Epoché (ἐποχή) [epokhé]
Key terms: method, phenomenology, critical thinking
Definition.
A conscious, deliberate suspension of judgments and assumptions in order to perceive a phenomenon without automatic frameworks. It is not a denial of reality, but rather a technical pause that allows for pure observation.
Origins.
— In ancient skepticism (Sextus Empiricus): “withholding of judgment.”
— In the work of Edmund Husserl: “bracketing” — setting aside presuppositions and theories in order to describe what is given in experience.
Two modes.
- Skeptical epoché — neither affirming nor denying, simply observing.
- Phenomenological epoché — temporarily “placing in brackets” presuppositions (scientific, cultural, personal) in order to describe phenomena as they appear.
Not to be confused with.
— Relativism (“nothing exists”).
— Cynicism (“nothing can be trusted anyway”).
Epoché is a method of temporary suspension, not a worldview.
