The ethic of delicacy in phenomenological research.

In this article, the author works out the conceptual framework of the phenomenological method. The core idea of the article is that the phenomenological method is important in human research because it avoids the logic of control of positivism and adopts a logic of delicacy towards the lived experience of the other. Indeed, it is because of this logic that the phenomenological method is particularly suited to research related to health and well-being, since whenever dealing with suffering and endeavoring to improve the quality of life, accuracy and delicacy are essential. First, the article defines the essence of the phenomenological method in the light of phenomenological philosophy; second, it identifies and investigates what mental acts must be developed in order to put into practice the essence of the phenomenological method. These include paying open attention, being-not-in-search, emptying the mind, experiencing cognitive placelessness, having empathy for the other and caring for the other. The detailed description of these cognitive postures is necessary so that the core of the phenomenological method can be clearly understood.