Lecture 5

Social Phenomenology & Intersubjectivity: How Meaning is Shared

Having explored interpretive phenomenology, we now delve into how individual interpretations become a shared social reality. This is the realm of social phenomenology, focusing on intersubjectivity—the shared understanding that makes social life possible.

From Individual to Shared Meaning

Core Concept: Social phenomenology asks how our individual interpretations transform into a collective, predictable social world.

Our previous work focused on individual attention and description. Now, we shift to understanding the "we" perspective, examining how individuals come to share an understanding of the world.

Intersubjectivity Explained

Core Concept: Intersubjectivity is the foundation of social life, enabling people to coordinate actions and expectations without constant explicit communication.

It's the unspoken agreement that allows us to navigate everyday situations. Think about simple interactions, like buying a coffee. You and the barista operate on a shared script of roles and expectations. This "common sense" knowledge is learned through shared experience.

Consider a typical social interaction you had today. What unspoken rules or assumptions were at play that allowed the interaction to proceed smoothly?

The World We Assume

Core Concept: Social order and predictability rely heavily on our assumption that others share our basic understanding of how the world works.

We don't constantly explain the rules of conversation or the meaning of a traffic light. We assume a baseline of shared knowledge. This reliance on a background of common assumptions is what keeps social life functioning.

Why This is Not Psychology

Core Concept: Social phenomenology focuses on public, shared meanings *between* people, rather than the internal, private workings of the individual mind.

Psychology might investigate *why* an individual feels a certain way. Social phenomenology investigates *how* we collectively arrive at shared understandings of emotions, situations, and social roles.

How do different cultures interpret body language or personal space? How does this influence interactions, and what happens when these shared understandings are violated?

Implications for Data Science

Core Concept: Ignoring intersubjectivity can lead to faulty interpretations of data, as all social data is inherently shaped by shared meanings.

Data, such as survey responses, only makes sense within a context of shared meaning. If researchers assume universal understanding without considering how concepts are intersubjectively defined, their analysis risks misrepresenting reality.