Page 122 - Contribution To Phenomenology

Chapter 4

Connectionism and Phenomenology

Tom Nenon
Memphis State University

Abstract After a brief introduction to Connectionism and some
general remarks on the relationship between Phenomenology and the
empirical sciences, this paper presents examples of the way that both
Phenomenology and Connectionism can benefit from insights derived
from the other approach.

There is of course no discrete object clearly denoted either by the term
"Phenomenology" or by the term "Connectionism." Each of these terms
can be better thought of as referring to a theoretical movement centering
around specific themes, approaches, and figures. For not only does each
of these movements as such lack clearly delineated contours, but each is
also characterized by a fair amount of disagreement among friends and
foes alike over what should be taken to be its essential constituting
features. This is probably even more true for Connectionism than for
Phenomenology, partially because it is a fairly recent newcomer to the
intellectual scene, but also because it has emerged from an inter-
disciplinary background which unites researchers with very different
agenda. Interestingly enough, however, this should be less of a source
of embarrassment for someone who thinks of herself as a connectionist
than for many who consider themselves "phenomenologists" according to
some of the classic formulations of the project since one result of
reflection about connectionist theories is that it leads one to think of
concepts more as general types than as sets of necessary and sufficient
conditions for being a certain kind of thing. I will return to that theme
at the end of Part I.
First, however, I would like to begin by stating that when I use the
term "Phenomenology" in this essay, I will be referring in a general way
to an approach oriented upon the work of Edmund Husserl, without

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M. Daniel and L. Embree (eds.), Phenomenology of the Cultural Disciplines, 115-133.
© 1994 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.