The Foundations of Phenomenology: Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant is a pivotal figure in phenomenology, positioning experience as foundational to human understanding. He critiques previous philosophers like Descartes, proposing that instead of viewing the mind as separate from the world, our comprehension emerges from experiences shaped by our sensory perceptions. Kant argues that phenomena are not neutral entities but rather constructions of our minds, as we can never know things in themselves beyond our subjective interpretations. Consequently, phenomenology becomes the exploration of how our minds process encounters in space and time, revealing the limitations of our understanding of both the external world and ourselves.