A Phenomenological Vision for Psychology

Summary

The viewpoint of this article is that the precise articulation and theoretical understanding of the ‘proper object’ of psychology is an achievement that still lies ahead of us. However, an effort is made to advance the solution of the problem by raising the issue again and attempting to formulate a solution. Specifically, the Jamesian fourfold framework for discussing the science of psychology, namely: 1) the psychologist, 2) the thought or feeling studied, 3) the thought’s object, and 4) the psychologist’s reality, is adopted, modified and interpreted in a phenomenological way. It is affirmed that psychology deals with a field of experience constituted by an intentional relationship between a subjectivity and a world that is greater than sheer life (‘bios’) but less than logical. It is argued that psychology could be defined as the subjectively dependent and contingently expressed meanings of individual subjects. It is assumed that metaindividual factors (sociality, history, etc.) can be expressed by individuals even if they do not originate in individual subjects.