Aayushi BansalAIR 7 · CSE 2024 · 146 wordsTheir whole copy
Opening · a definition
Phenomenology is a micro sociological approach focussing on lived experiences of people. It was led by Alfred Schutz.
Body · points and prose
It came as a radical reaction to positivism restoring primacy of human. Positivism considered society as structure & rule bound which can be objectively observed & measured using scientific methods.
Phenomenology however focussed on life world of individuals which they typify. Thus is no structure beyond what humans construct everyday in their interactions using
Common sense.
It was inspired by Weber's interpretative method which sought to understand meaning attached by actors to their actions.
However, it failed to sustain this primacy of human agency. Ignoring larger power structures, role of society it remained confined to one dimensional picture.
Further, lack of concrete concepts & a systematic methodology made critics discard it as common sense.
Close · a summary
Despite criticisms, phenomenology provided a much needed alternative to positivism, widening horizons of sociology.