Week 2, Post 2: Phenomenological Tradition

The concept of phenomenology can be found in Chapter 4 of the text, on page 49. Phenomenology is looking at a person's everyday life from their point of view. It is understanding yourself as well as other people's life experiences.

I found phenomenology meaningful because it places an individual's personal experience higher than what research on that individual might say. Everyone's experiences in life differ, even if we come from the same background. Experiences can even differ within the siblings of a family. The problem is that our personal experiences can close us off from other people. We may not feel that we can communicate with someone else because they don't know where you're coming from. I liked Carl Rogers idea of getting past our hesitancy to communicate with others. Through congruence, unconditional positive regard, and empathic understanding, people can learn to trust each other and communicate more openly without fear that they might be judged or misunderstood.

I think that Rogers' three conditions can be applied to personal relationships as well. I find that the conditions can be found in my close friends and perhaps that is why we have a deeper connection. My best friend is congruent and I know she is always genuine with me. She's not trying to impress me or boost my ego. If she was fake, I wouldn't be friends with her. I appreciate her honesty. I also have unconditional positive regard for my best friend. I care, like, and respect her, which is why we are friends! There is also empathic understanding in our friendship. We are not judgemental of eachother. If she tells me something, I believe her, and vice versa.