Phenomenological Narrative in the Art of Autobiography: In Theory and Personal Experience

Said Tawfik

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.11

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Phenomenological Narrative in the Art of Autobiography: In Theory and Personal Experience

Said Tawfik

Published in American Journal of Art and Design (Volume 6, Issue 4)

Received: 20 September 2021 Accepted: 28 October 2021 Published: 5 November 2021

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Abstract

The main purpose of this essay is to find out some of the fundamental principles and concepts, which constitute the essence of the art of autobiography as a “phenomenological narrative”. It seeks to recognize the common principles of phenomenology in that art, a recognition that it will clarify in theory and practice. Thus, it phenomenologically investigates the art of autobiography as a practice of phenomenology, i.e., as a phenomenological narrative. The introduction starts from the phenomenological tradition, which asserts the intimate relation between artistic vision and phenomenological approach to phenomena. Accordingly, it seeks to prove that autobiography can also be an art which bears the characteristics of the phenomenological approach, and perhaps more strongly than any other art can bear. In what I call “the art of autobiography”, the narrator practices reflection as an act of consciousness, in order to grasp the meaning of his/her lived experiences In this respect, I can claim that in that form of art, the relation between art and phenomenology is stronger and intensified than in many other narratives. This can be clarified by exploring the main phenomenological concepts, which at work in that form of art, such as reflection, inter-subjectivity and lived experience or the experience of "life world" (Lebenswelt). Along with this reflection, which seeks to grasp intentionally the meaning of the experience of the self, "inter-subjectivity" is another phenomenological aspect of narration, which is intrinsic in the essence of this reflection. It is true that narration in autobiography is concerned with personal experiences, but this does not mean that the narrator here is concerned only with his/ or her own experience apart from the others who can share and endure the same experience, even when this happen on the level of imagination. The concept of personal experience as inter-subjectivity leads us to explore the author manipulation of his memory in respect to time and space, and, in the end, to lived experience itself. In this sense, we can consider the art of autobiography as a way in which phenomenological approach can expresses itself in its endeavor to extend to all of our lived experience of our world.

Published in	American Journal of Art and Design (Volume 6, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.11
Page(s)	112-119
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Phenomenology, Phenomenological Narrative, The Art of Autobiography, Reflection, Inter-subjectivity, Lived Experience, The Subject/The Self, Memory, Time and Space

References

[1]	Alghitany, G. (1996). Khulsat Al Kara (Surreptitiousness of Slumber), first published in Arabic (Cairo: Sharqia’t,), p. 9 and 11).
[2]	Alghitany, G. (2005). Ni’thar Al Maho (Disseminations of abolition), first published in Arabic (Cairo: Al-shurook for publishing), p. 17.
[3]	Di Martino, C. (2016). “For a Genealogy of Selfhood: Starting from Ricoeur”, in Scott Davidson, Marc-Antoine (eds.), Hermeneutics and Phenomenology in Paul Ricoeur (Springer International Publishing), p. 63.
[4]	Husserl, E. (1981). “Phenomenology,” in Husserl’s Shorter Works, ed. Peter McCormick and Fredrick Elliston (University of Notre Dame Press), p. 22. (Originally published in Encyclopedia Britannica).
[5]	Husserl, E. (1931). Ideas: General Introduction to Pure Phenomenology, trans. W. R. Boyce Gibson (London: Allen and Unwin,), p. 200-201.
[6]	Ingarden, R. (1973). The Cognition of literary Work of Art, translated by Ruth Ann Crowley and Kenneth R. Olson (Evanston; Northwestern University Press), p. 8.
[7]	Merleau-Ponty, M. (1964). The Primacy of Perception, translated by James. M. Edie (Northwestern University Press), p. 64 and 65.
[8]	Piguet, J-C. (1990). “Individuality and Universality”, in Analecta Husserliana, Vol. XXIX, p. 58 and 64.
[9]	Rowland, M. (2017). Memory and the Self: Phenomenology, Science and Autobiography (NY: Oxford University Press), p. 85.
[10]	Schmitt, A. (2017). Phenomenology of Autobiography (Rutledge), p. 134.
[11]	Spiegelberg, H. (1996). “How Subjective is Phenomenology?” in Maurice Natanson (ed.): Essays in Phenomenology (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff,), p. 137f.
[12]	Tawfik, S. (2007). “Nasheeg ala Khaleeg: Hikaiat Wafed ala Belad Alnaft” (Mourning on a Gulf: Tales of a stranger to the Oil-Lands (Cairo: Merit for Publishing), pp. 12-13.
[13]	Tawfik, S. (2020). Al-Khaterat (Emanations of Reflection): A Philosophical Autobiography, two parts recently published in one volume, Cairo: Dar Battana. p. 173.
[14]	Tymenithca, A-T, 1990. “Phenomenology of Life and the New Critique of Reason,’ in Analecta Husserliana, Vol. XXIX, p. ix.
[15]	Villegas, M., Feixas, G. and Lopez, N. (1990). "Phenomenological Analysis of Autobiographical Texts: A Design based on Personal Construct Psychology," in Analecta Husserliana, Vol. XXIX (Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publisher), p. 408 and 409.
[16]	Umbelino, L. A. (2016). “Memory, Space, Oblivion,” in Hermeneutics and Phenomenology, op. cit., p. 115.

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Said Tawfik. (2021). Phenomenological Narrative in the Art of Autobiography: In Theory and Personal Experience. American Journal of Art and Design, 6(4), 112-119. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.11

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Said Tawfik. Phenomenological Narrative in the Art of Autobiography: In Theory and Personal Experience. Am. J. Art Des. 2021, 6(4), 112-119. doi: 10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.11

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AMA Style

Said Tawfik. Phenomenological Narrative in the Art of Autobiography: In Theory and Personal Experience. Am J Art Des. 2021;6(4):112-119. doi: 10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.11,
  author = {Said Tawfik},
  title = {Phenomenological Narrative in the Art of Autobiography: In Theory and Personal Experience},
  journal = {American Journal of Art and Design},
  volume = {6},
  number = {4},
  pages = {112-119},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajad.20210604.11},
  abstract = {The main purpose of this essay is to find out some of the fundamental principles and concepts, which constitute the essence of the art of autobiography as a “phenomenological narrative”. It seeks to recognize the common principles of phenomenology in that art, a recognition that it will clarify in theory and practice. Thus, it phenomenologically investigates the art of autobiography as a practice of phenomenology, i.e., as a phenomenological narrative. The introduction starts from the phenomenological tradition, which asserts the intimate relation between artistic vision and phenomenological approach to phenomena. Accordingly, it seeks to prove that autobiography can also be an art which bears the characteristics of the phenomenological approach, and perhaps more strongly than any other art can bear. In what I call “the art of autobiography”, the narrator practices reflection as an act of consciousness, in order to grasp the meaning of his/her lived experiences In this respect, I can claim that in that form of art, the relation between art and phenomenology is stronger and intensified than in many other narratives. This can be clarified by exploring the main phenomenological concepts, which at work in that form of art, such as reflection, inter-subjectivity and lived experience or the experience of "life world" (Lebenswelt). Along with this reflection, which seeks to grasp intentionally the meaning of the experience of the self, "inter-subjectivity" is another phenomenological aspect of narration, which is intrinsic in the essence of this reflection. It is true that narration in autobiography is concerned with personal experiences, but this does not mean that the narrator here is concerned only with his/ or her own experience apart from the others who can share and endure the same experience, even when this happen on the level of imagination. The concept of personal experience as inter-subjectivity leads us to explore the author manipulation of his memory in respect to time and space, and, in the end, to lived experience itself. In this sense, we can consider the art of autobiography as a way in which phenomenological approach can expresses itself in its endeavor to extend to all of our lived experience of our world.},
 year = {2021}
}

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N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.11
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AB  - The main purpose of this essay is to find out some of the fundamental principles and concepts, which constitute the essence of the art of autobiography as a “phenomenological narrative”. It seeks to recognize the common principles of phenomenology in that art, a recognition that it will clarify in theory and practice. Thus, it phenomenologically investigates the art of autobiography as a practice of phenomenology, i.e., as a phenomenological narrative. The introduction starts from the phenomenological tradition, which asserts the intimate relation between artistic vision and phenomenological approach to phenomena. Accordingly, it seeks to prove that autobiography can also be an art which bears the characteristics of the phenomenological approach, and perhaps more strongly than any other art can bear. In what I call “the art of autobiography”, the narrator practices reflection as an act of consciousness, in order to grasp the meaning of his/her lived experiences In this respect, I can claim that in that form of art, the relation between art and phenomenology is stronger and intensified than in many other narratives. This can be clarified by exploring the main phenomenological concepts, which at work in that form of art, such as reflection, inter-subjectivity and lived experience or the experience of "life world" (Lebenswelt). Along with this reflection, which seeks to grasp intentionally the meaning of the experience of the self, "inter-subjectivity" is another phenomenological aspect of narration, which is intrinsic in the essence of this reflection. It is true that narration in autobiography is concerned with personal experiences, but this does not mean that the narrator here is concerned only with his/ or her own experience apart from the others who can share and endure the same experience, even when this happen on the level of imagination. The concept of personal experience as inter-subjectivity leads us to explore the author manipulation of his memory in respect to time and space, and, in the end, to lived experience itself. In this sense, we can consider the art of autobiography as a way in which phenomenological approach can expresses itself in its endeavor to extend to all of our lived experience of our world.
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Author Information

Said Tawfik

Faculty of Arts, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt

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APA Style

Said Tawfik. (2021). Phenomenological Narrative in the Art of Autobiography: In Theory and Personal Experience. American Journal of Art and Design, 6(4), 112-119. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.11

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ACS Style

Said Tawfik. Phenomenological Narrative in the Art of Autobiography: In Theory and Personal Experience. Am. J. Art Des. 2021, 6(4), 112-119. doi: 10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.11

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AMA Style

Said Tawfik. Phenomenological Narrative in the Art of Autobiography: In Theory and Personal Experience. Am J Art Des. 2021;6(4):112-119. doi: 10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.11,
  author = {Said Tawfik},
  title = {Phenomenological Narrative in the Art of Autobiography: In Theory and Personal Experience},
  journal = {American Journal of Art and Design},
  volume = {6},
  number = {4},
  pages = {112-119},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajad.20210604.11},
  abstract = {The main purpose of this essay is to find out some of the fundamental principles and concepts, which constitute the essence of the art of autobiography as a “phenomenological narrative”. It seeks to recognize the common principles of phenomenology in that art, a recognition that it will clarify in theory and practice. Thus, it phenomenologically investigates the art of autobiography as a practice of phenomenology, i.e., as a phenomenological narrative. The introduction starts from the phenomenological tradition, which asserts the intimate relation between artistic vision and phenomenological approach to phenomena. Accordingly, it seeks to prove that autobiography can also be an art which bears the characteristics of the phenomenological approach, and perhaps more strongly than any other art can bear. In what I call “the art of autobiography”, the narrator practices reflection as an act of consciousness, in order to grasp the meaning of his/her lived experiences In this respect, I can claim that in that form of art, the relation between art and phenomenology is stronger and intensified than in many other narratives. This can be clarified by exploring the main phenomenological concepts, which at work in that form of art, such as reflection, inter-subjectivity and lived experience or the experience of "life world" (Lebenswelt). Along with this reflection, which seeks to grasp intentionally the meaning of the experience of the self, "inter-subjectivity" is another phenomenological aspect of narration, which is intrinsic in the essence of this reflection. It is true that narration in autobiography is concerned with personal experiences, but this does not mean that the narrator here is concerned only with his/ or her own experience apart from the others who can share and endure the same experience, even when this happen on the level of imagination. The concept of personal experience as inter-subjectivity leads us to explore the author manipulation of his memory in respect to time and space, and, in the end, to lived experience itself. In this sense, we can consider the art of autobiography as a way in which phenomenological approach can expresses itself in its endeavor to extend to all of our lived experience of our world.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Phenomenological Narrative in the Art of Autobiography: In Theory and Personal Experience
AU  - Said Tawfik
Y1  - 2021/11/05
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.11
T2  - American Journal of Art and Design
JF  - American Journal of Art and Design
JO  - American Journal of Art and Design
SP  - 112
EP  - 119
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2578-7802
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajad.20210604.11
AB  - The main purpose of this essay is to find out some of the fundamental principles and concepts, which constitute the essence of the art of autobiography as a “phenomenological narrative”. It seeks to recognize the common principles of phenomenology in that art, a recognition that it will clarify in theory and practice. Thus, it phenomenologically investigates the art of autobiography as a practice of phenomenology, i.e., as a phenomenological narrative. The introduction starts from the phenomenological tradition, which asserts the intimate relation between artistic vision and phenomenological approach to phenomena. Accordingly, it seeks to prove that autobiography can also be an art which bears the characteristics of the phenomenological approach, and perhaps more strongly than any other art can bear. In what I call “the art of autobiography”, the narrator practices reflection as an act of consciousness, in order to grasp the meaning of his/her lived experiences In this respect, I can claim that in that form of art, the relation between art and phenomenology is stronger and intensified than in many other narratives. This can be clarified by exploring the main phenomenological concepts, which at work in that form of art, such as reflection, inter-subjectivity and lived experience or the experience of "life world" (Lebenswelt). Along with this reflection, which seeks to grasp intentionally the meaning of the experience of the self, "inter-subjectivity" is another phenomenological aspect of narration, which is intrinsic in the essence of this reflection. It is true that narration in autobiography is concerned with personal experiences, but this does not mean that the narrator here is concerned only with his/ or her own experience apart from the others who can share and endure the same experience, even when this happen on the level of imagination. The concept of personal experience as inter-subjectivity leads us to explore the author manipulation of his memory in respect to time and space, and, in the end, to lived experience itself. In this sense, we can consider the art of autobiography as a way in which phenomenological approach can expresses itself in its endeavor to extend to all of our lived experience of our world.
VL  - 6
IS  - 4
ER  -

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