ABSTRACT
If existential phenomenology were to be similarly characterized, one would have to say that its purpose is to serve as a constant reminder of the adventure of existence, that ambiguous condition which succeeds in eluding the grasp of both formal necessity and empirical predictability. Phenomenology returns to the world of actual experience, which is prior to the objective world, to reveal the existence of a 'motor intentionality' in our perception, habit and thinking. There are a number of ideas about the nature of thinking and knowing contained in this definition and it is necessary to elaborate them in order to understand how this definition is consistent with a theory of personal knowledge. An empirical psychology which objectifies phenomena and seeks to account for their interrelationships in the manner of the physical sciences is bound to misinterpret the essential nature of psychological processes.
