Heidegger, lived experience and method.

Area of Science:

• Philosophy of Science
• Qualitative Research Methods
• Phenomenology

Background:

• The assumption that Martin Heidegger's philosophy validates the study of "lived experience" is widespread in nursing and other disciplines.
• Qualitative interviews are commonly employed to explore individual experiences and their attributed meanings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically examine the assumption that Heidegger's philosophy, particularly "Being and Time," warrants the study of lived experience.
• To evaluate the compatibility of traditional qualitative interview methods with Heideggerian philosophy.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of Heidegger's "Being and Time."
• Review of philosophical literature on Heidegger (post-1999).
• Examination of experimental social psychology literature (1970-2012).

Main Results:

• Heidegger's philosophy critiques the notion of "lived experience" as it perpetuates subject-object dualism.
• Interviews focusing on "lived experience" capture the inauthentic voice of "das Man" (the They), not unique individual perspectives.
• Alternative methods aligned with Heidegger include observation, naturalistic experiments, and discourse analysis.

Conclusions:

• Nursing researchers seeking to apply Heideggerian philosophy should discontinue "lived experience" interviews.
• Adoption of methods such as observation or discourse analysis is advised for Heideggerian-informed research.
• Alternatively, researchers prioritizing "lived experience" interviews should seek a different philosophical foundation.