A Becoming Methodology. Introducing a Phenomenological Alternative to Lab-based Ichthyology.

Abstract

Within the animal sciences and the field of ichthyology, there exists a tension concerning the reliance on lab-based research. I contend the philosophical perspective of phenomenology allows for a valuable perspective on this reliance on lab-based research. More specifically, it contains illuminating insights on the interrelation between subject and world, and the distortion of fish cognition, observed within the field of ichthyology. The main focus of this thesis will be the possibility of an alternative, or complementary methodology for researching the fish subject, deriven from a phenomenological interpretation of the infamous quote of Jacques Cousteau, that 'the best way to observe a fish, is to become a fish'. A becoming methodology allows for a new way to interpret the fish subject, starting from lived experience and kinaesthetic empathy, rather than objectification, measurement and control.