Tiia-Mari Elina Hovila

This article investigates the explicit goals of current (2000–2022) methodological discourse in Western philosophical research and the manner of describing and presenting methods in philosophy. The study examines the goals of philosophical methods and methodological descriptions that can be used as guidance for philosophical studies. The subject is studied using the method of scoping review. The scoping review method offers an approach to conceptualize and classify fragmented research concepts and it is used to identify gaps in the research literature. The study found 4 types of methodological objectives in philosophical research: 1) analysis and interpretation, 2) creating or identifying, 3) evaluation and systematization, and 4) falsification. It also confirmed the hypothesis that only few philosophical investigations offer sufficient descriptions of methods that can be taken as instructions for the use of philosophical methods. In addition, the study showed that often methods are defined by their association with a specific philosophical school or a particular philosopher. The lack of methodological descriptions and the strong emphasis on philosophical schools and individual philosophers implicate that the methodological considerations are currently tied or even reduced to committing to these schools or theoretical frameworks.

This article examines the experience of trauma, paying particular attention to how traumatization affects one’s sense of body, time, and intersubjectivity. Furthermore, this study provides one example of how literature can be used in phenomenological research. Using both classical and contemporary phenomenological sources and deepening the analysis by discussing a first-person description by Marguerite Duras, the article aims to clarify one crucial aspect of traumatic experience: trauma alters experiential features so that the relation between traumatic past and present becomes rigid.

This article examines the experience of trauma, paying particular attention to how traumatization affects one’s sense of body, time, and intersubjectivity. Furthermore, this study provides one example of how literature can be used in phenomenological research. Using both classical and contemporary phenomenological sources and deepening the analysis by discussing a first-person description by Marguerite Duras, the article aims to clarify one crucial aspect of traumatic experience: trauma alters experiential features so that the relation between traumatic past and present becomes rigid.

Filosofian tutkimusartikkeleissa harvoin eksplikoidaan tutkimuksessa käytettyä metodia, ja jos eksplikoidaan, esitys on usein hyvin suppea. Nykytutkimuksessa kysymykset menetelmien tunnistamisen keinoista ovat jääneet vähälle huomiolle. Kuitenkin on selvää, että jokaisesta filosofisesta tutkimuksesta löytyy tekemisen tapa, metodi. Tämän tutkimuksen lähestymistapa on metafilosofinen, ja sen tavoitteena on tutkia yhtäältä filosofisia metodeja ja toisaalta kuinka niitä voidaan tunnistaa filosofisista teksteistä. Tapausesimerkkinä tutkitaan suomalaisen filosofin, Erik Ahlmanin, tekstejä ja niissä esiintyviä metafilosofisia huomautuksia. Tutkimus osoitti Ahlmanin ajattelusta löytyvän tiettyjä filosofista työtä ohjaavia perusperiaatteita: filosofin kahtalainen asenne, filosofian ero suhteessa tieteeseen sekä intuitiivisen tiedon ja järkeilyn vuorottelu filosofiassa. Lisäksi tutkimus osoitti tarpeen kehittää metafilosofista menetelmien tutkimusta.