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Strasser, Stephan

An interesting case of validity critique is contained in the scornful criticism by Stephen Strasser who once referred to Jean-Paul Sartre’s famous account of the objectifying look as “phenomenological impressionism” (1974, pp. 295–302). In his account of “the look” Sartre shows how the glance of the other can be experienced by us as objectifying and as robbing us of our own sense of agency and subjectivity. The other’s objectifying look takes away our world and enslaves us to the other. But Strasser accused Sartre of getting carried away with literary style and of failing to see that a more differentiated phenomenological analysis would show that the look can be experienced positively as well as negatively—that the look of the other can enhance our sense of self and even make intimacy possible (Strasser, 1974, p. 298).

 

Selected Readings:
Strasser, S. (1974). Phenomenology and the Human Sciences. Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press.
Strasser, S. (1985). Understanding and Explanation. Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press.

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