postphenomenology

Postphenomenology is a school of thought within philosophy and science and technology studies that examines how technologies mediate human experience and knowledge. Emerging in the late 20th century as a development of phenomenology, it emphasizes that artifacts and infrastructures participate in the constitution of the world and of our perceptions, rather than being neutral tools awaiting use. Key figures include Don Ihde and Peter-Paul Verbeek.

Core ideas: Mediation rather than instrumentality; technologies shape what we see, how we act, and what counts as normal. It treats human-technology relations as co-constitutive and examines how artifacts can direct attention, enable or constrain possibilities, and participate in sense-making.

Ihde's typology describes several basic relations: embodiment relation (technology becomes part of the body’s effective extension), hermeneutic relation (technology interprets the world and must be read), and alterity relation (technology as an other that commands attention). Verbeek develops the notion of moral mediation, arguing that devices restructure human agency and values and thus have ethical significance. The approach also considers multistability—the idea that technologies can support multiple, context-dependent uses.

Method and scope: Postphenomenology blends descriptive phenomenology of lived experience with empirical case studies of everyday technologies, laboratories, and design processes. It is used to analyze imaging devices, smartphones, medical equipment, and automation, among other technologies, to reveal how they shape perceptual experience and social life.

Impact and debates: The approach has influenced philosophy of technology, science and technology studies, and design ethics. Critics argue that it can overemphasize mediation at the expense of social/power structures, or underplay historical and political context. Overall, postphenomenology offers a framework for understanding how technology mediates reality and responsibility.