In this opening conversation, Marc Applebaum and Scott Churchill introduce the philosophical and psychological foundations of existential phenomenological research, centered on Churchill’s book Essentials of Existential Phenomenological Research. The discussion explores how phenomenology emerged within psychology through the influence of thinkers such as Husserl, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Viktor Frankl, Rollo May, Sartre, and Dilthey, while also tracing Churchill’s own intellectual journey through Duquesne University’s existential-phenomenological tradition.

A major theme of the discussion is the meaning of the word “existential” in existential phenomenology. Churchill explains how existential psychology shifts attention away from deterministic explanations and toward the human being as a future-oriented, possibility-projecting being whose “essence lies in its existence,” drawing especially on Heidegger’s account of human existence as always underway toward what one may become. The conversation examines how this existential orientation transforms psychological research, therapy, and teaching by emphasizing freedom, choice, responsibility, and meaning-making within the concrete limits of lived circumstances.

Marc and Scott also discuss why philosophy remains indispensable for phenomenological psychology. They argue that philosophy provides the foundational assumptions and justificatory framework for phenomenological research, helping students critically examine inherited natural-scientific models of psychology organized around cause-and-effect explanation. In contrast, existential phenomenology seeks to understand how persons live through situations, interpret their worlds, and orient themselves toward future possibilities. The conversation closes by reflecting on how existential and phenomenological literature can help students move from reductionistic “effects-based” research questions toward richer inquiries into human meaning, experience, and existence.

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