ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the naturalizing phenomenology debate. The naturalization of phenomenology is defined as its integration with the explanatory frameworks of cognitive science. The relation between naturalized phenomenology and cognitive science is understood in terms of mutual constraints. Several proposals for naturalizing phenomenology are discussed, including front-loaded phenomenology, the formalization of phenomenological descriptions, semantic bridging through applied ontology, and neuro- and micro-phenomenology. It is argued that these positions offer either conceptual constraints that are too weak or stronger isomorphic or homeomorphic constraints that are, however, implausible. A critical evaluation of these proposals serves as the ground for formulating a new approach to naturalization based on the idea of mechanistic integration of cognitive science.
