phenomenology

noun phe·nom·e·nol·o·gy \fi-ˌnä-mə-ˈnä-lə-jē\

plural phe·nom·e·nol·o·gies

Definition of PHENOMENOLOGY

: the study of the development of human consciousness and self-awareness as a preface to or a part of philosophy

a (1) : a philosophical movement that describes the formal structure of the objects of awareness and of awareness itself in abstraction from any claims concerning existence (2) : the typological classification of a class of phenomena <the phenomenology of religion>

b : an analysis produced by phenomenological investigation

— phe·nom·e·nol·o·gist \-jist\ noun

Origin of PHENOMENOLOGY

German Phänomenologie, from Phänomenon phenomenon + -logie -logy

First Known Use: circa 1797

Other Philosophy Terms

dialectic, dualism, epistemology, existentialism, metaphysics, ontology, sequitur, solipsism, transcendentalism

Rhymes with PHENOMENOLOGY

bacteriology, endocrinology, epistemology, Gestalt psychology, kinesiology, metapsychology, microbiology, nanotechnology, neurobiology, neuropsychology, paleontology, parasitology

Medical Dictionary

phenomenology

noun phe·nom·e·nol·o·gy \fi-ˌnäm-ə-ˈnäl-ə-jē\

plural phe·nom·e·nol·o·gies

Medical Definition of PHENOMENOLOGY

: the way in which one perceives and interprets events and one's relationship to them in contrast both to one's objective responses to stimuli and to any inferred unconscious motivation for one's behavior; also : a psychology based on the theory that phenomenology determines behavior