Phenomenology, an early twentieth-century humanist philosophy inaugura

Question

Phenomenology, an early twentieth-century humanist philosophy inaugurated by Edmund Husserl, is the explicit and rigorous examination and description of consciousness. In the early 1980s, scholars of theater and performance began to employ analysis informed by phenomenology in their writing. These scholars found that phenomenology allowed them to describe their encounters with the performance event in a way unencumbered by the language-centered critical modes of psychoanalysis and deconstruction. Accordingly, phenomenological criticism asserted that a more immediate, visceral experience could be conveyed by suspending the "haze of secondary associations" that often mediates between the audience and the performance object.
 
Critics of this approach have pointed out that Husserl and other phenomenologists naïvely thought that language was a transparent system that reflected reality, though this belief has been strongly discredited by linguists and deconstructionist philosophers. This means, they argue, that even if phenomenology gives access to an encounter with the "essence" of a given art object, this encounter could never be conveyed to others in speech or writing without distortion or filtration of meaning. In response to this criticism, theater and performance scholars have adapted their methodology, citing later phenomenologists like Maurice Merleau-Ponty, whose work focuses on the importance of the body in forming consciousness, and disavowing the reductive formulations of Husserl.    1 
 1. Which of the following is implied by the author?

A. Phenomenology is a critical approach created by Edmund Husserl in the 1980s.
B. Linguistically minded critical approaches are thought by some scholars to preclude the description of a visceral encounter with a performance event.
C. Phenomenological critics have responded to the critiques of linguists and deconstructionist philosophers by disavowing phenomenology as a practice.
D. Linguists and deconstructionist philosophers have shown how language transparently reflects the real world.
E. Phenomenology is necessarily naïve concerning the way that language mediates communication.

2 
 2. According to the passage, each of the following is true of phenomenology EXCEPT:

A. It is a philosophy that was created decades before it was applied to theater and performance scholarship.
B. It has been considered a way to achieve a direct and immediate encounter with a performance event.
C. Its employment in performance scholarship has prompted some to question whether it can overcomethe complexities of language.
D. It involves cutting through a "haze of secondary associations" in order to access the essence of a performance event.
E. It has been employed to point out the way that language mediates a "haze of secondary associations."

parthoupadhyay17 · Answer

Here is a simple summary of the above passage-

Phenomenology is a philosophy started by Edmund Husserl in the early 20th century that focuses on studying and describing human consciousness. In the 1980s, theater and performance scholars began using phenomenology to analyze performances. They found it useful because it allowed them to discuss their direct experiences of performances without relying on complex, language-based theories like psychoanalysis or deconstruction.

However, some critics argue that phenomenology, particularly Husserl’s version, wrongly assumed that language can perfectly reflect reality. They believe this means any description of an artistic experience will always be somewhat distorted. To address this, scholars have adapted their approach by incorporating ideas from later phenomenologists like Maurice Merleau-Ponty, who emphasized the role of the body in shaping consciousness.

bestreturn · Answer

Any explanations for these questions ?

Priyank1905 · Answer

The passage did felt a bit confusing and complex.

1. Which of the following is implied by the author?

A. Phenomenology is a critical approach created by Edmund Husserl in the 1980s. 
 B. Linguistically minded critical approaches are thought by some scholars to preclude the description of a visceral encounter with a performance event. 
 C. Phenomenological critics have responded to the critiques of linguists and deconstructionist philosophers by disavowing phenomenology as a practice. 
 D. Linguists and deconstructionist philosophers have shown how language transparently reflects the real world. 
 E. Phenomenology is necessarily naïve concerning the way that language mediates communication.

Ans: B - The author tries to convey that Linguistic minded people does not accept that language can be a transparent system that reflects reality rather.

2. According to the passage, each of the following is true of phenomenology EXCEPT:

A. It is a philosophy that was created decades before it was applied to theater and performance scholarship.
B. It has been considered a way to achieve a direct and immediate encounter with a performance event.
C. Its employment in performance scholarship has prompted some to question whether it can overcomethe complexities of language.
D. It involves cutting through a "haze of secondary associations" in order to access the essence of a performance event.
E. It has been employed to point out the way that language mediates a "haze of secondary associations."

Ans: E - The passage doesn't point out that language mediates a "haze of secondary associations", instead it opposes it.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

1. Which of the following is implied by the author?

Phenomenology began with Husserl in the early 20th century. 
 In the early 1980s, theater/performance scholars started using it because they felt psychoanalysis and deconstruction were too language-centered and got in the way of describing a direct, visceral experience. 
 Critics of phenomenology said Husserl treated language as transparent, which linguists and deconstructionists have discredited. 
 Theater scholars responded by adapting their method, using later phenomenologists like Merleau-Ponty and moving away from Husserl’s reductive ideas.

A.  Phenomenology was not created in the 1980s; it was used then in theater studies, but began earlier with Husserl.

B.  The passage says scholars turned to phenomenology because language-centered modes (psychoanalysis, deconstruction) encumbered description of visceral experience. That implies some scholars think these approaches preclude describing such an encounter.

C.  They didn’t disavow phenomenology; they adapted it using Merleau-Ponty and disavowed Husserl’s reductive formulations only.

D.  Linguists and deconstructionists have discredited, not supported, the idea that language transparently reflects reality.

E.  Phenomenology is not necessarily naïve about language; later phenomenologists addressed the body and may have different views.

Answer: B

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

2. According to the passage, each of the following is true of phenomenology EXCEPT:

Remember this is an  EXCEPT  question so we have to find something which is not approved by the passage.

A.  True! created early 20th century, applied in theater in 1980s hence decades before.

B.  True! scholars believed it allowed a more immediate, visceral experience.

C.  True! critics said language is not transparent, so conveying the experience without distortion is impossible; that’s questioning whether it can overcome language complexities.

D.  True! passage says suspending the  “haze of secondary associations”  to access essence.

E.   The passage says phenomenology tries  to suspend  that haze, not to  point out  that language mediates it. In fact, the haze is  “secondary associations”  from language-centered theories, but the passage doesn’t say phenomenology’s role is to point out language’s mediating role. So  E  is not stated in the passage as something phenomenology has been employed to do.

Answer: E

Phenomenology, an early twentieth-century humanist philosophy inaugura

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Phenomenology, an early twentieth-century humanist philosophy inaugura

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