The Virtual Institute for Phenomenology was established in September 2009 and was led by Carlos Cornelius (Prof. Carlos Montemayor in RL).

Note: The Virtual Institute for Phenomenology has now closed.

The five initial members were (RL names):

• Yoko Arisaka
• Jos de Mul
• Piet Hut
• Carlos Montemayor
• Andrea Staiti

Yoko, Jos, Carlos and Andrea are professional philosophers, while Piet is an astrophysicist, mostly working in interdisciplinary studies.

The aim of the V.I.P. was to promote discussions on Husserlian phenomenology and its connections to other ways of knowing, from science and arts to various traditional forms of knowledge.  Using virtual worlds as media for communication and community building, the V.I.P. promoted research and education in phenomenology for a broad audience, within academia as well as aimed at more general outreach.

The first activity of the V.I.P. was the organization of a weekly one-hour workshop in Second Life, held in the Kira Cafe on Fridays at 2pm SLT.

The pilot for the V.I.P. was the Phenomenology Workshop that took place between December 2008 and May 2009.