Philosophical First? Elderly Couple Argues Over Phenomenology

In this video, we (Pam and John) go head-to-head arguing about what is objective (shared reality) and what is subjective (unique to each of us as individuals) when we describe the tree that stands in front of us. Sounds simple. Think again. Anyway, the topic that led us to this argument is “phenomenology.” The simplest, working definition that we came up with (probably not quite right, we just heard the word for the first time a week ago) is: "How an individual from a first-person perspective investigates and describes things (phenomena) as they consciously experience the “thing,” they see; not what they learned about its origin, explanation, composition, or purpose." Trust us. This is undoubtably an oversimplification, which is exactly why we’re arguing about phenomenology in the video and still. The bigger question being, "Why does it matter?" We also look at some Nat Geo photos together and talk about the “things” we see in the photo…what is objectively true (shared reality) and what is subjectively true for John or for Pam. Enough. Watch through. John "sings" the 16 Tons song.