Human Identity in Perceptual World in Edmund Husserl’s Phenomenology and Buddhism

Authors

  • Phramaha Somphong Unyo

Abstract

To perceive the world, in general, it consists of two main factors; one is a human being functioning
as a perceiving subject and other is an object as a perceived thing. In this point of views, human beings play
an important role for perceiving process as they are as the central for perceiving the object leading to get
knowledge consequently. Edmund Husserl’s phenomenology is said to be the theory of perception. In the
perceptual world, Husserl indicates the identity of human beings functioning for perceiving the object that is
ego and cogito. Ego has two functions: a passive ego functioning as the tendency ego, and an active ego
functioning as a sense after perceiving the object such as a sense of consideration, comparison, judgement,
etc. Cogito is said to be the mental process functioning for perceiving the object; it is well-known as
consciousness in other ways. Ego and Cogito relatively coordinate with each other for perceiving the object;
the perceived object is called Cogitatum respectively. The factor of perception like this is called three-sided
concept. According to Buddhism, the identity of human beings for perceiving the object appears with mental
process or consciousness functioning with three levels: one is passive mental process called stream of being
or the passive level of consciousness; one is external mental process, it is to perceive the object outside which
is called the process of five-door-adverting-consciousness; and other is immanent mental process which is
called mind-door-adverting-consciousness. Three levels of mental process coordinate for perceiving the
objects; to perceive the object through external mental process is to know only the appearance of the perceived
object, but through immanent mental process, the meaning of the perceived object can be clearly apprehended.

Published

2020-05-30

Issue

Section

Articles