The knowledge of attention

Abstract

At stake in the present article is a discussion on the phenomenon of attention and three basic phenomenological descriptions of this phenomenon, represented by Edmund Husserl, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Ortega y Gasset. It argues for the necessity of developing a phenomenological approach on the phenomenon. From the phenomenological position, attention is not primarily a focus on something, but a perspective from turning points, where the in-between of relationships can be experienced. In this sense, attention shows itself as alertness for the coming to be and the realm of transitions. Key words: Phenomenology, attention, perception, transformation of mental field, time and space of attention, Edmund Husserl, Merleau-Ponty, Ortega y Gasset