMENOLOGY in systemic sense

From glossaLAB
Charles François (2004). PHENOMENOLOGY in systemic sense, International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics, 2(2): 2552.
Collection International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics
Year 2004
Vol. (num.) 2(2)
ID 2552
Object type Epistemology, ontology or semantics

A non-philosophical, but systemic sense could be given to phenomenology, i.e. the systemic way to observe phenomena, and more specially complex processes and systems.

In such a worldview, there is a conscious “perceptive intentionality” (BRENTANO, MERLEAU PONTY), different from the somewhat naive supposedly “objective” view and the merely reductionist one.

The physiological limits to perception, Gestalt psychology, GIBSON's affordance, WATZLAWICZ's and von GLASERSFELD's constructivism, WARFIELD's methodology for avoiding underconceptualization, MATURANA and VARELA's organizational closure, VALLÉE's epistemo-praxeology, for example provide good foundations for a systemic phenomenology.

The general idea would be to complement analytic and holistic observation and modelization of whatever we perceive, obtaining in this way a more complete and complex, and less naive view of what we call reality.

In fact, it must be admitted that the various concepts of what phenomenology means and implies form a quite mystifying labyrinth. From HUSSERL to HEIDEGGER, MERLEAU PONTY and various mainly German and French philosophers, the shades of meaning on the subject are so distinct that a coherent view is very difficult to gather.

The Danish author O. Fogh KIRKEBY has given recently a very interesting and embracing overview on this matter. He connects also to phenomenology some significant views of WITTGENSTEIN, MATURANA and LUHMANN (1997, p. 3-33)

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