Reddit reviews Introduction to Phenomenology

Ah, look man, don't go for the Dummies Guides! Reducing philosophy to any form of expression not done by the author is always a dangerous business, and is by no means the making of a good education. With that said, there are introduction texts that can appreciate the fact that you're a layman. Those are the ones you're going to want.

Here is one for phenomenology.

I've been lurking on reddit for a few months now but after reading this question I had to respond :)

For the last year I've been getting really into phenomenology. Not only is it a fun thing to do as its own end, but I've been told it is key to understanding a considerable portion of continental philosophy. I find myself doing Husserlian or Heideggarian phenomenology whenever I'm bored by myself, watching TV, or with friends.

(Note: I'm confused as to why platochronic thinks Heidegger doesn't do phenomenology. Sure it isn't phenomenology in the traditional, Cartesian sense, and he does reformulate its definition in the first Intro to B&T, but his re-casting of phenomenology from Husserlian epistemology into an ontology really paved the way for Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, and Derrida to do an ontological phenomenology. To say Heidegger's philosophy isn't phenomenological would be like saying only Husserl's is authentic.)

But, DReicht, the best place to start probably isn't Sartre's Being and Nothingness...or anything by Sartre for that matter. In order to not only have a surface understanding of B&N, you pretty much have to have an understanding of Husserl and Heidegger's Being & Time (of which Sartre based his title off of.) B&T is legendarily difficult; I've been spending the last half year intensely stomaching the first 250 pages of that mammoth. Sartre's other literary works are decent examples of what he tried to uncover in B&N, but are very hard and dry without knowing the source material. His shorter works are more like popular existential manifestos, and not a good introduction to Phenomenology. If you like Sartre (I love him,) you won't get the full dimensions of his philosophy without knowing his predecessors.

Husserl is definitely the best place to start. He's the origin of the movement, and It's usually best to start at the beginning. He's also the most Cartesian, I think, and this resonates with most western audiences right now. But, his language is a bit archaic, dry, and inconsistent. This is the best book I've come across. Robert Sokolowski is concise in his explanations and clear in his definitions. His 'Husserlian Meditations' is also excellent. If the 25$ is too much, just rent it from a library.

Cheers!

On the topic of secondary sources, check out http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Phenomenology-Robert-Sokolowski/dp/0521667925