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Phenomenology and Hermeneutics

Code: 100300
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Philosophy OB 3

Contact lecturer

Name :
Jesús Adrian Escudero
Email :
jesus.adrian@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites.

Objectives

This course provides an introduction to phenomenology and hermeneutics, two fundamental philosophical currents of the twentieth century whose influence remains significant in twenty-first-century thought.

Main objectives:

  1. Understand the foundations of phenomenology and hermeneutics.

  2. Analyse key philosophical texts and develop critical interpretive skills.

  3. Relate phenomenological and hermeneutic theories to other fields of knowledge.

  4. Foster reflection on human experience and meaning.

Learning outcomes

  • CM13 (Demonstrate intellectual autonomy, openness to dissent, and commitment to epistemic and social justice.) Demonstrate intellectual autonomy, openness to dissent, and commitment to epistemic and social justice.
  • CM14 (Develop innovative proposals in which the role of philosophy in social and cultural transformation is recognised through ethical positioning in the face of various inequalities, as well as discrimination in the environment on the basis of gender, race or class.) Develop innovative proposals in which the role of philosophy in social and cultural transformation is recognised through ethical positioning in the face of various inequalities, as well as discrimination in the environment on the basis of gender, race or class.
  • CM15 (Contrast through dialogue different contemporary philosophical currents, favoring interdisciplinary and inclusive reflection.) Contrast through dialogue different contemporary philosophical currents, favoring interdisciplinary and inclusive reflection.
  • KM14 (Recognise the main contemporary philosophical currents, their historical contexts and their theoretical implications.) Recognise the main contemporary philosophical currents, their historical contexts and their theoretical implications.
  • KM15 (Associate the different conceptions of the subject, language, history, justice and power in contemporary thought.) Associate the different conceptions of the subject, language, history, justice and power in contemporary thought.
  • KM16 (Demonstrate a critical and plural philosophical vision of the contemporary world, aware of its social, political and cultural complexities and attentive to the impact of power relations on the shaping of discourses and identities.) Demonstrate a critical and plural philosophical vision of the contemporary world, aware of its social, political and cultural complexities and attentive to the impact of power relations on the shaping of discourses and identities.
  • KM45 (Identify between the features that define an author's place in the context of a problem and reorganise them into a coherent scheme.) Identify between the features that define an author's place in the context of a problem and reorganise them into a coherent scheme.
  • SM14 (Apply conceptual tools from various contemporary philosophical traditions to address current problems.) Apply conceptual tools from various contemporary philosophical traditions to address current problems.
  • SM15 (Apply a critical and plural philosophical vision of the contemporary world, with an awareness of its social, political and cultural complexities.) Apply a critical and plural philosophical vision of the contemporary world, with an awareness of its social, political and cultural complexities.
  • SM16 (Integrate contributions from different theoretical currents to formulate a grounded social perspective on historicity, language, rationality, oppression and identity.) Integrate contributions from different theoretical currents to formulate a grounded social perspective on historicity, language, rationality, oppression and identity.

Contents

1. Introduction


1.1 Contemporary Trends in Philosophy


1.2 Contemporary Theories of Ipseity


2. Phenomenological Approach


2.1 The Self as Lived Experience (Husserl)


2.2 The Self and Corporality (Merleau-Ponty)


2.3 The Question of Otherness (Sartre and Levinas)


2.4 The Hermeneutic Turn of Phenomenology (Heidegger)


3. Hermeneutic Approach


3.1 Care of the Self and Others (Heidegger)


3.2 The Self as Narrative (Ricœur)


3.3 The Self as Text (Gadamer)


3.4 The Hermeneutics of the Subject (Foucault)


4. Current Applications


4.1 Butler: Phenomenology, Hermeneutics, and Performativity


4.2 Ahmed: Queer Phenomenology


4.3 Phenomenology and Enactivism


4.4 Postphenomenology


Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Text readings 92.5 3.7
Lectures and class discussions 50 2

The subject combines lectures with seminar sessions and class discussion of the main readings of the course. Students actively participate in the analysis of the texts and in the learning process.

 

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Reading report 20% 2.5 0.1 CM13, CM14, CM15
Written test 2 40% 2.5 0.1 KM14, KM15, KM16, KM45, SM14, SM15, SM16
Written test 1 40% 2.5 0.1 KM14, KM15, KM16, KM45, SM14, SM15, SM16

The continuous assessment system consists of:

  1. Two partial exams (80%)
  2. One reading report (20%)

Single assessment

The single assessment will consist of an exam with two parts corresponding to the two blocks (80%) and a written paper of 2000-2500 words (20%) on a topic chosen in agreement with the professor, which must be submitted on the same day as the exam.

Make-up assessment

To participate in the make-up assessment, students must have previously been assessed in a set of activities whose weight corresponds to at least two-thirds of the total grade (CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT) or must have submitted all the scheduled tests (SINGLE ASSESSMENT).

At the time of each assessment activity, the teaching staff will inform students (via Moodle) of the procedure and the date for grade review.

Students will receive the grade “Not assessable” if they have failed to submit more than one-third of the assessment activities.

If a student commits any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade of an assessment event, that assessment will be graded as 0, regardless of any disciplinary process that may be initiated. If multiple irregularities occur in the assessments of the same subject, the final grade for that subject will be 0.

Use of AI

Model 2 - Restricted use: For this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is allowed exclusively in support tasks, such as bibliographic or information search, proofreading or translations.Students will have to clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activity, as well as the link and all the corresponding prompts. Non-transparency of the use of AI in this assessable activity will be considered academic dishonesty and may lead to a partial or total penalty in the grade of the activity, or higher penalties in serious cases.

Additional information regarding assessment:

The Department of Philosophy agreed that the first-semester students would have two periods dedicated to assessment activities and one week during which students could specifically prepare for the exams, in the format that each instructor will specify at the beginning of the course.

Bibliography

Mandatory readings:

Ahmed, Sara. 2006. Queer Phenomenology. Orientations, objects, others. Durham: Duke University Press.

Butler, Judith. 1997. Excitable Speech. A politics of the performative. New York / London: Routledge.

Foucault, Michel. 2005. La hermenéutica del sujeto (1982). Barcelona: Akal.

Gadamer, Hans-Georg. 1977. Verdad y método (1960). Salamanca: Sígueme.

Heidegger, Martin. 2023. Ser y tiempo (1927). Madrid: Trotta.

__.  El concepto de tiempo (1924). Herder, Barcelona.

Husserl, Edmund. 1985. Ideas relativas a una fenomenología pura y una filosofía fenomenológica (1913). Madrid,: Alianza editorial.

__. La crisis de las ciencias europeas (1935). Madrid: Crítica

__. Invitación a la fenomenología. Barcelona:  Paidós Studio.

__. Lecciones de fenomenología de la conciencia interna del tiempo (1905). Madrid: Trotta.

 __. La idea de la fenomenología (1950). Barcelona: Herder.

Ihde, John. 2015. Postfenomenología y Tecnociencia. Barcelona: Plataforma Editorial Sello AG.

Levinas, Emmanuel. 2002. Totalidad e infinito. Ensayo sobre la exterioridad (1961). Salamanca: Ediciones Sígueme.

Merleau-Ponty, Maurice. 1993. Fenomenología de la percepción (1945). Barcelona: Planeta de Agostini.

Ricoeur, Paul. 2003. El conflicto de las interpretaciones. Buenos Aires: F.C.E.

__. Sí mismo como otro (1990). Barcelona: Siglo XXI.

__. Tiempo y narración. III. El tiempo narrado (1985). Madrid: Trota. 

Sartre, Jean-Paul. 2005. El ser y la nada (1943). Madrid: Alianza Editorial.

Additional readings:

García-Baró, Miguel. 2015. Husserl y Gadamer. Fenomenología y hermenéutica. Barcelona: Emse Publishing.

Grondin, Jean. 2008. ¿Qué es la hermenéutica? Barcelona: Herder.

Dilthey, Wilhelm. 200o. «El surgimiento de la hermenéutica» (1900). En Dos escritos sobre hermenéutica. Madrid: Istmo, pp. 21-80.

Moran, Dermot. 2011. Introducción a la fenomenología. Rubí (Barcelona): Anthropos.

Zahavi, Dan. 2003. Husserl's Phenomenology. Standfor: Standfor University Press

Note: A more extensive and detailed bibliography will be presented on the first day of class. Throughout the course sessions, the specific sections of each reading to be studied will be indicated, with the aim of facilitating their understanding and critical analysis.

Software

No special software required

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed