هوسرل

Husserl looms over the history of twentieth century philosophy, especially the flavor known as “Continental.” Though by no means a household name, anyone who studies Heidegger, Husserl’s student, already knows this sibilant name. And luckily Heidegger’s recently rising reputation off the continent, despite his Nazi past, has awakened interest in his chief mentor. Unfortunately, as some have found, diving unaided into the thick brambles of Husserl’s primary work may lead to stultification, confusion, or gross misunderstandings about the nature of his project. It may even lead to total brain freeze. Reading Husserl can hurt. So where does the rabidly curious initiate begin? Two possibilities exist. The first, Husserl: A Guide for the Perplexed (Guides for the Perplexed) does a great job of delineating Husserl’s work and providing a framework for comprehending the morass. On the downside, its brevity sometimes obscures clear comprehension. Get ready for a total brain workout upon cracking its cover. A second possibility exists with the book aptly titled “Husserl” by David Woodruff Smith. This book serves as a much better starting place for any newcomer to this sometimes hideously complex thinker. Though a somewhat hulking 450 pages, it reads quickly, clearly and with an almost translucent accessibility. All aspects of Husserl’s thought receive apt elucidation, even some rarely mentioned, such as his ethical views. Two massive chapters also thoroughly delineate Husserl’s main philosophical legacy as the founder of phenomenology. Most Husserl introductions focus and revolve around this justifiably lauded topic. This one treats his phenomenology as the part of an entire philosophical system including logic, ontology, epistemology, and ethics. Apart from serving as a great introduction to an often neglected thinker, the book also seeks to magnify Husserl’s reputation and achievement. The author consistently categorizes Husserl with Aristotle and Kant as “the great systematizers,” though not all will find this juxtaposition convincing (some may even find it outright overblown). Whether or not the book succeeds in elevating Husserl in the philosophic canon, it definitely excels at explicating Husserl’s provocative and often highly original ideas. Anyone wishing to foray into this dense intellectual thicket should begin here.

Each of the weighty nine chapters takes on an particular category or subject and integrates it with previous and future chapters. The author argues that the multifarious and interdependent elements of Husserl’s philosophy make this the only approach possible. As such, the book can seem overlong and repetitive, but this actually facilitates comprehension, particularly as ideas get presented in various contexts. Following two chapters delineating biography and systematic thinking, Logic takes center stage. Husserl’s mathematical origins pervade this chapter, along with his famous critique of psychologism (the reduction of logic to psychological “states”). Here Husserl’s idea of semantics and logic take on qualities similar to a correspondence theory of truth (propositions map to “states of affairs”) and “transcendental logic” grounds itself in ideal (though not posited or spatio-temporal ontological entities) intentional content. “The Crisis” also appears here with the concern over the “Mathematization” of nature. Ontology then dominates chapter four, with discussions of material and formal essences, the three “regions of Being” (Nature, Consciousness and Culture), non-Platonic ideal entities, parts and wholes, moments, and Husserl’s (not Kant’s) “Transcendental Idealism.” Next “Phenomenology I,” chapter five, lays out the groundwork for Husserl’s most acclaimed contribution: phenomenology or the study of consciousness from the first-person perspective or, in Husserl’s words, “the science of the essence of consciousness.” Consciousness is intentional, or “consciousness of something.” This occurs via interactions between subject, object, content and act, constrained by a horizon of possibilities for an intended object. In concert with his conception of the “Life-World,” Husserl’s fundamental triad emerges: subjectivity, objectivity and intersubjectivity. We experience the world through these experiential lenses. “Phenomenology II,” the book’s longest chapter, digs deeper. Some of Husserl’s familiar notions appear here, such as “bracketing” with his method of “transcendental phenomenology” (which shifts from the “natural attitude” to one of phenomenological reflection), “noema” (an ideal content or sense not occurring in space-time), “noesis” (the intentional part of an experience occurring in time). Here lies the true meat of the book. “Epistemology” builds on the phenomenological chapters with ideas of “intuition” and “evidence.” This chapter argues that Husserl synthesized empiricist, rationalist and Kantian epistemological views, thereby dodging skepticism as phenomenology plugs us into the world (Husserl eschewed the unknowable Kantian “noumenon”). “Essential insight,” or “eidedtic intuition,” a controversial aspect of Husserl’s thought, gets defended here against claims of Platonism and mysticism. In the end, knowledge receives its base from our everyday “Life-world.” Though Husserl rarely receives mention as an ethicist, an entire chapter explores his ethical views framed by the formal principle “do the better.” These views tend towards the metaethical. A final chapter outlines Husserl’s legacy, exploring both “Continental” and “Analytical” descendants. His influence in the former remains solidly unquestionable. Nonetheless, Husserl’s importance in the “Analytic” school remains a little nebulous. This section doesn’t really illuminate his “Analytic” side convincingly, as his influence here seems more tenuous, particularly in comparison with his indubitable Continental presence. A very appropriate reiteration of Husserl’s triad (subjectivity, objectivity and intersubjectivity) closes the book.

The weight and scope of this book should not intimidate as the text itself flows smoothly. Brain twisting concepts come out seeming comprehensible and accessible. Diagrams and outlines even help elucidate difficult ideas in places. Not only that, many chapters contain background history on the subject at hand. “Ontology” discusses Aristotle and Kant. Likewise, “Epistemology” provides enough history on empiricism (Locke, Berkeley, Hume) and rationalism (Descartes, Leibniz, Spinoza) to put Husserl’s ideas in proper context. A glossary even provides an alphabetical reference for terminology. Beginners will learn about more than Husserl. Even those not new to philosophy but new to Husserl will glean droves of information, especially those not familiar with the “Analytic” and “Continental” divide, often kept secret in philosophy departments on both sides. Husserl potentially serves as a bridge between this chasm that still largely exists (though Heidegger has become accepted in some analytic circles, he’s often presented within only within that framework). Hopefully this book will make this startlingly original, and sometimes overwhelming, thinker more accessible to all sides of the spectrum. This book nearly obliterates all accusations of Husserlian incomprehensibility as well as, arguably, other misunderstandings. Things just became easier.