Kordeš U. (2012) Thinking of experience, experiencing thinking. Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems 10(3): 223–234. https://cepa.info/4327
The article briefly describes the relatively young field of cognitive science dedicated to the research of lived human experience – the so-called phenomenological inquiry (or first-person research). It enumerates the reasons for the renewed interest in the study of experience and outlines the field’s relation to the rest of cognitive science. With the help of an example (phenomenology of thinking), the article attempts to illustrate the importance of systematic study of experience and addresses some open questions emerging from such an enterprise.
Open peer commentary on the article “Visual Representation in the Wild: Empirical Phenomenological Investigation of Visual-spatial Working Memory in a Naturalistic Setting” by Aleš Oblak. Abstract: I critically examine possible advantages of the introduction of a “naturalistic” setting to empirical phenomenological inquiry. As an alternative, I suggest taking the sum of factors influencing the outcome of research (including the impact of observation and research setting) as an inevitable constitutive characteristic of any research approach. I maintain that such a sum can be experienced and therefore researched. Only through understanding the characteristics of the research approach, can we arrive at a full understanding of its results.
Kordeš U. & Demšar E. (2021) Being there when it happens: A novel approach to sampling reflectively observed experience. New Ideas in Psychology 60(100821): 1–13. https://cepa.info/6940
Examining a number of recently developed methods for acquiring first-person data on consciousness, we detect a lack of sensitivity for distinguishing the experiential moments in which the experiencing person was reflectively attending to her ongoing experience. In order to address this gap, we introduce a novel research format for obtaining data on lived experience, combining random sampling of experience with a subsequent retrospective examination of acquired samples in the form of dialogical phenomenological inquiry. The proposed approach aims at the examination of reflectively observed experiential moments and is based on researchers’ iterative cultivation of the phenomenological attitude. Drawing upon results from a longitudinal study of the potential of meditation as a tool for examining consciousness, we address the epistemological and methodological challenges of the proposed approach, discuss its applicability and research potential, as well as examine the characteristics and validity of phenomenal data thus acquired.
Kordeš U. & Klauser F. (2016) Second-person in-depth phenomenological inquiry as an approach for studying enaction of beliefs. Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems 14(4): 369–377. https://cepa.info/4334
Phenomenology and empirical research are not naturally compatible and devising an empirical technique aiming at researching experience is a challenge. This article presents second-person in-depth phenomenological inquiry – a technique that tries to meet this challenge by allowing the transformation of a participant greatly interested in the investigation of their own subjective experience, into a co-researcher. It then provides an example of this technique being used in a study on enaction of beliefs, more closely showing the cooperative research process of researcher and co-researcher and its result: a grounded theory. The article ends with a discussion on the techniques strengths and weaknesses.
Lah A. & Kordeš U. (2014) One cannot “just ask” about experience. In: Markič O., Strle T., Kordeš U. & Gams M. (eds.) Kognitivna znanost/Cognitive Sciences. Proceedings of the 17th international multiconference “Information Society – IS 2014.” Volume C.. Inštitut Jožef Štefan, Ljubljana: 36–39. https://cepa.info/2370
The present article concentrates on second-person in- depth phenomenological inquiry (SIPI) into human experience. In order to delineate important characteristics of SIPI we use an example of a phenomenological case study. The study comprised of descriptive experience sampling, writing of diary, and a series of elicitation interviews.
Lipič V. & Kordeš U. (2017) What dwells on fringes of awareness. Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems 15(1): 251–259. https://cepa.info/7143
Researchers in the field of empirical phenomenology often base their understanding on the theories of philosophical phenomenology, particularly favouring Husserl in their discussions and explaining obtained results in terms of pre-reflective and reflective experience. In this article we first outline various authors’ intuitions on the phenomenological tradition, before going on to examine certain assumptions of the empirical phenomenological tradition. In the second part we present preliminary results of our empirical phenomenological research in the attempt to point to the enormous phenomenological richness of pre-reflective awareness. To an extent we attempt to contribute to the understanding of the techniques of modern empirical phenomenological research by discussing the presuppositions of its relevant authors.
Pitcovski E. & Ataria Y. (2019) Conceptual Groundwork for the Phenomenology of First Encounters. Constructivist Foundations 14(2): 180–182. https://cepa.info/5768
Open peer commentary on the article “Meeting You for the First Time: Descriptive Categories of an Intersubjective Experience” by Magali Ollagnier-Beldame & Christophe Coupé. Abstract: We aim to provide the basis for some conceptual work, designed to serve as a ground for future phenomenological investigation of first encounters. We argue that there is more than one standard by which an intersection ought to be regarded as an encounter. Hence, there are various notions of “first encounter,” each of which deserves independent phenomenological inquiry.