The Confluence of Perceiving and Thinking in Consciousness Phenomenology.
Frontiers in psychology January 1, 2017 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02313 via PubMed
Summary
The relationship between thinking and perceiving has historically alternated between convergence and divergence, with modern science currently emphasizing their separation. By applying first-person observation and phenomenological perspectives from thinkers like Steiner and Witzenmann, the article suggests a method for integrating these two aspects of mental life through introspective practices. This integration could enhance our understanding of consciousness and align with the principles of modern natural science.
Study at a glance
| Key finding | The historical examination and phenomenological approach suggest that integrating thinking and perceiving through first-person observation can enhance the understanding of consciousness. |
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Abstract
The processual relation of thinking and perceiving shall be examined from a historical perspective as well as on the basis of methodically conducted first-person observation. Historically, these two psychological aspects of human knowledge and corresponding philosophical positions have predominant alternating phases. At certain historical points, thinking and perceiving tend to converge, while in the interim phases they seem to diverge with an emphasis on one of them. While at the birth of modern science, for instance, these two forms of mental life were deeply interlinked, today they seem to be separated more than ever before - as a number of scientific crises have shown. Turning from the outer to the inner aspect of this issue, a phenomenological view becomes relevant. In terms of the consciousness phenomenology developed by Steiner (1861-1925) and Witzenmann's (1905-1988) Structure Phenomenology, this article will show how a methodical integration of thinking and perceiving can be carried out on the basis of first-person observation. In the course of a skilled introspective or meditative self-observation the individual's own mental micro-actions of separating and integrating come into view, jointly constituting what we usually call thinking and perceiving. Consequently, this approach includes a conceptual as well as a perceptual dimension the experimental confluence of which ties in with the methodological core principle of modern natural science. At the same time, making this principle explicit may open the way to a further development of human consciousness and its scientific delineation.