The purpose of The Phenomenology of Everyday Life is to describe an alternative approach to the psychological study of everyday human activities and experiences. This approach is grounded in the philosophical traditions of existentialism and phenomenology and employs dialogue as its major method of inquiry. The reasons for these choices are not arbitrary: Both derive from the view that a proper study of human events must be framed in terms of a philosophy explicitly developed to encompass human activities. In addition, such events must be investigated on the basis of a method sensitive enough to articulate the nuances of human experience and reflection. It is important to point out, in this latter regard, that insights deriving from literature and the humanities are equally revealing of the human world as those deriving from experimental psychology, biology, or medicine. Language, whether in dialogue or drama, is never beside the point in human life.

As we hope subsequent chapters will demonstrate, our purpose is not to replace scientific observation with humanistic analysis but to provide an additional perspective on significant human questions. If we are to be successful in interesting colleagues in this endeavor, the work must be both relevant and rigorous: relevant to the everyday concerns of human existence and rigorous enough to pass critical evaluation by colleagues more comfortable with regression equations than thematic analysis. Thus the challenge is twofold: (1) to suggest new topics for research that will be recognized as significant by the empirical researcher as well as the clinical practitioner; and (2) to describe our procedures with sufficient clarity and precision to allow for public scrutiny of their utility and rigor.