Experience as a mechanism for overcoming a crisis event of a life path: phenomenological, hermeneutic and cultural-historical foundations

Context and relevance. The category of experience occupies a special place in modern psychology: it is both intuitively obvious and theoretically ambiguous. The article provides a comparative analysis of the main approaches to understanding experience in psychology. It is shown that phenomenological, hermeneutic, and cultural-historical approaches reveal various aspects of this phenomenon. The article substantiates the need to consider them from different perspectives of understanding experience as a process of internal work of the subject, aimed at restoring the semantic integrity of the life world in the face of a crisis event. Objective: to identify the explanatory possibilities of various approaches to understanding the experience and to substantiate its interpretation as a process of internal work of the subject in a crisis situation. Methods and materials. The article provides a comparative analysis of three theoretical approaches: the phenomenological approach (E. Husserl): emphasis on the direct experience of the subject, description of the structure of experience without reference to external causes; the hermeneutic approach (G. Shpet): experience is interpreted as a process of understanding and interpreting meanings rooted in culture and language; the cultural and historical concept (L.S. Vygotsky): experience acts as a unit of analysis reflecting the relationship between personality and environment, and its development is determined by socio-cultural factors. Research methods: theoretical analysis of scientific works of the mentioned authors; comparison of methodological bases of approaches; identification of their explanatory possibilities and limitations in relation to the phenomenon of experiencing crisis situations. Results. Experiences are seen as an integrative concept combining structural, semantic, and procedural levels of analysis. Its central role in crisis psychology as a coping mechanism is substantiated. Phenomenological, hermeneutic and cultural-historical approaches are compared. Conclusions. Experiencing acts as a special form of inner work, which reflects a person's attitude to the events of his life and searches for a new meaning in a crisis. At the same time, a theoretical understanding of the category of experience requires an appeal to various scientific traditions. This article attempts to compare the phenomenological approach of E. Husserl, the hermeneutic interpretation of G. Shpet and the cultural and historical concept of L.S. Vygotsky in order to identify their explanatory possibilities and limitations. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the role of experience in crisis psychology and its interpretation as a mechanism for overcoming crisis events through the process of rethinking.

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