ABSTRACT
This chapter elaborates a low-key concept of phenomenology that is amenable to integration with the explanatory frameworks of cognitive science. The endorsed concept of phenomenology is based on Husserl’s idea of phenomenological psychology and takes phenomenology primarily as a theory of consciousness and cognitive acts, with the transcendental aspect of phenomenology being played down. The chapter introduces selected aspects of phenomenology, such as the method of reduction, the notion of intentionality, and the difference between the static and the genetic approach; it also refutes some common myths about phenomenology, that is, that it endorses introspection, that it is anti-naturalistic, and that it is primarily interested in explaining the qualitative character of consciousness. Finally, arguments are presented for why we need phenomenology in cognitive science, in particular for studying multifaceted mental phenomena, such as consciousness or mental maladies.
