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Environmental philosophy, needless to say, is going through a transition in the zenith of the Anthropocene. It is high time to carry out engaged philosophy to bring in philosophical understandings in approaching real-world environmental issues for obtaining some novel insights into the human–environment relationship. For the same, I argue, we need to explore some new methodologies that would be capable of offering the opportunity to do engaged philosophy instead of borrowing methodologies from the social sciences. Here, I examine Phenomenological Research Methodology (PRM) for the same. I elaborate on the process of conducting a field study with this methodology. For analyzing narratives, I choose the interpretive stream over the descriptive one. By drawing extensively from the philosophy of phenomenology, I propose a four-step narrative analysis process that can unveil a narrator’s transcendent mode of being. Finally, I share my research experiences while employing PRM in the field and demonstrate how PRM has the potential to sidestep some of the widely held concerns associated with field studies. Along with, I highlight critical reflection of my experiences while employing this methodology, particularly, in the context of India.

Leopold’s land ethic is a watershed event in environmental ethics as it is the first one to provide an alternative conceptualization of land to transcend its “Abrahamic conception.” However, if Leopold had employed phenomenological methods to formulate his land ethic, then his conceptualization of land and the understanding of its relation with its dwellers could have been more nuanced. From an analysis of the Sundarbans islanders’ phenomenological accounts of land, collected during a field study, it can be shown that phenomenological understanding of land negates the Abrahamic notions of the Sundarbans’s land, which are deeply rooted in developmental as well as ecological conservation programs that the region is presently witnessing. As an alternative, such a phenomenological approach can enhance Leopold’s land ethic by providing an opportunity to see land in its true form, instead of conceptualizing land “in order to” maintain the integrity of a land pyramid. In this manner, it helps to broaden the horizon of the land ethic and transforms the conceptualization of land itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel ( nab-paclitaxel) has demonstrated clinical benefit in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) in a randomized phase III trial versus paclitaxel (CA012; N = 454) and in a randomized phase II trial versus docetaxel (CA024; N = 300). This retrospective analysis examines whether patients with poor prognostic factors demonstrate similar outcomes to the intent-to-treat (ITT) populations in these trials. This retrospective analysis evaluated the efficacy and safety of previously untreated patients with MBC with the following poor prognostic factors: visceral dominant metastases and short disease-free interval (DFI; ≤2 years). In CA012 ( n = 186 first-line patients), nab-paclitaxel demonstrated a significantly higher overall response rate (ORR) versus paclitaxel in patients with visceral dominant metastases (42 vs. 23 %; P = 0.022), whereas the higher ORR for nab-paclitaxel in patients with a short DFI (43 vs. 33 %; P = NS) was not statistically significant. In CA024, a significantly higher ORR for nab-paclitaxel 150 mg/m versus docetaxel was observed in patients with visceral dominant metastases (76 vs. 37 %; P < 0.001). No significant differences in ORR were observed in patients with a short DFI. Although progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival showed trends similar to ORR, statistical significance was only achieved for comparisons of PFS in patients with visceral dominant metastases in CA024 (13.1 months for nab-paclitaxel 150 mg/m vs. 7.8 months for docetaxel [ P = 0.019] and 7.5 months for nab-paclitaxel 100 mg/m [ P = 0.010]). Safety results were similar to previous reports of the ITT populations. nab-Paclitaxel demonstrated similar efficacy in patients with poor prognostic factors as in the ITT populations of these two trials. In each trial, ORR was significantly higher for nab-paclitaxel versus the comparator taxane among patients with visceral dominant metastases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]