Foucault and phenomenology, a tense and complex relation: From anti-phenomenology to post-phenomenology

Résumé En

Phenomenologies are an important dimension of Management and Organization Studies (MOS). They are particularly helpful to understand organizing processes as experiences instead of mere representations or objectivations of the world. Yet several misunderstandings still pervade discussions about what they are and what they could bring. This Handbook offers a description of phenomenologies, post-phenomenologies, and antianteante-phenomenologies, and how they (could potentially) relate to ongoing debates in MOS. Rarely has a field of thought developed itself in such a paradoxical attempt to both extend and overcome its own seminal assumptions and directions. In this movement, phenomenologies have contributed to many external debates in cognitive sciences, interactional sociologies, process studies, economics, and geography. Beyond that, phenomenologies have often been a counterpoint, a reactive material to develop other thoughts. In the end, phenomenologies, post-phenomenologies, and antianteante-phenomenologies have contributed to descriptions far beyond the traditional views of organizations as pre-defined entities already there in the world. In this direction, after introducing the thoughts of several key phenomenologists, our book explores various phenomenological issues for MOS, including new ways of organizing, entrepreneurship, decentred management, robots, artificial intelligence, algorithms, alternative organizations, communities and communalization, managerial techniques, cinematographic organizing, among others. At this stage, numerous post-phenomenologists and antianteante-phenomenologists are also brought into a critical conversation with phenomenological constructs. Core conceptual issues, such as space, temporality, events, depth, ethics, embodiment, materiality, topology, imagination, techniques, emotions, or affects, are also included in this discussion.