Violence: Phenomenology

Phenomenological studies of violence, like psychological, criminological, or sociological studies, can focus on the violator as well as the violated. The focus of phenomenology applied to studies of violence is understanding the meaning of the lived experiences, or the “lifeworlds,” of the individuals.

Phenomenological studies are not concerned with determining cause-effect relations, testing hypotheses, measuring experience, or developing theoretical explanations of behavior. Rather, they rigorously follow a methodology aimed at exploring in minute detail how violators experience being violent or how victims experience being violated. Phenomenological concepts are used to interpret narratives provided by violators or victims. The purpose of this approach is to gain rich insight into a level of experience that is assumed, but not explored, in traditional human science inquiries. Although we might ...