The present paper aims at offering a preliminary, yet systematic presentation of Husserl's method of eidetic variation as a method grounded in a series of passive experiences, notably passive "modalizations" of consciousness: "passive negation," "problematic possibility," "open possibility." As it will try to show, it is only by seriously taking into account these three passive phenomena of consciousness, and their mutual relations, that some of the most crucial "procedural" aspects of the method of eidetic variation can be really made sense of. In particular, this paper will advance the claim that "conflict" (Widerstreit) represents the key-term in order to understand the way in which such method works and proceed.