Posted by Whistler                                                                                          500 words

Phenomenology is the study of ‘that which appears’. It attempts to create ‘objective conditions for the study topics usually regarded as subjective’ (thanks Wikipedia). You can read quite a lot about it if you are interested. I came across the term listening to a comedian who said that his joke wasn’t in poor taste; it only became poor taste if you attached that meaning to it in your own mind. You create the offence to yourself. Yes, it did my head in a bit too. I guess he wasn’t intending to offend, just to confuse.

I am pretty sure that he was referring to the branch of phenomenology known as ‘intentionality’, which says that our ‘consciousness is always conscious of something’.   The object of our consciousness doesn’t have to be real – it can be a fantasy or memory. Apparently, it is a medieval idea. That somehow seems fitting. In the 1100’s the ‘scholastics’ used it to defend dogma.

You are probably wondering about the connection with local government today. Continue reading →