reduction

Phenomenology is a philosophical movement that began in the early 20th century. Its main goal is to directly investigate and describe phenomena as they are consciously experienced, setting aside theories about their causes and any unexamined assumptions.1

The core method of phenomenology is called "reduction." This involves bracketing the existence of the world not to doubt it, but because the focus is on how knowledge of the world arises in consciousness, rather than the world itself. This process shifts attention from objects to consciousness itself. A further step, the "eidetic reduction," aims to grasp the essential, unchanging structures of consciousness. Finally, the "transcendental reduction" leads to an understanding of consciousness as the foundation for all meaning.2