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Max van Manen

University of Alberta, Faculty of Education, Emeritus

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Max van Manen, PhD, EdD (Hon), is a professor emeritus (2011) at the University of Alberta. Interests include human science research methods, pedagogical theory, epistemology of professional practice, pedagogical tact, childhood’s secrecy, phenomenological research and writing.

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Papers by Max van Manen

Meaning-Giving Methods in Phenomenological Research and Writing Second edition

Phenomenology of Practice, 2023

Max van Manen offers an extensively updated and enlarged edition of Phenomenology of Practice: Me... more

Classic Writings Doing Phen & Conversation & Humor

Classic Writings Doing Phen & Conversation & Humor , 2021

Classic Writings for a Phenomenology of Practice features examples of newly translated classic ph... more Classic Writings for a Phenomenology of Practice features examples of newly translated classic phenomenological texts that have been largely forgotten or misunderstood. The writings are unique in that they speak to the practice of doing phenomenological research for the purpose of gaining insights and better understandings regarding aspects of professional practice and ordinary life phenomena and events. Phenomenology does not have to be impenetrable philosophy, dealing with tedious technical issues. Instead, phenomenology may offer relevance, value, and enduring allure to readers and researchers who are engaged with the quotidian life experiences and events of students, patients, clients, friends, and other individuals. This phenomenological approach aims to stay as close as possible to the ordinary events of everyday life: seeing the first smile of a child, feeling compulsive, being humorous, having a conversation, experiencing childhood secrecy, encountering new things-topics that span a manifold of life experiences. In this collection of classic phenomenological writings, each author is thoughtfully introduced, and each text is followed by a conversational descant: a reflection on the phenomenological reflection. The presentation of these classic writings and their reflections aims to show us what it means to do phenomenology directly on the phenomena that we live-thus asking us to be attentive to the fascinating varieties and subtleties of primal lived experiences and consciousness in all its remarkable complexities. This book is relevant for scholars and students who are interested in human science research and the origins and practices of the phenomenological method.

Rebuttal to Zahavi: Doing Phenomenology on the Things

Qualitative Health Research, 2019

Urging Dan Zahavi not to befuddle the basics, this rebuttal responds to the article “Getting it q... more Urging Dan Zahavi not to befuddle the basics, this rebuttal responds to the article “Getting it quite wrong” (published in this journal issue of QHR). My work is described as “amassing experiential descriptions,” simply aiming to “reproduce the original experience unaltered,” naively claiming “that the fundamental question of phenomenology is to understand what it is like to have this or that experience” and other such injudicious points. I take issue with these claims. Husserl is quoted as supportively stating that “phenomenology was from the beginning never supposed to be anything except the path to a radically genuine ‘strictly scientific metaphysics.’” I will show with textual examples that the presented view of phenomenology is too limited and one sided.

Serendipitous Insights and Kairos Playfulness

Qualitative Inquiry, 2018

Phenomenology, peekaboo, and play are notions that may not tempt the reader to take a paper very ... more Phenomenology, peekaboo, and play are notions that may not tempt the reader to take a paper very seriously. Phenomenology is a philosophical form of qualitative research that is guided more often by the fortuitous serendipity of contemplative insights than by the rationality of reproducible social science procedures. Peekaboo is an infant game of the eyes that hardly seems worth addressing in a self-respectful research journal, and the topic of play is equally suspect to scientists for whom the cheerful idleness of play is the opposite of the seriousness and purposiveness of work or labor. However, here I will propose that (a) peekaboo may give us inceptual insights into the phenomenon of eye contact; (b) idle play is not just a counter concept of seriousness and work, but a phenomenon in its own right; (3) phenomenology is a serendipitous form of research that is philosophic and may give us compelling insights into the lived meanings of quotidian experiences in our lives, and (d) the mythological figure of Kairos speaks to the enigma of our humanness and provides an understanding of time as the discontinuous instant of the now and of the phenomenological method as intuitive grasping of meaning. Phenomenological writing is rarely easy and yet it can be highly satisfying in its results. I aim to show that meaningful insights are gained through a patient and attentively alert surrender to Kairos time and serendipitous moments.

Rebuttal Rejoinder about interpretive phenomenology and psychology

Qualitative Health Research, 2018

Different forms of inquiry make unique contributions to our understanding of professional practic... more Different forms of inquiry make unique contributions to our understanding of professional practices of psychology, education, pedagogy, nursing, medicine, and other health sciences. So, it should be worthwhile to understand the nature of these potential contributions and their methods. But what if some methods are misnamed, misconstrued, or misdirected? Does it matter? Perhaps or perhaps only academically. I am happy to engage in this rejoinder with Jonathan Smith—certainly there is merit in dialogue and discussions surrounding our understandings of phenomenology as a method for human science research. In addition, I feel collegial amity for Jonathan and his interest in phenomenology and willingness to engage in conversation. In this rejoinder, I will express my views of IPA and Jonathan’s rebuttal in some brief detail and with considered care.

Phenomenology and Meaning Attribution

The Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, 2017

Attribution theory studies the psychological processes that influence people’s perceptions of mea... more Attribution theory studies the psychological processes that influence people’s perceptions of meaning. But John Paley’s employment of meaning attribution, throughout his book, produces a huge heap of screeds that he accumulates in his aim to criticize what he perceives are faulty uses of phenomenological methods. For the sake of clarification, I will show that meaning attribution is an inappropriate tool and it has nothing to do with phenomenological method. I will also show that John Paley misapprehends the basic philosophical nature of phenomenological meaning and inquiry.

Phenomenology in Its Original Sense

Qualitative Health Research, 2017

What distinguishes phenomenology in its original sense? My intent is to focus on the project and ... more What distinguishes phenomenology in its original sense? My intent is to focus on the project and methodology of phenomenology in a manner that is not overly technical and that may help others to further elaborate on or question the singular features that make phenomenology into a unique qualitative form of inquiry. I pay special attention to the notion of “lived” in the phenomenological term “lived experience” to demonstrate its critical role and significance for understanding phenomenological reflection, meaning, analysis, and insights. I also attend to the kind of experiential material that is needed to focus on a genuine phenomenological question that should guide any specific research project. Heidegger, van den Berg, and Marion provide some poignant exemplars of the use of narrative “examples” in phenomenological explorations of the phenomena of “boredom,” “conversation,” and “the meaningful look in eye-contact.” Only what is given or what gives itself in lived experience (or conscious awareness) are proper phenomenological “data” or “givens,” but these givens are not to be confused with data material that can be coded, sorted, abstracted, and accordingly analyzed in some “systematic” manner. The latter approach to experiential research may be appropriate and worthwhile for various types of qualitative inquiry but not for phenomenology in its original sense. Finally, I use the mythical figure of Kairos to show that the famous phenomenological couplet of the epoché-reduction aims for phenomenological insights that require experiential analysis and attentive (but serendipitous) methodical inquiry practices.

Pedagogical Tact: Knowing What to Do When You Don't Know What to Do (chapter 1)

Routledge, 2015

Pedagogical Tact describes how teacher-student relations possess an improvisational and ethical c... more Pedagogical Tact describes how teacher-student relations possess an improvisational and ethical character. The daily realities of educators, parents, and childcare specialists are pedagogically conditioned by sensitive insights, active thoughtfulness, and the creative ability to act caringly and appropriately in the immediacy of the moment. Internationally known educator Max van Manen shows through recognizable examples and evocative stories how good teaching is driven by the phenomenology of pedagogy. His book-refocuses educators and others away from an emphasis on instrumental skills and technocratic programs toward the need for pedagogical tact;-describes how pedagogical actions have latent effects that will influence children throughout their lives;-shows how our actions with young people have pedagogically ethical and moral significance;-gives educators back their original vocational motivation and inspiration.

The Call of Pedagogy as the Call of Contact

Phenomenology and Practice, 2014

We recognize pedagogical experiences because we have received the attentive care and worries of a... more We recognize pedagogical experiences because we have received the attentive care and worries of a mother, a father, a teacher, a grandparent, or some other adult who at various times played a formative part in our young lives. Without the pedagogical support from these adults, we simply could not and would not be alive today, or, for better or worse, we would not be who we are.

Phenomenology of Practice — chapter 1

Routledge, 2014

Max van Manen offers an extensive exploration of phenomenological traditions and methods for the ... more Max van Manen offers an extensive exploration of phenomenological traditions and methods for the human sciences. It is his first comprehensive statement of phenomenological thought and research in over a decade. Phenomenology of practice refers to the meaning and practice of phenomenology in professional contexts such as psychology, education, and health care, as well as to the practice of phenomenological methods in contexts of everyday living. Van Manen presents a detailed description of key phenomenological ideas as they have evolved over the past century; he then thoughtfully works through the methodological issues of phenomenological reflection, empirical methods, and writing that a phenomenology of practice offers to the researcher. Van Manen’s comprehensive work will be of great interest to all concerned with the interrelationship between being and acting in human sciences research and in everyday life.ce

Page Numbers: 412

Publication Date: 2014

Publication Name: Phenomenology of Practice: Meaning-Giving Methods in Phenomenological Research and Writing, 1st Edition

Phenomenology of Practice — chapter 13: Phenomenological Writing

Routledge , 2014

Max van Manen offers an extensive exploration of phenomenological traditions and methods for the ... more Max van Manen offers an extensive exploration of phenomenological traditions and methods for the human sciences. It is his first comprehensive statement of phenomenological thought and research in over a decade. Phenomenology of practice refers to the meaning and practice of phenomenology in professional contexts such as psychology, education, and health care, as well as to the practice of phenomenological methods in contexts of everyday living. Van Manen presents a detailed description of key phenomenological ideas as they have evolved over the past century; he then thoughtfully works through the methodological issues of phenomenological reflection, empirical methods, and writing that a phenomenology of practice offers to the researcher. Van Manen’s comprehensive work will be of great interest to all concerned with the interrelationship between being and acting in human sciences research and in everyday life.ce

The Pedagogy of MomusTechnologies: Facebook, Privacy, and Online Intimacy

Qualitative Health Research, 2010

Through cable and wireless connections at home and at work, through Wi-Fi networks and wireless s... more Through cable and wireless connections at home and at work, through Wi-Fi networks and wireless spots in hotels, coffee shops, and town squares, we are indeed connected to each other. But what is the phenomenology of this connection? Technologies of expression such as Facebook, MySpace,Twitter, and other social networking technologies increasingly become like Momus windows of Greek mythology, revealing one’s innermost thoughts for all to see.They give access to what used to be personal, secret, and hidden in the lives of its users, especially the young. In this article I explore the pedagogy of Momus effects of social networking technologies in the way they may alter young people’s experience of privacy, secrecy, solitude, and intimacy. In addition, I examine the forms of contact afforded by instant messaging and texting on wireless mobile technologies such as the cell phone (and its wireless hybrids) for the way young people are and stay in touch with each other, and how intimacies and inner lives are attended to.

La fenomenología del Espacio en la escritura online

Educational Philosophy and Theory, 2008

En este artículo exploramos el fenómeno de la escritura en línea. Nos preguntamos: '¿Está afectad... more En este artículo exploramos el fenómeno de la escritura en línea. Nos preguntamos: '¿Está afectada la escritura por medio de las tecnologías en línea de una manera que difiera significativamente de las tecnologías más antiguas de la pluma en el papel, la máquina de escribir o incluso el procesador de textos en un entorno fuera de línea?' en una complejidad espacial de la experiencia física, temporal, imaginaria y virtual: el espacio de escritura, el espacio del texto, el ciberespacio, etc. A veces, estos pueden proporcionar un camino a una comprensión literaria de los fenómenos humanos. Proponemos que el examen de estas características fenomenológicas de la escritura en línea puede contribuir a una comprensión más pedagógicamente sensible de las experiencias de los seminarios en línea, la enseñanza y el aprendizaje.

In this paper we explore the phenomenon of writing online. We ask, ‘Is writing by means of online technologies affected in a manner that differs significantly from the older technologies of pen on paper, typewriter, or even the word processor in an off-line environment?’ In writing online, the author is engaged in a spatial complexity of physical, temporal, imaginal, and virtual experience: the writing space, the space of the text, cyberspace, etc. At times, these may provide a conduit to a writerly understanding of human phenomena. We propose that an examination of the phenomenological features of online writing may contribute to a more pedagogically sensitive understanding of the experiences of online seminars, teaching and learning.

Practical-Ethical Nature of Pedagogy.

Routledge, 2007

Sometimes we don’t want to know that we don’t want to know something. And yet, we may know it. Sa... more Sometimes we don’t want to know that we don’t want to know something. And yet, we may know it. Sartre called this bad faith, lying to oneself. We act as if we have no choice, but, in actuality, we do. A common example is the idea of the hidden curriculum. We teach in a manner that might make us uneasy, if only we would admit to ourselves that what we do contributes to oppressive or repressive structures of the curriculum that we enact in our practices. The premise of the hidden curriculum is that we have been blinded by the prevailing ideology of our profession, our social class, or our culture.

Phenomenology of Practice

Phenomenology & Practice, 2007

Phenomenology of practice is formative of sensitive practice, issuing from the pathic power of ph... more Phenomenology of practice is formative of sensitive practice, issuing from the pathic power of phenomenological reflections. Pathic knowing inheres in the sense and sensuality of our practical actions, in encounters with others and in the ways that our bodies are responsive to the things of our world and to the situations and relations in which we find ourselves. Phenomenology of practice is an ethical corrective of the technological and calculative modalities of contemporary life. It finds its source and impetus in practical phenomenologies of reading and writing that open up possibilities for creating formative relations between being and acting, self and other, interiorities and exteriorities, between who we are and how we act.

Phenomenological Anthropology in The Netherlands and Flanders (by Bas Levering & Max Van Manen)

Phenomenology World-Wide., 2002

One of the first to apply phenomenological method in the Netherlands was the Philosopher and ling... more One of the first to apply phenomenological method in the Netherlands was the Philosopher and linguist Hendrick J. Pos (1898-1955). He invited Husserl in 1928 to give the so-called Amsterdamer Vortrage (Amsterdam Lectures) on phenomenological psychology. But it was not until after World War II that phenomenology became more deeply established in Dutch philosophy. The primary sway of influence now came from the south, from France. Heidegger's influence was important, but it was espe- cially the French existentialists such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Gabriel Marcel, Emmanuel Levinas, and in particular Maurice Merleau-Ponty who dominated the philosophical scene in the Netherlands and Flanders.

Care-as-Worry, or “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”

Qualitative Health Research, 2002

Care or caring is one of the central concepts in North American health science. Yet, experiential... more Care or caring is one of the central concepts in North American health science. Yet, experiential accounts of caring show dimensions of meaning that have received little attention in the literature. The author compares the meanings of the terms care and caring with their counterparts in other languages. He explores the significance of care-as-worry embedded in lived relations of caring, and relates these concepts to ethical considerations surrounding health care. It is because of this felt "care-as-worry" that the life of care may be experienced as a complex moral-emotional relation of responsibility.

Writing in the Dark — chapter 16

Routledge, 2002

I am sitting at my keyboard I stare out of the window into the dark winter evening, I barely noti... more I am sitting at my keyboard I stare out of the window into the dark winter evening, I barely notice the lights of the cars that are crossing the bridge spanning the banks of the river. In fact, I am scarcely aware that I am looking out of the window, until casually my son walks into the room. "Hi, what are you doing?" he queries. Awoken, as if from a daydream, I say, "I am writing." "Oh no, you aren't. You are just looking out of the window." He laughs, teasingly, and leaves. It is true. I was staring out of the window. And yet, while I may have been observing the traffic, following some cars or trucks with my eyes, I did not really see them. My thoughts were elsewhere. More accurately: I was elsewhere. Where? One way to say it is that I was caught up in the words that I was writing, silently chewing them and then spitting them onto the keyboard, onto the computer screen. But is this writing? Am I writing? Well, yes and no. I am producing word, a text even. Yet, these are just words. This is not really writing. So, my son was right. But when could I say that I am actually writing? I wonder if there is such moment that I can say: “Now. Now I am writing?”

From Meaning to Method

Qualitative Health Research, 1996

Sleep or sleeplessness. The philosopher Gadamer is struck by the mystery of the phenomenon of sle... more Sleep or sleeplessness. The philosopher Gadamer is struck by the mystery of the phenomenon of sleep: This is one of the greatest enigmas we experience in our lives. Think of the deepness of sleep, of sudden awakening and the loss of all sense of time so that we do not know if we have slept for a couple of hours or the whole night. These are extraordinary things. The ability to fall asleep is one of the most inspired discoveries of nature, this gradual drifting away so that one can never actually say, “Now I am sleeping.” What sensitivity to expressive language is necessary to do a phenomenology of sleep? This paper discusses features of vocative phenomenological texts such as lived thoroughness, nearness, intensification, epiphany, and related aspects of the expressibility of language. When we turn from thematic meaning to expressive meaning then the question we ask turns from “what does the text speak about?” to “how does the text speak?” Bachelard, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Wittgenstein in different ways have employed the idea of mantic meaning to refer to that imagery of language that can bring about, in the reader, a phenomenological reverberation. The formative power of phenomenological texts lies precisely in this resonance that the word can effect. Research literature has focused primarily on the thematic aspects of human science method. Here some guiding principles of human science method will be explored that aim at strengthening the expressive-mantic dimension of phenomenology.

Drafts by Max van Manen

The pedagogy of recognition (2001)

The word recognition describes a situation wherein two relations are experienced as generative: t... more The word recognition describes a situation wherein two relations are experienced as generative: the relation to other and the relation to self—moreover, these two relations interact in such a way that they are formative of identity, subjectivity, consciousness, self-awareness, emancipation of self, or generally the becoming of a person.

Meaning-Giving Methods in Phenomenological Research and Writing Second edition

Phenomenology of Practice, 2023

Max van Manen offers an extensively updated and enlarged edition of Phenomenology of Practice: Me... more

Classic Writings Doing Phen & Conversation & Humor

Classic Writings Doing Phen & Conversation & Humor , 2021

Classic Writings for a Phenomenology of Practice features examples of newly translated classic ph... more Classic Writings for a Phenomenology of Practice features examples of newly translated classic phenomenological texts that have been largely forgotten or misunderstood. The writings are unique in that they speak to the practice of doing phenomenological research for the purpose of gaining insights and better understandings regarding aspects of professional practice and ordinary life phenomena and events. Phenomenology does not have to be impenetrable philosophy, dealing with tedious technical issues. Instead, phenomenology may offer relevance, value, and enduring allure to readers and researchers who are engaged with the quotidian life experiences and events of students, patients, clients, friends, and other individuals. This phenomenological approach aims to stay as close as possible to the ordinary events of everyday life: seeing the first smile of a child, feeling compulsive, being humorous, having a conversation, experiencing childhood secrecy, encountering new things-topics that span a manifold of life experiences. In this collection of classic phenomenological writings, each author is thoughtfully introduced, and each text is followed by a conversational descant: a reflection on the phenomenological reflection. The presentation of these classic writings and their reflections aims to show us what it means to do phenomenology directly on the phenomena that we live-thus asking us to be attentive to the fascinating varieties and subtleties of primal lived experiences and consciousness in all its remarkable complexities. This book is relevant for scholars and students who are interested in human science research and the origins and practices of the phenomenological method.

Rebuttal to Zahavi: Doing Phenomenology on the Things

Qualitative Health Research, 2019

Urging Dan Zahavi not to befuddle the basics, this rebuttal responds to the article “Getting it q... more Urging Dan Zahavi not to befuddle the basics, this rebuttal responds to the article “Getting it quite wrong” (published in this journal issue of QHR). My work is described as “amassing experiential descriptions,” simply aiming to “reproduce the original experience unaltered,” naively claiming “that the fundamental question of phenomenology is to understand what it is like to have this or that experience” and other such injudicious points. I take issue with these claims. Husserl is quoted as supportively stating that “phenomenology was from the beginning never supposed to be anything except the path to a radically genuine ‘strictly scientific metaphysics.’” I will show with textual examples that the presented view of phenomenology is too limited and one sided.

Serendipitous Insights and Kairos Playfulness

Qualitative Inquiry, 2018

Phenomenology, peekaboo, and play are notions that may not tempt the reader to take a paper very ... more Phenomenology, peekaboo, and play are notions that may not tempt the reader to take a paper very seriously. Phenomenology is a philosophical form of qualitative research that is guided more often by the fortuitous serendipity of contemplative insights than by the rationality of reproducible social science procedures. Peekaboo is an infant game of the eyes that hardly seems worth addressing in a self-respectful research journal, and the topic of play is equally suspect to scientists for whom the cheerful idleness of play is the opposite of the seriousness and purposiveness of work or labor. However, here I will propose that (a) peekaboo may give us inceptual insights into the phenomenon of eye contact; (b) idle play is not just a counter concept of seriousness and work, but a phenomenon in its own right; (3) phenomenology is a serendipitous form of research that is philosophic and may give us compelling insights into the lived meanings of quotidian experiences in our lives, and (d) the mythological figure of Kairos speaks to the enigma of our humanness and provides an understanding of time as the discontinuous instant of the now and of the phenomenological method as intuitive grasping of meaning. Phenomenological writing is rarely easy and yet it can be highly satisfying in its results. I aim to show that meaningful insights are gained through a patient and attentively alert surrender to Kairos time and serendipitous moments.

Rebuttal Rejoinder about interpretive phenomenology and psychology

Qualitative Health Research, 2018

Different forms of inquiry make unique contributions to our understanding of professional practic... more Different forms of inquiry make unique contributions to our understanding of professional practices of psychology, education, pedagogy, nursing, medicine, and other health sciences. So, it should be worthwhile to understand the nature of these potential contributions and their methods. But what if some methods are misnamed, misconstrued, or misdirected? Does it matter? Perhaps or perhaps only academically. I am happy to engage in this rejoinder with Jonathan Smith—certainly there is merit in dialogue and discussions surrounding our understandings of phenomenology as a method for human science research. In addition, I feel collegial amity for Jonathan and his interest in phenomenology and willingness to engage in conversation. In this rejoinder, I will express my views of IPA and Jonathan’s rebuttal in some brief detail and with considered care.

Phenomenology and Meaning Attribution

The Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, 2017

Attribution theory studies the psychological processes that influence people’s perceptions of mea... more Attribution theory studies the psychological processes that influence people’s perceptions of meaning. But John Paley’s employment of meaning attribution, throughout his book, produces a huge heap of screeds that he accumulates in his aim to criticize what he perceives are faulty uses of phenomenological methods. For the sake of clarification, I will show that meaning attribution is an inappropriate tool and it has nothing to do with phenomenological method. I will also show that John Paley misapprehends the basic philosophical nature of phenomenological meaning and inquiry.

Phenomenology in Its Original Sense

Qualitative Health Research, 2017

What distinguishes phenomenology in its original sense? My intent is to focus on the project and ... more What distinguishes phenomenology in its original sense? My intent is to focus on the project and methodology of phenomenology in a manner that is not overly technical and that may help others to further elaborate on or question the singular features that make phenomenology into a unique qualitative form of inquiry. I pay special attention to the notion of “lived” in the phenomenological term “lived experience” to demonstrate its critical role and significance for understanding phenomenological reflection, meaning, analysis, and insights. I also attend to the kind of experiential material that is needed to focus on a genuine phenomenological question that should guide any specific research project. Heidegger, van den Berg, and Marion provide some poignant exemplars of the use of narrative “examples” in phenomenological explorations of the phenomena of “boredom,” “conversation,” and “the meaningful look in eye-contact.” Only what is given or what gives itself in lived experience (or conscious awareness) are proper phenomenological “data” or “givens,” but these givens are not to be confused with data material that can be coded, sorted, abstracted, and accordingly analyzed in some “systematic” manner. The latter approach to experiential research may be appropriate and worthwhile for various types of qualitative inquiry but not for phenomenology in its original sense. Finally, I use the mythical figure of Kairos to show that the famous phenomenological couplet of the epoché-reduction aims for phenomenological insights that require experiential analysis and attentive (but serendipitous) methodical inquiry practices.

Pedagogical Tact: Knowing What to Do When You Don't Know What to Do (chapter 1)

Routledge, 2015

Pedagogical Tact describes how teacher-student relations possess an improvisational and ethical c... more Pedagogical Tact describes how teacher-student relations possess an improvisational and ethical character. The daily realities of educators, parents, and childcare specialists are pedagogically conditioned by sensitive insights, active thoughtfulness, and the creative ability to act caringly and appropriately in the immediacy of the moment. Internationally known educator Max van Manen shows through recognizable examples and evocative stories how good teaching is driven by the phenomenology of pedagogy. His book-refocuses educators and others away from an emphasis on instrumental skills and technocratic programs toward the need for pedagogical tact;-describes how pedagogical actions have latent effects that will influence children throughout their lives;-shows how our actions with young people have pedagogically ethical and moral significance;-gives educators back their original vocational motivation and inspiration.

The Call of Pedagogy as the Call of Contact

Phenomenology and Practice, 2014

We recognize pedagogical experiences because we have received the attentive care and worries of a... more We recognize pedagogical experiences because we have received the attentive care and worries of a mother, a father, a teacher, a grandparent, or some other adult who at various times played a formative part in our young lives. Without the pedagogical support from these adults, we simply could not and would not be alive today, or, for better or worse, we would not be who we are.

Phenomenology of Practice — chapter 1

Routledge, 2014

Max van Manen offers an extensive exploration of phenomenological traditions and methods for the ... more Max van Manen offers an extensive exploration of phenomenological traditions and methods for the human sciences. It is his first comprehensive statement of phenomenological thought and research in over a decade. Phenomenology of practice refers to the meaning and practice of phenomenology in professional contexts such as psychology, education, and health care, as well as to the practice of phenomenological methods in contexts of everyday living. Van Manen presents a detailed description of key phenomenological ideas as they have evolved over the past century; he then thoughtfully works through the methodological issues of phenomenological reflection, empirical methods, and writing that a phenomenology of practice offers to the researcher. Van Manen’s comprehensive work will be of great interest to all concerned with the interrelationship between being and acting in human sciences research and in everyday life.ce

Page Numbers: 412

Publication Date: 2014

Publication Name: Phenomenology of Practice: Meaning-Giving Methods in Phenomenological Research and Writing, 1st Edition

Phenomenology of Practice — chapter 13: Phenomenological Writing

Routledge , 2014

Max van Manen offers an extensive exploration of phenomenological traditions and methods for the ... more Max van Manen offers an extensive exploration of phenomenological traditions and methods for the human sciences. It is his first comprehensive statement of phenomenological thought and research in over a decade. Phenomenology of practice refers to the meaning and practice of phenomenology in professional contexts such as psychology, education, and health care, as well as to the practice of phenomenological methods in contexts of everyday living. Van Manen presents a detailed description of key phenomenological ideas as they have evolved over the past century; he then thoughtfully works through the methodological issues of phenomenological reflection, empirical methods, and writing that a phenomenology of practice offers to the researcher. Van Manen’s comprehensive work will be of great interest to all concerned with the interrelationship between being and acting in human sciences research and in everyday life.ce

The Pedagogy of MomusTechnologies: Facebook, Privacy, and Online Intimacy

Qualitative Health Research, 2010

Through cable and wireless connections at home and at work, through Wi-Fi networks and wireless s... more Through cable and wireless connections at home and at work, through Wi-Fi networks and wireless spots in hotels, coffee shops, and town squares, we are indeed connected to each other. But what is the phenomenology of this connection? Technologies of expression such as Facebook, MySpace,Twitter, and other social networking technologies increasingly become like Momus windows of Greek mythology, revealing one’s innermost thoughts for all to see.They give access to what used to be personal, secret, and hidden in the lives of its users, especially the young. In this article I explore the pedagogy of Momus effects of social networking technologies in the way they may alter young people’s experience of privacy, secrecy, solitude, and intimacy. In addition, I examine the forms of contact afforded by instant messaging and texting on wireless mobile technologies such as the cell phone (and its wireless hybrids) for the way young people are and stay in touch with each other, and how intimacies and inner lives are attended to.

La fenomenología del Espacio en la escritura online

Educational Philosophy and Theory, 2008

En este artículo exploramos el fenómeno de la escritura en línea. Nos preguntamos: '¿Está afectad... more En este artículo exploramos el fenómeno de la escritura en línea. Nos preguntamos: '¿Está afectada la escritura por medio de las tecnologías en línea de una manera que difiera significativamente de las tecnologías más antiguas de la pluma en el papel, la máquina de escribir o incluso el procesador de textos en un entorno fuera de línea?' en una complejidad espacial de la experiencia física, temporal, imaginaria y virtual: el espacio de escritura, el espacio del texto, el ciberespacio, etc. A veces, estos pueden proporcionar un camino a una comprensión literaria de los fenómenos humanos. Proponemos que el examen de estas características fenomenológicas de la escritura en línea puede contribuir a una comprensión más pedagógicamente sensible de las experiencias de los seminarios en línea, la enseñanza y el aprendizaje.

In this paper we explore the phenomenon of writing online. We ask, ‘Is writing by means of online technologies affected in a manner that differs significantly from the older technologies of pen on paper, typewriter, or even the word processor in an off-line environment?’ In writing online, the author is engaged in a spatial complexity of physical, temporal, imaginal, and virtual experience: the writing space, the space of the text, cyberspace, etc. At times, these may provide a conduit to a writerly understanding of human phenomena. We propose that an examination of the phenomenological features of online writing may contribute to a more pedagogically sensitive understanding of the experiences of online seminars, teaching and learning.

Practical-Ethical Nature of Pedagogy.

Routledge, 2007

Sometimes we don’t want to know that we don’t want to know something. And yet, we may know it. Sa... more Sometimes we don’t want to know that we don’t want to know something. And yet, we may know it. Sartre called this bad faith, lying to oneself. We act as if we have no choice, but, in actuality, we do. A common example is the idea of the hidden curriculum. We teach in a manner that might make us uneasy, if only we would admit to ourselves that what we do contributes to oppressive or repressive structures of the curriculum that we enact in our practices. The premise of the hidden curriculum is that we have been blinded by the prevailing ideology of our profession, our social class, or our culture.

Phenomenology of Practice

Phenomenology & Practice, 2007

Phenomenology of practice is formative of sensitive practice, issuing from the pathic power of ph... more Phenomenology of practice is formative of sensitive practice, issuing from the pathic power of phenomenological reflections. Pathic knowing inheres in the sense and sensuality of our practical actions, in encounters with others and in the ways that our bodies are responsive to the things of our world and to the situations and relations in which we find ourselves. Phenomenology of practice is an ethical corrective of the technological and calculative modalities of contemporary life. It finds its source and impetus in practical phenomenologies of reading and writing that open up possibilities for creating formative relations between being and acting, self and other, interiorities and exteriorities, between who we are and how we act.

Phenomenological Anthropology in The Netherlands and Flanders (by Bas Levering & Max Van Manen)

Phenomenology World-Wide., 2002

One of the first to apply phenomenological method in the Netherlands was the Philosopher and ling... more One of the first to apply phenomenological method in the Netherlands was the Philosopher and linguist Hendrick J. Pos (1898-1955). He invited Husserl in 1928 to give the so-called Amsterdamer Vortrage (Amsterdam Lectures) on phenomenological psychology. But it was not until after World War II that phenomenology became more deeply established in Dutch philosophy. The primary sway of influence now came from the south, from France. Heidegger's influence was important, but it was espe- cially the French existentialists such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Gabriel Marcel, Emmanuel Levinas, and in particular Maurice Merleau-Ponty who dominated the philosophical scene in the Netherlands and Flanders.

Care-as-Worry, or “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”

Qualitative Health Research, 2002

Care or caring is one of the central concepts in North American health science. Yet, experiential... more Care or caring is one of the central concepts in North American health science. Yet, experiential accounts of caring show dimensions of meaning that have received little attention in the literature. The author compares the meanings of the terms care and caring with their counterparts in other languages. He explores the significance of care-as-worry embedded in lived relations of caring, and relates these concepts to ethical considerations surrounding health care. It is because of this felt "care-as-worry" that the life of care may be experienced as a complex moral-emotional relation of responsibility.

Writing in the Dark — chapter 16

Routledge, 2002

I am sitting at my keyboard I stare out of the window into the dark winter evening, I barely noti... more I am sitting at my keyboard I stare out of the window into the dark winter evening, I barely notice the lights of the cars that are crossing the bridge spanning the banks of the river. In fact, I am scarcely aware that I am looking out of the window, until casually my son walks into the room. "Hi, what are you doing?" he queries. Awoken, as if from a daydream, I say, "I am writing." "Oh no, you aren't. You are just looking out of the window." He laughs, teasingly, and leaves. It is true. I was staring out of the window. And yet, while I may have been observing the traffic, following some cars or trucks with my eyes, I did not really see them. My thoughts were elsewhere. More accurately: I was elsewhere. Where? One way to say it is that I was caught up in the words that I was writing, silently chewing them and then spitting them onto the keyboard, onto the computer screen. But is this writing? Am I writing? Well, yes and no. I am producing word, a text even. Yet, these are just words. This is not really writing. So, my son was right. But when could I say that I am actually writing? I wonder if there is such moment that I can say: “Now. Now I am writing?”

From Meaning to Method

Qualitative Health Research, 1996

Sleep or sleeplessness. The philosopher Gadamer is struck by the mystery of the phenomenon of sle... more Sleep or sleeplessness. The philosopher Gadamer is struck by the mystery of the phenomenon of sleep: This is one of the greatest enigmas we experience in our lives. Think of the deepness of sleep, of sudden awakening and the loss of all sense of time so that we do not know if we have slept for a couple of hours or the whole night. These are extraordinary things. The ability to fall asleep is one of the most inspired discoveries of nature, this gradual drifting away so that one can never actually say, “Now I am sleeping.” What sensitivity to expressive language is necessary to do a phenomenology of sleep? This paper discusses features of vocative phenomenological texts such as lived thoroughness, nearness, intensification, epiphany, and related aspects of the expressibility of language. When we turn from thematic meaning to expressive meaning then the question we ask turns from “what does the text speak about?” to “how does the text speak?” Bachelard, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Wittgenstein in different ways have employed the idea of mantic meaning to refer to that imagery of language that can bring about, in the reader, a phenomenological reverberation. The formative power of phenomenological texts lies precisely in this resonance that the word can effect. Research literature has focused primarily on the thematic aspects of human science method. Here some guiding principles of human science method will be explored that aim at strengthening the expressive-mantic dimension of phenomenology.

The pedagogy of recognition (2001)

The word recognition describes a situation wherein two relations are experienced as generative: t... more The word recognition describes a situation wherein two relations are experienced as generative: the relation to other and the relation to self—moreover, these two relations interact in such a way that they are formative of identity, subjectivity, consciousness, self-awareness, emancipation of self, or generally the becoming of a person.

CLASSIC WRITINGS FOR A PHENOMENOLOGY OF PRACTICE

The Conversation, 2021

Classic Writings for a Phenomenology of Practice features examples of newly translated classic ph... more Classic Writings for a Phenomenology of Practice features examples of newly translated classic phenomenological texts that speak to the practice of doing phenomenological research for the purpose of gaining insights and better understandings regarding aspects of professional practice and ordinary life phenomena and events.