Subjectivity as Critique: Methodological Collectivism in Phenomenology and Critical Psychology

Recently, the notion of critical phenomenology has gained momentum in philosophical scholarship. Yet, in psychological research, phenomenology’s critical resources remain underdeveloped. In this article, we investigate the critical potential of phenomenological psychology by exploring how phenomenology has been an overlooked source of inspiration for the development of critical psychology. We argue that the phenomenological emphasis on the interrelatedness of subjectivity, intersubjectivity, and lifeworld enables a little acknowledged critical reflection on the role of societal-historical development in shaping subjective experience. Retracing the notion of Je-Meinigkeit through Klaus Holzkamp’s »phenomenological turn,« we find a basis for considering the dialogical processes of qualitative inquiry and recognizing phenomenology as a collective methodology. Finally, we develop these points in an empirical context by discussing two research projects that actualize the critical potential of phenomenology through collective research processes with young children and autistic persons respectively, each of whom remain marginalized in processes of knowledge production and societal development.