{"id":1854,"date":"2026-05-22T14:05:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T21:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phenomenologyblog.com\/?p=1854"},"modified":"2026-05-22T14:08:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T21:08:41","slug":"why-existential-phenomenology-featuring-scott-churchill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phenomenologyblog.com\/?p=1854","title":{"rendered":"Why “Existential” Phenomenology? Featuring Scott Churchill"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/fb:like><\/span>

\"Scott<\/a>In this opening conversation, Marc Applebaum and Scott Churchill introduce the philosophical and psychological foundations of existential phenomenological research, centered on Churchill\u2019s book Essentials of Existential Phenomenological Research<\/em>. 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\u2019s own intellectual journey through Duquesne University\u2019s existential-phenomenological tradition.<\/p>\n

A major theme of the discussion is the meaning of the word \u201cexistential\u201d 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 \u201cessence lies in its existence,\u201d drawing especially on Heidegger\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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 \u201ceffects-based\u201d research questions toward richer inquiries into human meaning, experience, and existence.<\/p>\n