The concept of the phenomenological tradition is an extremely stimulating one in my opinion. The tradition is an "intentional analysis of everyday experience from the standpoint of the person who is living it." This concept may be found on pages 49-51 of our textbook in the fourth chapter.
This concept is meaningful to me because I feel that I take part in the phenomenological tradition daily. I am always trying to understand how others view their lives, how different people feel in different situations, and what situations and experiences have led different people to their current lives (though this third one isn't too deeply connected with phenomenological ideas, it is still something I do connected with the first two, heh).
Through my own experiences, I have noticed that too many people's inner feelings are not in congruence with their external appearance. Many of my friends, and especially family members, act as though they are perfectly fine even when they are extremely upset and/or irritated. This bothers me because people need to be more true to their feelings or they will continue to live in an unhappy state, acting as though all is well; they will be lying to themselves daily, which, in my opinion, is one of the least healthy things we as humans can do to ourselves.
~Tornn
3 comments:
Hi,
I can totally relate to what you are saying. I posted a blog on the phenomenological tradition also. I honestly think that things would be a lot easier for everyone if they would take a step back and try to understand what another person might be going through or what there life is like. I do this everyday because I only wish that people would do the same with me. I also think it is more rewarding to understand someone than to be ignorant. Good post. Kudos. =)
-Sascha
I see your point on that. But what about people who are just totally so offensive. Would you even try to understand them too? They also might be going through things that may be attributing to their behavior.
The phenomenological tradition is something I apply to my life almost everyday when interacting with others. I can empathize and connect with people on such a deeper level when I truly try to be open, not judge or make assumptions and just listen to their side. I agree that it is very unhealthy to bottle your emotions up. Many people walk around with this "everything is fine" facade, but they are only hurting themselves. This emotional, physical and even spiritual disconnect can lead to self-sabotaging and isolating. Having dealt with depression myself, I know that the hardest part was just admitting I was going into a depression. Once I said it outloud to someone I trusted, it took some of the power of those feelings away. The important thing to remember is that feelings are not facts. It is all in the way we choose to react or look at things, that will determine how we feel. If I focus on the bad then I will feel bad and have a bad day, but if I focus on the good I will have a good day. This does not mean to go into denial, it just means to admit your feelings, face them and then move forward. But if we do not face them at all we cannot move forward.
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