Tag: empiricism
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Husserl’s Disciples: Dietrich von Hildebrand’s critique of relativism
In a previous post, I contrasted moral relativism with the value ethics of Dietrich von Hildebrand, a student of Edmund Husserl. In this post, I wish to consider von Hildebrand’s critique of relativism. As before, I encourage all my readers to turn to the phenomena themselves in order to either verify or invalidate von Hildebrand’s…
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Husserl’s Disciples: Dietrich Von Hildebrand on Value
The questions surrounding value, such as its nature and its relation to morality, have been asked and answered by philosophers in various ways throughout philosophical history. In particular, the issue of whether value is “objective” or “subjective” has caused much controversy in the last few centuries. Essentially, it comes down to this: is value a…
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The “noema” continued: difficulties with interpreting Husserl
In my last post, I introduced the concept of the “noema,” outlining two very different interpretations of it. On the one hand, the Fregean school of thought maintains that the noema for Husserl is essentially a mental entity that mediates our awareness of objects in the world. On the other hand, Gurwitsch argues that the…
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How to be a Philosopher
What does it mean to be a philosopher? How does one philosophize? Throughout history, numerous answers to these questions have been given. For Plato, to do philosophy is to behold the Forms. For Marcus Aurelius, to be a philosopher is to act virtuously and embrace calm indifference in the face of circumstance. For Descartes, philosophy…
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A War of Two Worlds: lifeworld and space-time
Since the advent of the modern age, we have lived in a divided cosmos, straddling two worlds. On the one hand, there is the world that precedes all theorizing, the world of ordinary experience, the realm of green grass, hot sand, fragrant flowers, and crashing waves. This is what Husserl calls the “Lifeworld.” On the…
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Transcendental Idealism: the guardian of natural realism
In a previous post, I argued that Edmund Husserl does not hold to any form of traditional idealism. On the contrary, I suggested that Husserl’s position is in some ways closer to epistemological realism. So, this naturally raises the question: If Husserl subscribes to some kind of realism, why then does he explicitly and persistently…
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Book Review: Introduction to Phenomenology
Robert Sokolowski’s Introduction to Phenomenology was one of the first books on Husserlian Phenomenology that I read, after I was introduced to Husserl several years ago. At the time, although I had been studying philosophy for quite a while, I was unfamiliar with Husserl’s terminology and principles. After all, as anyone who has read his…
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Immanence and Transcendence: consciousness and world
In my last post, I examined Husserl’s understanding of the phenomenological reduction. I ended by stating that for Husserl, the reduction is the “bracketing” or “disconnecting” of all transcendent objectivities. In this post, then, I will discuss what transcendence and immanence mean in Husserlian phenomenology. For Husserl, “immanence” refers to that which is really contained…
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The Phenomenological Reduction: rising above the world
Over my last few posts, I have outlined various aspects of Husserlian phenomenology, including the descriptive method, the meaning of essences, and the natural attitude. In this post, I will describe Husserl’s conception of the phenomenological reduction. As I have explained previously, Husserl argues that we cannot philosophize within the natural attitude without serious problems,…
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Essences and Imaginative Free Variation
In my last post, I outlined the meaning of phenomenology for Husserl. Specifically, I focused on the nature of phenomenology as a descriptive science of consciousness. Husserl argues that phenomenological description is possible as a foundational philosophical method primarily because of the capacity to have direct insights into essences. What are essences? Husserl maintains that…