Abstract
This chapter provides the reader with the background necessary to
understanding the phenomenological perspective as it will be applied to artificial
intelligence in the chapters that follow. In doing so, we explain phenomenology’s
approach to empirical facts and logical reasoning, among other topics. We explain the
key importance of awareness as a starting point for phenomenological understanding,
as well as the key role that the “thing” plays in this philosophy. The importance of
language to awareness is described, and the concept of signification is addressed in
relation to the creation of meaning. This brings the discussion around the importance of
applying a concept of embodiment as well as that of the linguistic field. The chapter
concludes with a brief discussion of how these concepts relate to the theme of artificial
intelligence and its relationship to the lived world.