Rikka Isabel C. Cruz Prof.

John Mervin
Embate

2020-66233 Introduction to Communication Theory (DEVC

101)

The phenomenological tradition of communication inquiry investigates the interpretation

of human experience depending on a person's point of view in order to comprehend their own
experiences as well as others’. It also aims to analyze interaction to understand relationships
and provide guiding principles as we go about our daily lives. This tradition is the most
interpretive tradition of communication inquiry because it is based on Edmund Husserl's
subjective idealism, which asserts that our existence is guided solely by our minds and
perceptions, with no concept of materialism.

This tradition of communication of inquiry presents four theories to aid our understanding
of our experiences. Edmund Husserl’s Classical Phenomenology for instance aims to interpret
human experience as the world unfolds in front of us. It puts premium on our experiences of the
world rather than our experiences of the material world based on our standpoints. However, for
the world to reveal itself to us, we have to clear our minds from biases that can cloud our
feelings and judgment. Martin Heidegger though, a former student of Husserl, challenged his
mentor’s view on phenomenology in his own Interpretive Phenomenology asserting that it was
predominantly descriptive. He focused on attempting to explain experience by delving into the
meaning of “being in the world” through introducing the ontological concept of Dasein or “There-
Being”. It posits that our existence in the world and the world itself are inextricably linked
because our existence is already inherent in it. Furthermore, the Phenomenology of
Perception of Maurice Jean Jacques Merleau-Ponty claims that our body is the determining
factor in our experience of the world, which continuously reveals itself to us through our senses.
This means that our understanding of the world is based on our first-hand, embodied
experience with it. On the other hand, Martin Buber’s I-Thou and I-It relationship focuses more
on the relationship of two beings rather than the entities involved. It holds that relationships
should be based on equal value for yourself and the other so both will not lose their identities in
the encounter. Therefore, the I-Thou and I-It relationship should not be viewed as opposites but
as polar possibilities because both have influences over the other. 

Seeing the world through the lenses of these theories, I cannot help but look back at the
encounters I have made with other people during my time as an outreach volunteer and a
campus journalist. There was this one time when we went around the city to look for possible
beneficiaries for our annual “Alay sa Belen” program where every class in our school adopt
families and provide whatever we can to support them.  One of my classmates suggested that
we check the area under the Calao Bridge here in Santiago City, Isabela to see the living
condition of the informal settlers there. However, another one of my classmates immediately
objected to the idea, arguing that the Badjao community living there were “known” to be thieves.
Of course, most of us hesitated at first, but some argued later on that that was the essence of
the program, to give second chances to those who have been mistreated in life. When we got
there, the people looked at us like we were foreigners ready to invade their community but when
we were finally able to talk with one of the elders and tell her of our cause, she became instantly
teary-eyed. We found out that it was actually the first time that someone had willingly gone to
their community and offered help. They said that even the LGU refused to hear their cries of
help due to their “illegal stay in the area” but they believed it was all just because of bigotry. The
pre-conceived notion about their community being a “den of thieves” were all because of the
way they live as beggars. 

Connecting it to Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Perception, the mere act of

listening to their stories empathetically and understanding their grassroots was me embodying
their experiences. That encounter with them also allowed us to conduct a 1-day program for all
the children, elders, and our class to enjoy. We were able to share monetary assistance and a
simple business plan that should be enough to provide for some families. Those acts for me
were not accomplishing tasks for myself but mostly empowering and valuing people the way
they deserve to be—echoing Buber’s I-thou relationship. Stories like these serve as an eye-
opener for me, in fact, they are what inspired me to take up Development Communication. And
as a There-Being, pursuing this program is my way of valuing their experiences. I am blaming
the system that refuses to help the marginalized but at the same time, I see their stories of
struggles as a motivation to strive and act on them.  Furthermore, I also acknowledge that I
have a different response to these encounters from my classmates because maybe, we had a
different perception. I cannot speak for the experiences of my peers, but based on my
observation, we all took it as a way of seeing the world differently. For instance, the person who
objected to the idea of going to the community later shared in the class that he was glad that he
went because he cannot imagine having been awoken of the truth if he did otherwise. In the
end, I realized that we are all beings of the world, experiencing it the way it wants to be
experienced but at the end of the day, it is in our own faculties where we reflect and internalize
the real messages of these experiences, relationships, and encounters. Maybe that is what the
concept of embodiment and Dasein wants us to realize, that experiences were made to be
internalized for us to embody and understand the differences in our social location and reflect
on our perceptions of the world.

Attached are some photos taken during the program:

References:

Horrigan-Kelly, M., Millar, M. & Dowling, M. (2016). Understanding the key tenets of Heidegger’s
philosophy for interpretive phenomenological research. International Journal of
Qualitative Methods, January-December 2016: 1-8, DOI: 10.1177/1609406916680634.

Husserl, E. (2002). Ideas: General introduction to pure phenomenology (trans. by W.R. Boyce
Gibson). London and New York: Routledge.

Scott, S. (n.d.). Martin Buber. In Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from

https://iep.utm.edu/buber/#SH2b