The Phenomenal and the Enactive

The Phenomenal perspective emphasizes our subjective experience—how things feel and appear to us—in understanding consciousness. It focuses on the firsthand, conscious experience of sensations, emotions, and thoughts. The Enactive approach, meanwhile, views consciousness as arising through active engagement with the world; it emphasizes that perception and cognition are shaped by our actions and interactions. In simple terms, the Phenomenal is about what it’s like to experience something, while the Enactive highlights that our awareness is created through our active participation with our environment. Both perspectives offer complementary insights into how we perceive and understand the world.