The Phenomenological Movement and Research in the Human Sciences

Phenomenology, as a modern movement in philosophy, has focused discussion upon human subjectivity in new and critically important ways. Because human participants can relate intentionally to objects of the world consciousness manifests relationships to things and others that are other than cause-effect relationships. Consequently, the concepts and practices of the natural sciences are not the best model for the human sciences to follow. Husserl in his philosophy introduced a method for a more adequate approach to the achievements of consciousness and when properly modified the phenomenological method can serve as the basis for the human sciences, including nursing. The use of such a method can make the qualitative analysis of phenomena rigorous and scientific.