Silence and Wonder

Phenomenology begins in silence.

Herbert Spiegelberg (1982). The Phenomenological Moment

The best formulation of the reduction is probably that given by Eugen Fink, Husserl's assistant, when he spoke of 'wonder' in the face of the world. Reflection does not withdraw from the world towards the unity of consciousness as the world's basis; it steps back to watch the forms of trancendence fly up like sparks from a fire; it slackens the intentional threads which attach us to the world and thus brings them to our notice; it alone is consciousness of the world because it reveals that world as strange and paradoxical.

Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1962). Phenomenology of Perception