Core idea: We lack a good understanding and vocabulary for our subjective experience. This is detrimental to our subjective experience and developing understanding about both it and philosophy overall. Developing an understanding of subjective experience is relatively easy with a few metaphors
For a quick sample of how this can be useful, here's a quick light read about the phenomenology of intentions without any jargon
In research / intellectual circles, there is a desire to be objective. This is at best a genuine attempt to seek truth in the best way we know how to, at worst this is an attempt to claim authority and legitimacy (I am objectively right and you are wrong. you should listen to me)
Before introducing / explaining phenomenology I need to counter other dominant frames.
We've been extending the objectivity that we've found useful in researching the natural sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) far beyond where they're useful. The biggest disaster to this is our own subjective experience.
Objectivity tries to eliminate the observer from the equation. The Laws of Natural Science work whenever, wherever, regardless of your views, moods, and beliefs—again, this is 100% true and valid for the Natural Sciences. However, you are a subjective being and any and all experiences you go through will be affected by your pov, mood, and beliefs.
Phenomenology is an attempt to study perception and subjective experience.
Imagine this you have a micro-scope (or telescope) that you're using for research. This device sometimes gets dust on the lens which looks a lot like the thing you're studying. Or the lens sometimes goes out of focus and needs some adjustment. Knowing how to adjust and maintain your lens will be critical to navigating life.
Or imagine that you have a black and white camera (or some other color / perception related glitch.) Will you assume that everything photographed by it is black and white? Or is it an artifact from your camera?
This highlights the need to understand how your perception works
This also applies to your subjective experience. You might feel depressed and thus assume/project that everything is meaningless. You might feel hungry and thus be angry and frustrated at everything. etc.
Isn't this just psychology? No. Well, not exactly. You see, psychology is mostly a clinical field and that has a lot of implications.
First, most of psychology is based off of abnormal psychology. No one says "I feel wonderful, lets go for a quick checkup with a psychologist just to be sure" or "I feel good, but i want to be even better! lets get a psychologist." So psychological research is skewed towards negativity. Positive psychology (studying flow and happiness etc.) does exist, however it is relatively young compared to the rest of psychology.
Second, Psychology is for guiding the psychologist more than it is for the patient. e.g. viewing depression as a chemical imbalance and administering SSRIs. compared to examining the experience of depression (read Experiences of Depression by Matthew Ratcliffe) and for example examining how depression lacks existential hope / the possibility of hope (among other things)
Third, Psychology attempts to be a empirical science, which is a noble goal, but somewhat misguided. The observer (psychologist / researcher) has an effect on the observed (e.g. maybe they're too ashamed and lie, different culture etc.) so you can't be fully objective. There's a very narrow range where you can be objective to a degree, but that's mainly cognitive science and measuring psycho-physiological responses. Its too small to be meaningfully useful.
(for philosophy nerds, David Deutsch's Critical Rationalism provides good critiques and alternatives to empiricism. Read his book The Beginning of Infinity)
Fwiw, there is a field called Phenomenological Psychology that does examine the intersection between phenomenology and psychology, but it doesn't seem to be well known as far as I can tell.
Also, while phenomenology is a relatively old field there are neurological correlates to phenomenological observations. (i could've sworn that there was a post about heidegger's present at hand and ready at hand distinction and the neuroscience of tool use but i can't find it)
For example, social pain is neurologically identical to physical pain both activate the dACC (the only difference being that the part of the brain that points to where the pain is is shut off.) Now if you've experience any social pain (embarrassment, loneliness, heartbreak, etc.) you will already have a sense for this, but you might be trying to "be rational" or "objective" and dismiss your own social pain. guess what, doesn't work. subjective experience is important :p
(note: probably should rename it lol)
Everything I'm talking about is in your direct experience and you should be able to spot it if you pay attention to it (hopefully done simply through guiding your attention with metaphors.) If you can't spot it then i am a bloody alien lol
For a moment, think back to the last dream you had. Think about where you were, what you did, who you were with, all the details. ok? done? Now reflect on the fact that
Our feeling of what is real and what is you / not you is very messy and its something people don't examine.
atm, my best guess what feels real depends on the size / shape of awareness. If the thing you're looking at fills up your awareness completely it'll feel more real. Alternatively, you could be modifying the shape of your awareness to fit the thing you're doing (e.g. getting lost in a video game or movie and the suspension of disbelief involved) but i'm getting way ahead of myself (shape of awareness two points below)
subjectivity imo seems dependent on the level of openness (going to add a link below) and bandwidth of information available (which translates into a sense of knowing and connection) and the level of control you have (see present at hand and ready at hand)
Some animals cannot recognize themselves in the mirror. They view their reflection as another animal (probably in the uncanny valley too. reflections don't have scents and they ... mirror you *ba dum tss*)
Likewise, I think there are a lot of things that we project outwards that we do not recognize. Usually these are things more related to our moods and preconceptions. We assume that things are a certain way or should be a certain way, not realizing that these are our beliefs and not realizing the impact they have both internally on our experience and externally on our behavior
For example if you have social anxiety, you're probably assuming the worst about people and assuming that they are hostile. This causes a feedback loop where you feel more afraid, and so anything even ambigious gets interpreted as very negative and threatening (fear causes you to zoom in on what you're afraid of, while demanding that you run away from it. shitty bind to be in.)
Even if you were in a room filled with people secretly rooting for you, you'd still be a bit anxious because you can't recognize that they're rooting for you. (also because your attention is getting dragged away by made up scenarios and being beat up by it)
(see more in art of the void;.. yet to be written)
(going to write this bit later)
tldr there is a part of you that i call the big other which you assume to be judging you and you also assume to be the base template for everyone who you don't know. It is freaky (in a good way) when you can recognize it in your direct experience
psychologists talk about this thing too, but more about how its formed by parents and shit
Heidegger and his hammers
tldr
If you have a good hammer and you know how to use it, it will be a part of you. You will see the world through the lens of a hammer. You See Through the Hammer. This is Ready at Hand.
This is also why when we're driving we say turn left/right. We don't say, turn the steering wheel or car. We say [you] turn.
However, if the hammer is broken you will not be able to use it. It will not be a part of you. It will be Present at Hand. You will look at it as an obstacle to your intentions and you will
Meditation is such a broad word that it is utterly useless, and meaningless. I propose replacing it with phenomenological inquiry and modification
https://rivalvoices.substack.com/p/open-and-closed