Consciousness and Art in Phenomenological Philosophy and Its Technical Approaches

Abstract

Prof. Dr. Sally Mohsen Latif

Al-Mustansiriya University - College of Arts - Department of Philosophy

Abstract

Abstract

Consciousness is the human ability to know the external world and to understand the mental structure possessed by the human self, meaning that consciousness refers to the awareness of internal and external existence. 

Art represents the work of the artist performed through inspiration or talent; art is a creative human product that expresses the feelings, thoughts, and culture present in the self with the help of imagination. 

Consciousness and art are simultaneous in phenomenological philosophy because they express the phenomena that exist in the external world, which the artist can embody and translate into artwork through his consciousness. Phenomenological philosophy studies consciousness and lived experiences as they appear to the human self. Consciousness manifests in humans, and this manifestation or its expression occurs through art, either through experience or intentionality, which, in its attachment to things, represents or symbolizes them

The best representative of phenomenological philosophy is its founder, Husserl (1859 – 1938), who stated that human consciousness (the self) must be connected to nature (the object) in order to reach the Knowing reality directly without the mediation of concepts, and that aesthetics does not arise with the method of inquiry into phenomenological phenomena but follows it, because aesthetics and phenomenology are linked by an internal relationship, an event related to the idea of the image, which reveals dimensions of experience that cannot be scientifically reduced. For him, art is the art of the lived world, where it takes us to the living experience, and it represents a moment of revelation. In the moment of revelation lie the possibilities of consciousness for Husserl and his possible worlds, and his technical approach lies in seeing that technique depends on science and science depends on the construction of consciousness. But when we overlook this meaning, we fall into a crisis of meaning, that is, a crisis of the sciences in rescuing the sciences whose foundation is consciousness. As for Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908 – 1961), consciousness for him is embodied and not separate from the world because he saw that the body is our primary means of opening to the world, and art is what informs us of this openness through the artwork by representing it with the hand or body, and thereby it becomes both perceiving and visible, meaning that my body is (visible and moving), and thus Merleau-Ponty did not abolish any distinction between body and mind, and the artwork is a phenomenological work that seeks to reveal the visible and the invisible at the same time. His technical approach... Technology expands our understanding and experience of the world, not merely transforming it into an object. It is viewed as an extension of the body and senses, for the body is the primary medium of consciousness. Technology enters this medium and expands its capacity for perception. This means that technology is not seen as an existential threat, but rather as a means of revealing new creativity. We cannot overlook Martin Heidegger (1889–1976), who replaced the concept of the conscious self with the concept of Dasein, meaning "being-there" or "being-in-the-world." Dasein is humanity's unique mode of existence; humans do not live in isolation from the world but in a continuous relationship with it. In other words, they are beings already engaged within it. Art is a revelation of truth; it establishes a world and opens horizons for existence. It represents an ontological event, not merely a perceptual experience. For example, Van Gogh's painting reveals the world of agriculture and toil. Thus, for him, the artwork was a struggle between the world and the land. Technology is a special mode of revealing the world, which he calls "framing" (Gestell). Nature has become a storehouse of energy, the river a source of electricity, the earth a mine, and humanity a human resource. Therefore, he believes that modern technology is dangerous because it confines the world to a single dimension: use and control. Thus, for Heidegger, consciousness and art are not tools but existential resistance to technological hegemony. At the end of the research, I arrived at the following conclusions: 1- Veneremenology affirms the simultaneity of consciousness and art, as the conscious self-reveals the intentional truths present in the external world. 2- Husserl considered art to reveal lived experience, and the moment of revelation is embodied in consciousness, which is the foundation upon which science is built. When we forget this meaning, we fall into a crisis of science, and technology declines. 3- Merleau-Ponty emphasized consciousness and art embodied in the world. The body is our means of opening up, and art reveals it to us through artwork. Technology is a medium for expanding our embodied perceptions, and here we arrive at the discovery of a new creation. 4- Heidegger was interested in the concept of Dasein. Humanity lives in the midst of a