Husserl: Phenomenology and the Life World

Edmund Husserl was a prominent figure in 20th-century philosophy, known for his complex and difficult-to-interpret style and for coining new terms. His background in mathematics inclined him towards Platonism, seeking a universal foundation for knowledge akin to the work of Descartes. Husserl aimed to establish a 'science of sciences' to inform all other human knowledge, similar to Cartesian philosophical projects. He posited that the self is self-evident and that internal consciousness precedes external reality. This reflects the continental tradition, focusing on internal consciousness before outward realities.

Husserl's philosophy aimed to create certainty through phenomenology, a method to identify eternal essences in human psychology, treating philosophy as a 'rigorous science.' His writings, though vast, were largely published posthumously. Despite the challenges and perhaps failure of his project, Husserl's dedication to unifying knowledge into a single foundation reflects a noble pursuit, similar to Don Quixote's fictional endeavors. His approach contrasts with the Anglo-American tradition by prioritizing the internal over the external.

The phenomenological method emphasizes intuition, often seen as unreliable yet essential in discerning internal truths. Husserl borrowed the idea of intentionality from Brentano, similar to Freud, highlighting that mental life is irreducible to physical phenomena. He sought to establish a rigorous scientific foundation for philosophy, combating the effects of materialism by focusing on self-knowledge preceding external phenomena. His ideas challenged modern science's misguidance in understanding human experience.

Husserl's phenomenological method involves suspending the external world to focus on pure human consciousness, seeking essences common to all humans while bracketing externalities like scientific theorems. The aim is to uncover the elements that don't pass through phenomenology's sieve, similar to Cartesian reduction. Yet, the process is critiqued for its nebulous and seemingly endless nature, lacking clear truth conditions and consensus on what constitutes essential predicates.

Husserl tries to identify essences by subtracting non-essential predicates from human experience but his method faces criticism due to epistemological circularity. Husserl believed in empathy as a link to other minds, though offering no satisfactory explanation within his framework. His late work shifted towards the 'Lebenswelt' or 'life-world,' emphasizing human-centric time and experience over scientific abstractions, yet it remained largely theoretical and ungrounded in practical phenomenological application.

Husserl's philosophy highlights the challenge of transitioning between internal and external awareness, where the Anglo-American tradition errs on external precision and neglects the internal realm. The continental tradition, while nebulous, aims to incorporate internal consciousness, promoting understanding over precision. Husserl's concept of intersubjectivity attempts to bridge isolated consciousnesses, although without clear methodology, reflecting the insoluble divide between internal and external worlds.

Husserl, described as transforming German romanticism through Cartesian methodology, insists on self-knowledge as foundational, though his ambitious project remains incomplete. The difficulties in his phenomenology reflect broader challenges of bridging inner consciousness with communicable expression, making real progress elusive. His romantic vision of introspection champions personal experience as primary, warning against theories that deny internal realities.