phenomenological

phe·nom·e·nol·o·gy   (fĭ-nŏm'ə-nŏl'ə-jē)    n.   A philosophy or method of inquiry based on the premise that reality consists of objects and events as they are perceived or understood in human consciousness and not of anything independent of human consciousness. A movement based on this, originated about 1905 by Edmund Husserl. phe·nom'e·no·log'i·cal (-nə-lŏj'ĭ-kəl) adj., phe·nom'e·no·log'i·cal·ly adv., phe·nom'e·nol'o·gist n.

Main Entry: phe·nom·e·nol·o·gy
Pronunciation: fi-"näm-&-'näl-&-jE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -gies
: the way in which one perceives and interprets events and one's relationship to them in contrast both to one's objective responses to stimuli and to any inferred unconsciousmotivation for one's behavior; also : a psychology based on the theory that phenomenology determines behavior —phe·nom·e·no·log·i·cal /fi-"näm-&n-^&l-'äj-i-k&l/ adjective