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ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITY
SHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES
DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
COURS (GeES 810): SEMINAR ON THEORIES AND PHILOSOPHY OF GEOGRAPHY
The Short Summary of Phenomenology and Post-Phenomenology:
The Essence of Experience
Program: PhD
BY: TEREFE HUNDESSA
ID: GSR/3467/16
INSTRUCTOR: DESALEGN WANA (PhD)
October 14, 2023
Addis Ababa

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1. Introduction
Phenomenology is a philosophical movement that originated in the early 20th
c. It is concerned
with the study of subjective experience and consciousness and how they relate to the world
around us. Post-phenomenology is a more recent development that builds on phenomenology,
but also incorporates insights from science and technology, and how technology shapes our
perception of the world.
This paper aims to discuss the general idea of understanding phenomena around us by using the
fascinating reality of "geography at the beach" to illustrate what phenomena are and how facts
and realities relate to one another, which aids in developing a critical understanding of our
natural surroundings. Ultimately, I think that after reading this chapter, readers will be able to
understand important and fascinating ideas about the essence of experience in their everyday
lives.
1.1 Geographers at the Beach
The concept of “Geographers at the Beach” states the claim that the interest of geographers to
know facts, and the world around them. A simple response to how we know phenomenon around
us is to make reference to sources of evidence. We know something because we have evidence
of it; we have seen (or heard, or measured) it for ourselves, or we have read it somewhere and
accept that someone else has evidence of it. Being clear about evidence, though, is only the first
step in answering the question 'How do we know?'
Every claim to knowledge involves making assumptions about things such as: what exists; what
knowledge is; how we can know; and what counts as 'evidence’. For the brevity of this concept,
let us see the following simple statement.
We begin in late autumn, with a geography field trip to the beach. The students climb into the
bus, which then leaves the university and threads its way through the countryside towards the
coast. Looking out of the bus window, Nikki says to Adam, 'The leaves are really turning brown
now.'
In this observation it is possible to identify at least three assumptions hidden in it:
i. 'Real' objects, existing independently-the leaves.
ii. ‘Our senses’ - in this case, sight - provide us with knowledge of leaves.
iii. Nikki's memory that the leaves have not always been brown is accurate.

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Always we cannot live without these three assumptions in our daily life but not be worried
whether objects real or not. These issues show what exists, what we know and how we know –
that fall within the realm of philosophy.
There are three philosophical terms that are often used in literature relating to how we do
research. These are:
Metaphysics, the branch of philosophy concerned with the 'first principles' (or, broadly speaking,
the fundamentals) of things like existence, time, space and identity.
Ontology, which is about what exists and what it means to exist.
Epistemology is the study of how we know.
Metaphysics therefore encompasses ontology. Philosophy texts often refer to metaphysics,
whereas geography texts use the terms ontology and epistemology more often.
In the above Nikki’s observation, the leaves are- ontological assumption, our senses provide
knowledge of the leaves- is an epistemological position. Similarly, She relays on her memory to
store 'true' knowledge of the leaves. This is metaphysical assumption, containing both
ontological and epistemological claims.
Nikki’s observation of leaves shows the connection of leaves with seasons and the idea is a
complex assumption, need brief explanation and generalization known as Theory.
From this assumption and generalization, we can deduce that beyond the simple answer for how
do we know? Our critical explanation of phenomenon takes us in to realm of philosophy and
theory so Geographical thought can be addressed.
1.2 On arrival: What are we studying?
Just when we mention the name of something, probably the image or idea of that thing comes to
our mind and we memorize it. However there are also another different focuses beyond this
memory. Let us take Nikki’s Observation of; what is beach?
1. A beach is a coastal deposition of sand and gravel particles lying between mean tide and
the inland extent of the highest storm waves.
This definition recognizes the existence of the material or physical feature-in this case it gives
the materialist response. But the whole focus for other materials such as course fine, sands, its
parameters and distance etc. needs observation or extension of our sense. In this case it gives
empiricist response. So the first definition of beach is both materialist and empiricist.

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In our research work we also see the relationship of phenomenon to answer the question about
what happens, where, when, at what rate, and how the different components. In this case the beach
interaction with sediments. For more clarification, let us see the second definition of beach.
2. A beach is an active part of the morphodynamic coastal system of energy transfers and
sediment movement. As the boundary between water and land, a beach is the transitional
area between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, where continual change creates hostile
environments for life.
Some processes are (more or less) directly observable. We could, for example, paint some beach
clasts (rock fragments) to mark them and then track their movement across or along the beach by
re-locating them regularly over a period of time. Both materialism and empiricism exists here.
However thing such as sediments and sands move down the hill, but we cannot actually see the
gravity except its effect. So here there is logical reasoning known as rationalism. Let us see
another definition of the beach;
3. A beach is a place that people visit primarily for recreational purposes (e.g. sunbathing,
swimming), often in social groups. Beaches are busiest in the summer months, when people
may travel considerable distances to visit.
In this definition we see the relationship between Physical and Human geography. The focus is
still empirical phenomena, such as numbers of people and their observable behavior and the
things they are physically doing. The response for this definition assumes that society can be
studied in the same ways as the natural world, using methodological approaches identical to
those in the natural sciences, albeit with different methods of observation and measurement. This
is sometimes referred to as naturalism.
There are some complex questions arising here in human geography especially in relation to
economy. Some resorts around the beach are patronized predominantly by riches and great
disparity between rich and low economic income. This kind of study led us to consider political
and economic structure of society and how these structures shape relations between beach
visitors and local residents. This would, then, become a structuralist analysis. The fourth
definition of Beach also is here under:
4. A beach is sand between your toes, the sound of the surf surging towards you, the smell and
taste of sea salt, momentary weightlessness as each wave lifts your body and rolls past , hot
sunshine on your skin, cold water. It is a place for relaxation, or for adrenaline fuelled,

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surf-induced excitement; splashing out through the shallows, watching the incoming surf,
Launching yourself ahead of the wave. A beach is escape, banishing everyday pressures
from your mind. For some, though, a beach is a place of fear (eremikophobia is a fear of
sand).
This definition states the beach solely in terms of our senses, experiences and meanings as
individuals-rather than mind-independent object. The focus is our perception of the beach not the
beach itself. Kant (1724-1804) argued that we can never know things as they are in themselves
(noumena,) rather our knowledge is restricted to experience (phenomena).According to Kant all
geographers study phenomena which known as phenomenology. A phenomenological study
might encompass the things we do, the embodied experience and meanings associated issues (for
us the beach). Such issues are best addressed through qualitative research methods. The fifth and
the last definition of the beach also give some different sort of philosophical concept. Let see;
5. A beach is a 'liminal' place, where normal rules - such as rules about dress - do not apply.
But a beach can also be a regulated space. Behaviour may be formally controlled by 'safe
swimming 'flags and sun-lounger hire rules, constantly under the surveillance of lifeguards
and vendors, but also informally controlled as we conform to social expectations of what is
normal. A beach is a site in which identities of gender, health, wealth and fitness are
performed, exhibited or inhibited.
In this definition a great attention was given to social rules and expectations that are external to
us as individuals. In this response 'social facts' of appropriate or inappropriate behavior and
appearance at a beach derive from human thoughts and actions, but they appear as 'objective
reality' to each of us as individuals that runs through poststructuralist and postmodernist theories.
2. Phenomenology and Post-Phenomenology: The Essence of Experience or,
seeing a Shark is Different from Seeing a Dolphin
People who study geography are curious about their surroundings. 'How do we know the world?'
is the fundamental question. Philosopher Edmund Husserl attempted to directly answer this
question. Others adopted his concepts and expanded upon them in various ways to comprehend
the world as it is lived, experienced, acted out, and constantly evolving. After giving a brief
overview of phenomenology, this chapter examines the two stages of geography's relationship
with it: the 'humanistic geography' of the 1970s and the more recent return to phenomenological

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themes through non-representational geographies, which occasionally and purposefully draw on
phenomenology but also on other positions. Some argue that this later period is "post-
phenomenological," but it may be more useful to consider it "more-than-phenomenological."
2. 1. What is phenomenology
Phenomenology comes from the two Greek words ‘phenomenon’, which means appearance or
existence and “logos” which means reason or study. Hence, phenomenology means anything that
exists of which the mind is conscious. A “book” is a concrete example of phenomenon .A book
is there existing materially and a mind is conscious of it. It holds that our only way of knowing
the material world is through perception, or mental acts. Every mental act includes intentionality,
which is directed at some object or concept. Intentional objects can be objects of belief
(propositions), objects of thought (ideas), objects of love or hate, or objects of fear (such as
people, pets, or spiders). These intentional objects do not exist apart from the mental state that
'refers' to them. This is not to say that the snake you are afraid of does not exist; however, you
cannot distinguish between the feared snake (intentional object) and the 'real' snake. Your only
awareness of the snake is the feared snake. Hence, Phenomenology is the study of mental acts
that provide us with awareness of our surroundings.
So, from this all points of view I deduce that, phenomenology is the investigation of the essence
or the nature of material things or things that appear to us.
2. 1. 1 Beginning with Husserl's phenomenology
Even though phenomenology is sometimes referred to as "a movement" within twentieth-century
philosophy, it is helpful to be clear from the outset that it is not a single entity. Edmund Husserl
(1859–1938) is typically recognized as the founder of phenomenology. Phenomenology for
Husserl is a discipline that attempts to describe or understand what is given to us in experience.
In other word, phenomenology for Husserl provides an account of how things (phenomenon)
appear to our awareness or, ultimately, how the world appears to us in terms of our subjective
experience of it.
Everything we are aware of, such as feelings, ideas, memories, physical awareness, embodied
actions, and social interactions, is referred to as a "phenomenon" (Woodruff-Smith, 2008).

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Husserl referred to this quality of consciousness—that it is constantly focused on something—as
intentionality. Intentionality is present whether we start by considering consciousness, which is
always 'of' some phenomenon, or we start by considering a phenomenon, which has a specific
meaning for us. Phenomena and consciousness are inseparable because neither would exist
without the other. Descartes' idea that reality is external (object) and knowledge is internal to an
individual (subject) is problematic because it eliminates any way to validate knowledge. It
prevents us from comparing the knowledge's internal content with the outside world to see if
they line. Husserl's phenomenology, on the other hand, emphasizes objects as conscious
phenomena. His goal was to comprehend the conditions that contribute to the intentionality of
conscious experience as well as the structures that underlie our conscious perception of
phenomena. Conscious experience is by definition awareness of experience.
As a summary of the beginning of Husserl’s phenomenology, the point which is understandable
is that phenomenology is about reflecting up on our everyday immediate or lived experiences in
order to gain some understanding of its underlying order, coherence and structure.
2. 1 .2 Variations in phenomenology: Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre and Merleau-Ponty
Husserl claimed that phenomenological analysis does not consider an object's "actual existence"
because of his emphasis on intentionality and conscious experience. An object's meaning in our
experience determines its significance; this is independent of the object's actual existence.
I had the good fortune to spot a basking shark in the sea off the coast of Devon last summer. At
first, all I saw breaking the surface of the choppy water was the tip of a dorsal fin. I briefly
believed it to be a dolphin. I had more of a "dolphin experience" than a "basking shark
experience" during that fleeting moment. The two are not the same.
Husserl maintained that we must 'bracket' belief in existence and concentrate only on the
experience in order to truly comprehend meaning. Not that the object of interest can't exist—
that's for sure. It's just that trying to figure out whether it exists hinders our ability to understand
what meaning really is. Husserl's phenomenology revolves around this "reduction," which is
sometimes referred to as "epoche" and involves lowering our belief in the existence of
phenomena to concentrate on meaning.

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However, analyzing a single example of a phenomenon could cause us to concentrate on the
details of that one example rather than the essence of the phenomenon. We must carry out a
second reduction in order to reduce the specific facts to their most basic forms. Making the
distinction between the "essence" and the particularities rather than studying examples of each of
these experiences is sufficient to achieve this.
After comprehending our intention towards dolphins and the significance that 'dolphins' hold for
us, we can focus on determining the circumstances that influence that intentionality. These
ailments may be connected to our physical characteristics. Dolphins have recognizable faces
because of the way their eyes, noses, and mouths are arranged, but because humans are
accustomed to seeing human faces, dolphins' mouths appear to be grinning. The 'smiling' face
and the seemingly playful nature of dolphins are well-known from media images, which shape
our understanding of them. Conditions for intentionality can also include our language, social
practices (such as what people do with dolphins in real life or in movies), physical habits (such
as swimming ability or lack thereof), and motor skills. These elements influence meaning.
Husserl's focus shifted from the purely cognitive to acknowledging the social world in his final
work defined a "life world" as "the encompassing world of our immediate experience," which he
sketched out. The term "life world" describes the collective meanings of a group of language
users, and how those meanings influence or form our perception of the "common sense" world.
Husserl concentrated on cognition, but Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Sartre—often referred to
as existential phenomenologists—were more interested in "being," or existence. Heidegger's
central concern was not being as a noun (as in 'a human being'), but rather being as a verb, the
act of existing. According to Heidegger, we are never truly outside of the world, so it is absurd to
"bracket" the world as though it might not exist (Woodruff-Smith, 2008).
The idea of "Dasein," which literally translates as "being there," is what Heidegger used to
express this emphasis on being present in the world. We can only comprehend the world by
living in it, and we can only comprehend existence by existing in it. Our existence in this world
is the foundation of all that we know. Heidegger elaborated on the idea of "dwelling" in a later
essay. We inhabit the world and move through it. It's like having a home instead of just a house,
that's the contrast. It is essentially a caring situation. Living is about being "at peace within the

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free sphere that safeguards each thing in its nature," which includes thinking, cultivating, and
building. This conserving and preserving is the essential nature of dwelling. According to
Enterrikin (1976), Heidegger's phenomenology shifts our focus from questions of knowledge to
questions of what it means to be human.
Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) and Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908–1961) both stressed the
tangible experiences of our existence and actions in the world in their existential
phenomenologist rather than cognition, perception, or reflections on activities, the foundation of
their phenomenology is the description of "ordinary human activities in the world.
Embodiment is central to Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology. You are more than just a
'consciousness' floating like a tree. Your body is fundamental to your consciousness, knowledge,
comprehension, and intentionality as an embodied being in the world. Your body is how you see
and feel the world. A surface's softness or hardness is determined by how it feels in relation to
your body. Merleau-Ponty (1945) used a few remarkable examples to illustrate the significance
of embodiment.
…… the war veteran with brain damage was able to blow his nose and perform other functional
tasks, but he was unable to make abstract movements like touching his nose.
Despite the similarities in the physical actions, these acts have different meanings. Merleau-
Ponty showed that intentionality is embodied and resides in our ability to act—that is, in saying
"I can" as opposed to "I think." When you pick up a new skill—like riding a bicycle, juggling,
or playing an instrument—you may observe someone else perform it and receive an explanation
from them through reading or hearing. But eventually, you have to learn to understand the
activity from a physical rather than a mental stand point. For example, before you stand up, you
do not need to make sure you have legs.
Referring back to Husserl, the life world is the environment in which we exist and from which
we are separate but also interconnected. Merleau-Ponty's concept of reversibility follows from
this. We see the world, and we know that the world can see us precisely because we have the
ability to see. To put it another way, subject and object, or self and world, are never fully
separate. I am both a subject and an object at the same time because I am always an object to

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another subject. Due to the fact that "alterity" or otherness is always entwined with subjectivity
and involves us, it has ethical and political ramifications.
2.2 Phenomenology and humanistic geography of the 1 970s
The 1970s saw the emergence of humanistic geography, though not all humanistic geography
was phenomenological. This was signaled by the first interactions between geographers and
phenomenology. In the 1970s, some human geographers were growing dissatisfied with
positivist "spatial science" geography, claiming that the analyses it produced were too removed
from social context. It was believed that detached, purportedly value-free positivist geography
was unfeasible and undesirable (Smith, 1979). Humanistic geography focused on the
relationship between people and places, as well as the question of what exactly constitutes a
place, in contrast to positivists who looked for patterns in the spatial distribution of "objects" in
the real world.
Topophilia: A Study of Environmental Perception, Attitudes and Values of Yi-Fu Tuan (1974)
examined how people relate to their surroundings as a species, in groups, and on an individual
basis. It drew on a wide range of research, including anthropology and psychology in addition to
geography. "The emotional bond between people and place or setting" is Tuan's definition of
"Topophilia" (1974) stated differently, topophilia was centered on values, experiences, feelings,
and emotions. In order to strengthen the distinction between "space" and "place," he expanded on
these concepts. An objective, 'scientific' understanding of experience descriptions is linked to
abstract ' space'. Tuan's Topophilia, in fact, was based solely on other people's accounts. There is
potential for participant observation, diaries, interviews, ethnography, and analysis of artistic and
cultural artifacts. Phenomenology, according to Allen-Collinson (2011,), calls for an
"encompassing attitude" as opposed to specific methods; "a certain attentive awareness to the
things of the world as we live them rather than as we abstractly theorize them."
As quoted from (Smith, 1979), humanistic geography was criticized for failing to adequately
consider the external social factors that affect people's lives. These later worries are a reflection
of the growing awareness of the "new cultural geography" that, by the end of the 1980s, was
starting to take shape. One example is the normativity of humanistic geography, which loses
sight of the ways in which people's experiences are influenced by social categories like gender,

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race, religion, and sexual orientation by taking phenomenological accounts to be universal.
Though the emphasis was on the "collective symbolic order" that projects meaning onto
individuals and their actions rather than on the individuals themselves, the work is still primarily
phenomenological in the broadest sense. In particular, post structuralism made an effort to
reconcile the apparent individualism of phenomenology with structuralism's emphasis on a larger
social context. The phenomenology of Husserl and Merleau-Ponty was antiquated for the new
cultural geography.
2.3 A More Recent Return to Experience
Human geography and other social sciences have witnessed the resurgence of concepts and
themes with a phenomenological bent since the mid-1900s. Against the 'anti-humanism' of
structuralism, post structuralism, and deconstruction, frames these as 'post-humanist'.
Geographical perspectives that are relational, material, non-human, and more-than-human have
gained prominence, drawing attention to questions of being in a variety of intricate ways. Actor
Network Theory (ANT) is one of several theoretical stances that these non-representational
geographies are based on. In any case, ANT played a key role in the "re-materialization" of
human geography. While representation was emphasized in the new cultural geographies that
emerged in the 1980s, ANT promoted non-representational theories that concentrated on
ordinary material relations and practices. Thus, it is included here as a first step towards a
broader understanding of non-representational theories.
2.3. 1 Actor Network Theory (ANT)
Science and technology studies have a tendency to focus on the outcomes of science, but Latour
(1970) was more interested in the processes of science as they developed. He realized that
science's "doing" is far more complex than what is ever written in journal articles. Science
involves not only scientists, but also a vast network of human and non-human actors. Consider
an example of physical geography research to gain an understanding of such a network.
Shona (fictitious) geography student became interested in glacial geomorphology during her
first two years of study, especially after discovering that the Herefordshire landscape contains
many clues to its glacial past. Although the only written references she's found to them aren't
conclusive, she suspects they're drumlins. While some only mention the nearby moraine and

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patches of till, others mention drumlins. She decides to focus her undergraduate dissertation on
these landforms. Shona's project has already been influenced by her personal history and
emotional attachment to Herefordshire; these elements are now incorporated into her research
methodology. Shona reads up on the formation, shapes, and sedimentary properties of drumlins
and glacial geomorphology. In order to conduct her fieldwork (another aspect of the network),
Shona needed permission from the landowner. Using a GPS, she begins by mapping the features
and recording slope changes and breaks in order to produce a morphological map.
Here, the technical qualities of the tool—such as its precision and ability to define features as
points, lines, or polygons—have an impact on her methods. Three additional components of the
network are visible in this instance: the equipment she uses for fieldwork, the rocks and dirt that
get in the way of her plans, and Shana's own body.
Therefore, we can realize that the network of relationships involved in research practices
encompasses not only people and their decisions but also tools, concepts, books and journal
articles, as well as the actual space of the laboratory or field site and its many human and non-
human actors. The idea that each actor in the network has equal importance is fundamental tenets
of the actor network theory without undermining non-human elements are not superior to
humans.
2.3.2 Non-Representational Theories
Non-representational geographies acknowledge that the world is experienced before it is
represented, in contrast to the "new cultural geographies," which placed an emphasis on
representation and meaning and treated the world as "text." Numerous embodied, affective, and
emotional actions and interactions with everything around us—both living and non-living—
make up our lives. First and foremost, places and identities are experienced; examples include
being both "in" and "up against" the landscape while hiking a long distance and receiving strange
looks on trains for being different-looking. We know the world because we are a part of it.
Similar to phenomenology, the term "non-representational" designates a range of methods as
opposed to a single thing. Nonetheless, Cadman (2009) identifies five central themes, which can
be summed up as follows:

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1. A focus on practice, with a focus on non-cognitive or pre-cognitive activities—that is,
activities you can perform without having to think about them beforehand;
2. Involvement with the mundane, sacred, and special aspects of daily life, especially its affective
and emotional aspects;
3. An interest in performativity and performance, viewing it as a "bringing forth" of existence
4. The body and embodiment as our ways of existing in the world;
5. Virtuality and multiplicity, or being receptive to the possibility of different time-spaces coexisting.
Gaining an understanding of the embodied, non-cognitive, and non-linguistic ways that we
encounter places can be achieved in part by reading the entire account. The beginning point for
comprehending islandness is what islanders do, their daily routines, and their way of existing in
the world rather than the island. "Sense of place" is derived from embodied, kinesthetic
performance.
Actor Network Theory and non-representational geographies both contain phenomenological
themes related to experience and meaning. These two have also been referred to as post
phenomenological and poststructuralist, or even post-poststructuralist. Non-representational
geographies acknowledge that, in contrast to the new cultural geography's emphasis on
representation, embodied gestures, actions, and movements enact, perform, or (re)produce
cultural meanings in addition to expressing them. The 'radically constructivist' stance (in contrast
to the social constructivist perspective) presents an intrinsic political and ethical aspect, creating
opportunities for transformation. This implies that we alter the world by acting differently.
2.4 Phenomenology, or Post-Phenomenology, at the Beach
The term post phenomenology first came to prominence through the work of the philosopher of
science and technology Don Idhe (2003). For Idhe (2003), post-phenomenology is an attempt to
escape the subject-centered nature of classical phenomenological thought and, specifically, the
transcendental subject or ego found in Husserl. There is a lot of promise for beach research in the
current work on materiality, embodiment, non-representational theory, actor network theory,
non-human, and relational geographies.

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We could draw inspiration from the various beach-related activities, such as swimming, running,
dog walking, paddling, grilling, and beachcombing. We could look at the ways that the beach is
divided into areas, such as officially marked swimming areas and controlled entryways, or the
ways that beachgoers organize themselves into groups and set up umbrellas and sun screens. One
could witness gender, health, youth, and parenthood performances on a crowded beach. In a
manner similar view, climate change activism, for more overtly political engagement we might
concentrate on the methods, demonstrations, and encounters of campaigning and activism with
organizations like surfers against sewage or save the waves.
Non-representational research could be conducted on anything people do at the beach.
Establishing a clear theoretical framework for the study is a crucial first step in this process,
though. Given the wide variety and abundance of relational geographies, it is critical to clearly
define the research's assumptions and parameters.
Conclusion
As a summary, the explicit realization that all of the phenomena we perceive with our senses—
phenomena that serve as the foundation for positivist science—are phenomena that we ourselves
perceive led to the development of phenomenology. The non-idealist and non-realist ways in
which we know, experience, and live (through) the world are fundamental. In order to discern the
essential attributes of phenomenology, efforts to transcend Cartesian dualism and comprehend
humans as beings in the world would need to be considered. ANT believes that science involves
not only scientists, but also a vast network of human and non-human actors.
Generally, these perspectives collectively create non-representational geographies that highlight
our material, relational, embodied daily practices and the ongoing construction of the world.
Reference
Pauline Couper (2015). A students’ Introduction to Geographical thought. Sage publishing.
London.
Smith, David Woodruff (2008). Phenomenology. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.