Phenomenology of offense

Introduction.Everyone tends to deal with offense sometimes in his/her own life, and understanding of this phenomenon may be classified as an “eternal” philosophical issue. However, the current situation creates conditions for the massiveization of its experiencing and for the new dangerous mindsets,...

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Main Author: E. V. Biricheva
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Minin Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University 2022-02-01
Series:Вестник Мининского университета
Subjects:
Online Access:https://vestnik.mininuniver.ru/jour/article/view/1335
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author E. V. Biricheva
author_facet E. V. Biricheva
author_sort E. V. Biricheva
collection DOAJ
description Introduction.Everyone tends to deal with offense sometimes in his/her own life, and understanding of this phenomenon may be classified as an “eternal” philosophical issue. However, the current situation creates conditions for the massiveization of its experiencing and for the new dangerous mindsets, which darken individual and social being. Despite the need for a holistic understanding, in the scientific literature, offenseis studied rather fragmentarily, the definitions appear to be contradictory, reflecting diverse aspects, but not grasping the uniform ground of the phenomenon. Hence an urgent task consists in searching for the offense essential core, which does not depend on concrete manifestations, and, on this basis, in tracing a strategy for overcoming this destructive feeling.Materials and Methods.Since the aim is to understand the essence of offense as a phenomenon of human being, the existential-phenomenological approach seems to be the most productive for this study. In contrast to the abstract-theoretical and reductionist, this methodology allows analyzing the phenomenon in its entirety and paradoxicality. Also it helps to outline the ways to deal with offense through the analysis of its real manifestations, of its experiencing and understanding by individuals “from within” the concrete situations.Results. Phenomenological analysis of offense shows that it is a distorted (wrong) vision of the human “I” either byOther(s), or byhim-/herself. Offense is experienced as a painful dissonance between the represented/desired and the real state of affairs, therefore its source may be found entirely in the individual imagination, and its “vector” appears to be ultimately directed towards self-destruction. Even being inflicted from the outside, the offense must pass into the plane of personal representations in order to become such, threatening the integrity of a person’s “worldview”. In this regard, the offense should be opposed to the understanding of “the own” as a unique individual existential ground, unapproachable for the Other. The practice of “accepting” is helpful: to return to the present (real) as it is; to struggle with unproductive fears and desires; to aware of the purpose of the own existence as self-realization.Discussion and Conclusions.An existential-phenomenological analysis of offense was carried out; life examples were used to highlight its similarities and differences with close phenomena of envy, hatred, resentment, etc.; its ontological grounds and opposite phenomena were studied to trace possible ways to overcome this destructive feeling.
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spelling doaj.art-73ab74ccc63240c88aaebc24982c40502022-12-22T02:29:08ZengMinin Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical UniversityВестник Мининского университета2307-12812022-02-0110110.26795/2307-1281-2022-10-13829Phenomenology of offenseE. V. Biricheva0Institute for Philosophy and Law, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of SciencesIntroduction.Everyone tends to deal with offense sometimes in his/her own life, and understanding of this phenomenon may be classified as an “eternal” philosophical issue. However, the current situation creates conditions for the massiveization of its experiencing and for the new dangerous mindsets, which darken individual and social being. Despite the need for a holistic understanding, in the scientific literature, offenseis studied rather fragmentarily, the definitions appear to be contradictory, reflecting diverse aspects, but not grasping the uniform ground of the phenomenon. Hence an urgent task consists in searching for the offense essential core, which does not depend on concrete manifestations, and, on this basis, in tracing a strategy for overcoming this destructive feeling.Materials and Methods.Since the aim is to understand the essence of offense as a phenomenon of human being, the existential-phenomenological approach seems to be the most productive for this study. In contrast to the abstract-theoretical and reductionist, this methodology allows analyzing the phenomenon in its entirety and paradoxicality. Also it helps to outline the ways to deal with offense through the analysis of its real manifestations, of its experiencing and understanding by individuals “from within” the concrete situations.Results. Phenomenological analysis of offense shows that it is a distorted (wrong) vision of the human “I” either byOther(s), or byhim-/herself. Offense is experienced as a painful dissonance between the represented/desired and the real state of affairs, therefore its source may be found entirely in the individual imagination, and its “vector” appears to be ultimately directed towards self-destruction. Even being inflicted from the outside, the offense must pass into the plane of personal representations in order to become such, threatening the integrity of a person’s “worldview”. In this regard, the offense should be opposed to the understanding of “the own” as a unique individual existential ground, unapproachable for the Other. The practice of “accepting” is helpful: to return to the present (real) as it is; to struggle with unproductive fears and desires; to aware of the purpose of the own existence as self-realization.Discussion and Conclusions.An existential-phenomenological analysis of offense was carried out; life examples were used to highlight its similarities and differences with close phenomena of envy, hatred, resentment, etc.; its ontological grounds and opposite phenomena were studied to trace possible ways to overcome this destructive feeling.https://vestnik.mininuniver.ru/jour/article/view/1335touchinessresentmentvisionacceptanceownimaginationphenomenology, existential-phenomenological approach
spellingShingle E. V. Biricheva
Phenomenology of offense
Вестник Мининского университета
touchiness
resentment
vision
acceptance
own
imagination
phenomenology, existential-phenomenological approach
title Phenomenology of offense
title_full Phenomenology of offense
title_fullStr Phenomenology of offense
title_full_unstemmed Phenomenology of offense
title_short Phenomenology of offense
title_sort phenomenology of offense
topic touchiness
resentment
vision
acceptance
own
imagination
phenomenology, existential-phenomenological approach
url https://vestnik.mininuniver.ru/jour/article/view/1335
work_keys_str_mv AT evbiricheva phenomenologyofoffense