Editorial

Abstract

The eminent Dutch phenomenologist J.H. van den Berg1 was speaking to a group of students and staff at my institution in the mid-1970s and asked the audience to describe recollecting a dream. One of the students, to everyone’s surprise, began by saying, ‘‘You have a bedside table, a good light, a notebook and a pencil. . .’’ This drew emphatic praise from van den Berg. It was the immediacy of the connection with lived experience that he valued. In a related vein, Dorion Cairns tells us of a conversation with Edmund Husserl, the founder of modern phenomenology:

I recall particularly one argument about visual perception. I had been defending the doctrine that only perspective appearances are strictly seen. At last Husserl looked down at a box of matches in his hand, turned it this way and that, then, looking me squarely in the eye, reported loudly and distinctly: ‘‘Ich sehe den Streichholzschachtel (I see the matchbox)’’. It was the proper method at that moment. I was startled into recognition of the obvious. (Cairns, 2010, p. 3)

(Published: 1 November 2010)

Citation: Int J Qualitative Stud Health Well-being 2010, 5: 5535 - DOI: 10.3402/qhw.v5i4.5535