Jalbert Husserl e Neokantismo

7/29/2019 Jalbert Husserl e Neokantismo

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Husserl's Position Between Dilthey and the Windelband-Rickert

School of Neo-Kantianism

Jalbert, John E.

Journal of the History of Philosophy, Volume 26, Number 2, April 1988,

pp. 279-296 (Article)

Published by The Johns Hopkins University Press

DOI: 10.1353/hph.1988.0045

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H u s s e r l's P o s it io n B e t w e e nD il th e y a n d th e W in d e l b a n d -

R i ck e rt S c h o o l o f N e o -K a n u a m s m

J O H N E . J A L B E R T

T H E C O NT RO VE RSY A ND D EB A TE o v e r t h e c h a r a c t e r o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e nt h e n a t u r a l a n d h u m a n s ci en c es ( N a t u r - u n d G e i s t e s w i s s e n s c h a f l e n ) b e c a m e ac e n t r a l t h e m e f o r p h i l o s o p h i c a l r e f le c t io n l a r g e ly t h r o u g h t h e e f f o r ts o f t h e o -r is ts s u c h a s W i l h e l m D i l t h ey a n d t h e t w o p r i n c i p a l r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f th eB a d e n S c h o o l o f N e o - K a n t i a n s , W i l h e l m W i n d e l b a n d a n d H e i n r i c h R i ck er t.~T h e s e t u r n o f th e c e n t u r y t h e o r is t s a r e m a j o r f i g u r e s i n t h i s p h i l o s o p h i c a la r e n a , b u t t h e y a r e b y n o m e a n s t h e o n l y p a r t i c i p a n ts i n th e e f f o r t t o g r a p p l ew i t h t h is i s su e . I f w e b r o a d e n o u r h i st o ri c al p e r s p e c t i v e , w e f in d t h a t t h ep r o b l e m a t i c i s a c t u a ll y p r e f i g u r e d i n t h e w r i t in g s o f P l at o a n d A r i s t o t l e , ' a n d i tc o n t i n u e s t o b e a v i ta l i ss u e t o d a y u n d e r t h e i n f l u e n c e o f w o r k s b y M a r t i nH e i d e g g e r , H a n s - G e o r g G a d a m e r , a n d P a u l R i co eu r . ~ D e s p i te th e l o n g hi s -

Research for this project was supp orted by grants in 1983 from the Penrose Fund of theAm erican Philosophical Society and the Sacred He art University Research/Creativity Council. Mythanks to the Husserl A rchives in I_.euven, Belgium an d Cologne, West Germ any for access to andpermission to cite fro m Husserl's unpublished man uscripts.Th is article is a revision of a p ap er pre sented a t the 1985 meeting of the Husserl Circle inOttawa, Canada.See, for example, Plato, "Statesman" in Plato: T he Co llectedDialogues, T he Bollingen Series71, ed. by Edith H amilton and H unt ing ton C airns (Princeton: Princeton U niversity Press, 1969),283c-~85b a nd A ristotle, Nicom athean Ethics, trans, by H . Rackman, L oeb Classical Library, No.73 (Cambridge: H arv ard University Press, 1968), I , i i i, l - 5.s See especially, M artin H eidegger, Being and Time, trans, by Joh n Macquarrie and Edw ardRobinson (New York: H arp er and Ro w, Publishers, 196u); Hans-Georg Gadam er, Truth andMethod (New York: Th e Seabury Press, 1975); Paul Ricoeur, The Conflict oflnterpretation: Essays inHermeneutics, ed. by D on I hd e (Evanston: Northwestern University Pre ss, 1974); and Paul[ ~ 7 9 ]


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2 8 0 J O U R N A L O F T H E H I S T O R Y O F P H I L O S O P H Y 2 6 : 2 A P R I L 1 9 8 8t o r y o f p h i l o s o p h i c a l a t t e n t i o n d i r e c t e d t o th i s q u e s t i o n , t h e d e b a t e h a s t o ac e r t ai n e x t e n t e n g e n d e r e d t h e e r r o n e o u s i m p r e s s io n t h a t w h a t is r e al ly ats t a ke is p r i m a r i l y a n e p i s t e m o l o g i c a l a n d / o r o n t o l o g i c a l m a t t e r . W h a t h a s b e e no b s c u r e d is t h e la r g e r , m o r e f u n d a m e n t a l p r o b l e m t h a t s p a w n e d t h e d e b a t e int h e f i r s t p l a c e . T h e m a i n i s su e , c o n c e i v e d b r o a d l y , is a n e t h i c a l o n e a n d c o n -c e r n s t h e p o s s i b i l it y o f a g e n u i n e l y h u m a n , t h a t is , r a t i o n a l a n d e t h i c a l , l if e .

T h e p h i l o s o p h e r E d m u n d H u s s e r l m a k e s a si g ni fi c an t c o n t r i b u ti o n to t hed e b a t e w h i c h i s, u n f o r t u n a t e l y , n o t a l w a y s r e c o g n i z e d . H u s s e r l 's c o n t r i b u t i o nis s i g n if i c a n t b e c a u s e , a m o n g o t h e r t h i n g s , it a t t e m p t s t o k e e p t h e u n d e r l y i n gi s su e , t h a t i s , t h e e t h i c a l d i m e n s i o n o f t h e q u e s t i o n , c l e a r l y i n f oc u s . T h i s e f f o r tc a n b e s e e n a s e a r l y a s 1 9 1o /1 1 i n H u s s e r l ' s e s s a y P h i l o s o p h y a s R i g o r o u s S c i e n ce ,w h e r e h e r e m i n d s u s t h a t i t is n o t t h e m e r e " t h e o r e t i c a l l a ck o f c l a ri ty r e g a r d -i n g t h e s e n s e o f t h e ' r ea l i ty ' i n v e s t i g a t e d in t h e n a t u r a l a n d h u m a n i s t i c s ci-e n ce s "4 t h a t i s a t i s su e , b u t t h e i m p e n d i n g c ri si s i n h u m a n i t y , w h i c h o r i g i n a t e sw i t h t h e t e n d e n c y o f t h e s e s c i e n c es t o fa l l p r e y t o t h e p r e j u d i c e s o f n a t u r a l i s ma n d / o r h i s t o r ic i s m . O f c o u r s e , t h e c ri si s w i t h w h i c h H u s s e r l i s c o n c e r n e d p e r -t a in s p r i m a r i l y t o t h e h u m a n s c ie n c es ( G e i s t e s w i s s e n s c h a f l e n ) , f o r i t i s t h e t a s k o ft h e h u m a n s c ie n c es , n o t t h e n a t u r a l s c i e nc e s , t o p r o v i d e h u m a n i t y w i t h t h ea n t i d o t e f o r a s p i r i t u a l l i fe g o n e a w r y . s

B o t h n a t u r a l i s m a n d h i s t o r ic i s m " m i s i n t e r p r e t i d e a s a s f a ct s a n d . . , t r a n s -f o r m a l l r e a l i t y , a l l l i f e , i n t o a n i n c o m p r e h e n s i b l e , i d e a l e s s c o n f u s i o n o f' fa c t s' . '6 T h e r e i n l ie s t h e i r i m p o t e n c e . F o r H u s s e r l , a l l l i fe in v o l v e s t a k i n g ap o s it io n a n d j u d g i n g a c c o r d i n g t o n o r m s - - n o r m s w h i c h, in t h e h a n d s o f sci-e n c e s b l i n d e d b y n a t u r a l i s m o r h i s to r i c is m , a r e e m p i r i c a ll y fa l s if ie d a n d r e n -d e r e d d e v o i d o f a n y i d e a l va l id i ty . I n t h i s r e s p ec t , P h i l o s o p h y a s R i g o r o u s S c i e n c ea n t i c i p a t e s H u s s e r l ' s l a t e r w o r k i n t h e C r/ s/ s w h e r e h e a g a i n i ss u e s t h e w a r n i n gt h a t " m e r e l y f a c t - m i n d e d s c ie n ce s m a k e m e r e l y f a c t - m i n d e d p e o p le ." 7 W h i l et h e t o n e o f t h e C r/s /s is d e c i d e d l y m o r e p o s it iv e t o w a r d t h e h u m a n s c ie n c esa n d t h e i r r o le i n t h e g u i d a n c e o f h u m a n i t y , i t n e v e r th e l e ss d o e s n o t r e p r e s e n ta m a j o r r e v i s i o n o f H u s s e r l ' s e a r l i e r a s s e s s m e n t . H i s p o s i ti o n w a s n e v e r o n e o fw h o l e s a l e c o n d e m n a t i o n o r r e j e c t i o n b u t , r a t h e r , a r e c o g n i t i o n t h a t t h e h u -m a n s c ie n c e s w e r e b e i n g h a m p e r e d i n th e i r t a sk b e c a u s e t h e y la c k e d a sc ie n -Ricoeur, Herm eneutics and the Hum an Sciences: Essays in Language, A ction and Interpretation,ed. andtrans, byJ. B. Thompson (Cambridge: Cam bridge UniversityPress, 1982).4 Edmund Husserl, "Philosophy as R igorous Science," n Husserl: Shorter Works, ed. by PeterMcCormick and F. A. Elliston (Notre D ame: N otre D ame UniversityPress, 1981), 193. Here aftercited as P R S .5 Edmund Husseri, The Crisis of European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology: An Intro-duction to Ph enomenological Philosophy, trans, by David Carr (Evanston: Northwestern U niversityPress, 197o , ~7 o. He reafte r cited as Crisis.6 P R S , a93.7 C risis,6.


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HUSSERL 'S POSI TI O N 2 81

tific or philosophical foundation. One of the principal aims of Husserlianphenomenology is to provide just such a foundation. In orde r to bring thisaspect of Husserl's thought into focus, we should recall the positive goals ofnaturalism and historicism and the price paid to achieve these goals.

Naturalism, for example, does strive to be scientific even thoug h its met hodultimately results in the falsification and obfuscation of its subject matter. His-toricism, on the other hand, does endeavor to remain faithful to its subjectmatter but, in the process, abandons the project of science. The problem here isto fuse the two seemingly conflicting but nevertheless positive goals, that is, thegoal to be scientific and the goal to be true to one's subject matter. This, then, isthe question confronti ng Husserl: how can the human sciences remain true totheir unique subject matter and still lay legitimate claim to the title science? Canthere be a science of life that does not in the process alienate itself from anddistort its subject matter? As we shall see, the phenomenological methods ofeidetic reduction and variation figure largely in Husserl's response to thesequestions. First, however, let us broaden our historical perspective in order tobetter appreciate both the problem and Husserrs proposed solution to it. Herethe debate between Dilthey and the leading figures of the Baden School of Neo-Kantians, Windelband and Rickert, is relevant.

1.Husserl, Dilthey, and the Neo-Kantians found themselves united in their aver-sion to naturalism and methodological reductionism. One of the questionsthat requi red their immediate attention, then, was how and according to whatprinciple the sciences should be distinguished and classified. In the course ofhis philosophical development, Dilthey proffered several responses to thisquestion. In his E i n l e i t u n g in ~883, Dilthey distinguishes the sciences on thebasis o f their subject matter. Sciences that deal with physical reality are naturalsciences, and sciences that deal with the realm of mind are human sciences.Dilthey later modifies and refines his position so that in the I d e e n of ~894 hesuggests that sciences be Classified on the basis of their reliance on inner orouter experience. Human sciences, then, are those sciences that rely on innerexperience, and natural sciences are those sciences that rely on outer experi-ence. In the I d e e n , moreover, the rudiments of a methodologically based dis-tinction of the sciences are evident in assertions such as, "We explain nature,[but] we underst and psychic life. '8 Building upon this position, Dilthey wasthen a short step from his final position in which, generally speaking, he

8 WilhelmDilthey,Die Geistige Welt: Einleitun g in die Philosophie des Lebens, GesammelteSchriften5, Hrsg. Georg Misch (Stuttgart: B. G. Teubner Verlagsgesellschaft, 1928), 144. Hereafter citedasG.S. 5.


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282 J O U R N A L O F T H E H I S T O R Y O F P H I L O S O P H Y 9 6 : ~ A P RIL I 9 8 8a l i g n e d t h e h e r m e n e u t i c a l m e t h o d w i t h t h e h u m a n s c ie n ce s a n d t h e m e t h o do f c a us a l e x p l a n a t i o n w i t h t h e n a t u r a l s c ie n ce s .T h i s a d m i t t e d l y r o u g h s k e t c h o f D i lt h e y 's p o s i ti o n p r o v id e s a b a c k g r o u n da g a i n st w h i ch o n e c a n b e t t e r c o m p r e h e n d t h e ba si c p o i n t o f d i s a g r e e m e n tb e t w e e n D i l th e y a n d t h e B a d e n N e o - K a n t i a n s w h ic h , in t u r n , w a s to h a v e b o t hp o s it iv e a n d n e g a t i v e im p a c t o n H u s s e r r s t h o u g h t s o n t h e s ub j ec t . T h e N e o -K a n t i a n s , W i n d e l b a n d a n d R i c k e r t, o b j e c te d s t r e n u o u s l y to D i l th e y 's s e p a r a -t i o n o f t h e s c i en c e s a c c o r d i n g t o s u b je c t m a t t e r , a n d t h e y t h e r e f o r e r e j e c t e dt h e D i l t h e y a n a p p e l l a t i o n G e i s t e s w i s . s e n s c h a f t e n a s a n i n a p p r o p r i a t e e x p r e s s i onf o r t h e h i s t o ri c o - c u l tu r a l s c ie n ce s . W i n d e l b a n d a n d R i c k e r t w e r e l a r g e ly in f l u-e n c e d i n th i s c o n n e c t i o n b y t h e t h e n p r e v a l e n t n a t u r a l is t ic a l l y o r i e n t e d p sy -c h o l o g y . F o r t h e m , p s y c h o l o g y m e a n t e x c l u si v e ly p s y c h o p h y s ic a l p s y c h o l o g y ,a n d t h e y t h e r e f o r e m a i n t a i n e d , n o t u n e x p e c t e d l y , t h a t t h e s c ie n ce s c o u l d n o tb e d e m a r c a t e d a c c o r d i n g t o s u b je c t m a t t e r . A f t e r a ll, p s y c h o lo g y is c o n c e r n e dw i t h b o t h t h e p h y s i c a l a n d p s y c h i c o r , m o r e p r e c i s e ly , w i t h t h e ( c a u s a l) r e l a t i o n -s h ip a n d i n t e r p l a y b e tw e e n t h e m . I n t e r m s o f m e t h o d , t h o u g h , p s y c h o lo g y isl ik e th e n a t u r a l s c ie n c e s i n a s m u c h a s i t p u r s u e s t h e g e n e r a l l aw s o b t a i n i n g i nits fi e ld o f r e s e a r c h . W i n d e l b a n d a n d R i c k e r t 's g e n e r a l c o n c l u s i o n is t h a tm e t h o d , n o t s u b j e c t m a t t e r , d i s t i n g u i s h e s o n e t y p e o f s c ie n c e f r o m a n o t h e r .T h u s , a c c o r d i n g t o W i n d e l b a n d ' s f o r m u l a t i o n , n a t u r a l s c ie n ce s ar e d e s c r i b e da s " n o m o t h e t i c " b e c a u s e t h e y a i m a t g e n e r a l l aw s , a n d h i s to r ic a l s c ie n ce s a r e" i d i o g r a p h i c " b e c a u s e t h e y f o c u s t h e i r t h e o re t i c a l i n t e r e s t u p o n t h e i n d i v i d u a la n d u n i q u e .

N a t u r a l l y , D i l t h e y e l a b o r a t e d h is o w n c r it i q u e o f W i n d e l b a n d ' s n o m o t h e t i c -i d e o g r a p h i c d i s t i n c t i o n , b u t w e a r e h e r e p r i m a r i l y i n t e r e s t e d i n e x a m i n i n gH u s s e r l 's o b v i o u s d i s s a t i s fa c t i o n w it h b o t h t h e N e o - K a n t i a n a n d D i l t h e y a n p o s i-t io n s. 9 I t s h o u l d f i r s t b e m e n t i o n e d , t h o u g h , t h a t d e s p i t e R i c k e r t ' s o b v i o u si n d e b t e d n e s s t o W i n d e l b a n d , R i c k e r t d i d n o t c o n s i d e r h is o w n g e n e r a l i z i n g -i n d i v i d u a l i z in g d i s t in c t i o n t o b e a m e r e d u p l i c a t i o n o f W i n d e l b a n d ' s w e ll -k n o w n m e t h o d o l o g i c a l d i s t i n c ti o n . I n f a c t , R i c k e r t f e l t t h e l a t t e r w o u l d " c o m m i to n e t o m u c h t o o n a r r o w a c o n c e p t o f h is t o r y a n d w o u l d , m o r e o v e r , s h i f t t h ef o c a l p o i n t o f h i s t o r y f r o m i ts c h a r a c t e r a s a sc i e n ce . '~o B u t H u s s e r l s e e m s t oo v e r l o o k t h e s u b s t a n t i v e r e a s o n s w h i c h p r e v e n t e d R i c k e r t f r o m b o r r o w i n g

o For a detailed discu ssion of Dilthey's response to W indelband's nom othetic-idiographicdistinction and to Ricke rt's more cautious reinterpretation of it, see Rudolf Makkreel, Dil they:P h i lo s o p he r o f t h e H u m a n S t ud i es (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1975), 39-44, 2 t8- 93 andRudolf M akkreel, "Wilhelm Dilthey and the Neo-Kantians: The Distinction of the Geis teswissen-schaf ten and the Ku l t u r wi s s e n s c h a f t e n , "J o u r n a l o f th e Hi s t o ry o f Ph i l o so p h y 7 (O ctober, 1969): 425-32.1o Heinrich Rickert, Science and H is tory: A Cr i t ique o f Pos i t i v is t i c Epi s temology , t rans, by G.Reisman and ed . by A. God dard (Princeton: D. Van Nostrand Com pany, Inc., 1962), 78, cf. 72,85 Here after cited as S c i e n ce a n d Hi s t o ry .


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H U S S E R L ' S P O S I T I O N 2 8 3W i n d e l b a n d ' s t e r m i n o l o g y a n d , i n s t e a d , v ie w s R i c k e rt as p r i m a r i l y p r o v i d i n gt h e d e t a i l m i s s i n g i n W i n d e l b a n d ' s o u t l i n e f o r c l as s i fy i n g t h e s c i e nc e s . HI n h is 1 9 2 5 le c t u r e s o n p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l p s y c h o l o g y , w h e r e h e e x t e n -s iv e ly s u m m a r i z e s D i l t h e y ' s p s y c h o l o g y , a n d i n h is 1 9 2 7 l e c t u r e s o n N a t u r u n dG e i s t , w h e r e h e f o c u s e s o n t h e w o r k s o f W i n d e l b a n d a n d R i c k er t , H u s s e r ld e m a n d s a r e t u r n t o t h e w o r l d o f e x p e r i e n c e i n o r d e r t o a r r i v e a t a s o l u ti o n t ot h e p r o b l e m o f h o w t o d is t i n g u is h t h e s o c i o c u lt u r a l s c ie n ce s f r o m t h e n a t u r a ls c i e n c e s ." " I f th is [ w o r l d - e x p e r i e n c e a n d e x p e r i e n c e d w o r l d ] is t h e o r i g i n als o u r c e o f a ll s c ie n c e re l a t e d t o t h e w o r l d , t h e n . . , e v e r y d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n o f t h es c ie n c e s w h i c h is c l e a r a b o u t i t s o r i g i n m u s t b e c a r r i e d o u t b y a r e t u r n t o t h ee x p e r i e n t i a l w o r l d . . . . H e r e w e s e e t h e p l a ce o f o r i g in o f a r a d ic a l l y g r o u n d e dd i s t r i b u t i o n o r d i v i s io n o f p o s s i b le w o r l d - s c i e n c e s. " '~

I n h is le c tu r e s o n p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l p s y ch o lo g y , H u s s e r l e m b a r k s u p o n ab r i e f an a ly s is o f th e s t r u c t u r e o f t h e e x p e r i e n t i a l w o r l d w h i c h l e ad s h i m t os e v e r al n o t e w o r t h y o b s e r v a t i o n s . " N a t u r e " a n d " m i n d , " w e a r e to ld , d o n o te x i st as s ci e n ti fi c t h e m e s p r i o r t o s c i en t if ic t h e o r i z i n g . T h e y a r e , r a t h e r ,i n t e r t w i n e d c o m p o n e n t s o f t h e e x p e r i e n t i a l w o r ld , b u t , e v e n in th e e x p e r i e n -t i al w o r l d , t h e y a r e n o n e t h e l e s s d i s c e rn i b l e f r o m o n e a n o t h e r a n d d e s c r i p -t iv e l y d i s t i n g u i s h a b l e . T h a t is t o s ay , t h e i n v i t a t i o n o r m o t i v a t i o n t o t a k e u pt h e t h e o r e t i c a l a t t i t u d e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f e i t h e r t h e n a t u r a l o r s o c i o - c u lt u r a ls c ie n c es is g r o u n d e d i n e x p e r i e n c e i ts el f. W i t h t h i s o b s e r v a t i o n , a n o t h e rm e a n s o f d i s t i n g u i s h i n g b e t w e e n t h e t w o g r o u p s o f sc i en c e s b e g i n s toe m e r g e , n a m e l y , o n e t h a t f o c u s e s o n t h e m a n n e r i n w h i c h e a c h s c ie n c ep r o c e e d s t o i n t e r p r e t a n d u n d e r s t a n d t h e r e la t io n s h i p b e tw e e n n a t u r e a n dm i n d . F o r n a t u r a l s c i en c e , t h is r e l a t i o n s h i p is v i e w e d a s a st r ic t ly c a u s a l o n ew h i le , f o r h u m a n s c i e n ce , i t is e s s e n ti a l ly i n t e n t i o n a l o r m o t i v a t i o n a l . A c c o r d -i n g ly , in t e n t i o n a l i t y is f o u n d t o b e t h a t p r i n c i p l e b y w h i c h t h e m e n t a l isd i s t in g u i s h e d f r o m t h e p h y s ic a l, a n d , a s B r e n t a n o h a d c l ea r ly p e r c e i v e d , t h e" f u n d a m e n t a l c h a r a c t e r i s t ic o f p s y c hi c li fe w h ic h is g i v e n q u it e i m m e d i a t e l ya n d e v i d e n t l y p r i o r t o al l t h e o r i e s . " '4 T h e i n t e n t i o n a l i t y o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s i st h e n c a r r i e d o v e r i n to H u s s e r l ' s p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l t h e o r y o f th e h u m a n

~' For example, regarding Rickert 's enormous work, Die Grenzen der Naturwissenschaft l ichenBergriffsbildung, Husserl observes: "Eine neue T heo rie ist da nicht geworden, das ganze Grund-geruest der Windelbandschen Gedanken bleibt bestehen . . . . " in the unpublished manuscript"Vorlesungen N atur und Ge ist, Somm er-semester, ~927 ' classified by the Husserl Archives,Leuven , Belgium as F 1 32, p. 143 (pagination o f the typed transcription is used throu gho ut thisessay). H erea fter cited as F 132.'" Edmund Husser l , Phenomenological Psychology: Lectures , Summer Semester; 19= 5, trans, byJoh n Scanlon (The Hague: Martinus N ijhoff, 1977), 4 o. He reafte r cited as Phen. Psych. See also F1 3 2 , pp. 32 66 -67 , 149., s Phen. Psych. , 47 ., 4 I b / d . , 22 .


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7 84 J O U R N A L O F T H E H I S T O R Y O F P H I L O S O P H Y ~ 6 : z A P R I L ~ 9 8 8s c i e n c e s w h e r e i t p l a y s a c e n t r a l r o l e , g r a n t i n g t o h u m a n s c i e n c e a c e r t a i np r i o r it y o v e r n a t u r a l s c ie n c e.T h e r o le o f i n t e n ti o n a l it y i n H u s s e rl 's u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f th e d o m a i n o fh u m a n s c ie n ce c a n h a r d l y b e o v e r e m p h a s i z e d f o r, a s h e h i m s e l f o b se r ve s ," W h o e v e r d o e s n o t s e e w h a t is e s s e n ti a l to i n t e n t i o n a l i ty a n d t h e p a r t i c u l a rm e t h o d o l o g y p e r t a i n i n g t o it, d o e s n o t s e e w h a t is e s s e nt ia l to p e r s o n a l i t y a n dp e r s o n a l p r o d u c t i o n s e i th e r. "~ 5 W e s h o u l d r e c a l l a t t h is p o i n t t h a t H u s s e r lb a s es h is c r i ti q u e s o f W i n d e l b a n d a n d R i c k e r t t o a la r g e e x t e n t u p o n t h e i rf a i l u r e t o r e c o g n i z e t h e p o s s ib i li t y o f p s y c h o l o g y as a s t u d y o f i n t e n t i o n a l i t ya n d t h e c o r r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n p e r s o n a l i t y a n d p e r s o n a l p r o d u c t i o n s . 16 T h e r e -f o r e , it is p r o b a b l y w i t h t h e m i n m i n d t h a t H u s s e r l a s se r ts t o w a r d t h e e n d o fh is p s y c h o l o g y l e c t u r e s t ha t , " S i n c e . . . t h e e n t i r e r e a l m o f p e r s o n a l s u bj ec ti v-i ty a n d i ts f o r m e d p r o d u c t s , i s t h e e x c l u s i v e t h e m e i n a l l s o c i o - c u l t u r a l s ci-e n c e s, t h e y al l b e l o n g u n d e r t h e b r o a d e r t it le p s y c h o l o g y . ' ' ~ 7

H u s s e r l ' s r e s p o n s e t o D i l t h e y ' s p o s i t i o n i s l e s s c l e a r - c u t a n d , t h e r e f o r e ,c o n s i d e r a b l y m o r e d i f f ic u l t t o as se ss . W e a r e t o ld , f o r e x a m p l e , t h a t D i h h e yh a d n o t r e c o g n i z e d t h a t t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s t o it s o b j e c ts is " t h ep r o p e r a n d i n f in i t e ly f r u i t f u l t h e m e o f s y s te m a t i c a n a l y s e s o f t h e p s y c h e a n di n d e e d a s a n a l y s e s o f e s s e n c e . ' '8 L a t e r , w e a r e t o l d t h a t t h e " c e n t r a l s i gn i fi -c a n c e o f i n t e n t i o n a l i t y p l a y s n o r o l e i n h i s [ D il t he y ' s] w o r k . " '9 A c a r e f u l a n a l y -sis c o n v i n c e s t h e r e a d e r , h o w e v e r , t h a t D i l t h e y i s n e v e r e x a c t l y a c c u s e d o fr e m a i n i n g c o m p l e t e l y o b l iv i o us t o th e i n t e n t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e o f m e n t a l l i fe .T h i s is, o f c o u r s e , a s it s h o u l d b e f o r t h e i d e a o f i n t e n ti o n a l i t y d o e s e n t e r i n t oD i l t h e y ' s s t u d i e s o f m e n t a l l i f e a n d , w h a t i s m o r e , H u s s e r l i n a l l p r o b a b i l i t yk n e w a s m u c h . ~~ B u t w h a t , t h e n , is t h e p o i n t o f H u s s e r l ' s c r i t ic i s m ?

H u s s e r l ' s p o i n t i s t h a t D i l t h e y d i d n o t f o l l o w t h r o u g h w i t h h i s in i ti a l i n -s i gh t s i n t o i n t e n t i o n a l i t y a n d , c o n s e q u e n t l y , d i d n o t p e n e t r a t e a n d s o lv e t h e" r a d ic a l p r o b l e m o f t h e o b j e c ti v it y o f m e n t a l f o r m a t i o n . ' ~ O n e r e s e a r c h e r ,M i c h a e l E r m a r t h , m a i n t a i n s t h a t H u s s e r l ' s c r it i c is m is b a s e d s o l e l y o n D i l t h e y 'sI d e e n ( 1 89 4 ) a n d n o t o n D i h h e y ' s l a t e r in v e s t i g a t i o n s i n t h e A u f b a u , w h e r e t h e

,5 Ib id . , 169.,6 F 1 3 2 ' 12 9 ., 7 P h e n . P s y c h . , 169.,8 Ib id . , 9 .,9 Ib id . , 24 .,o For a m ore thorough discussion of the idea of intentionality n D ilthey (and H usserl), seeJoh n Scanlon, "The Status of Intentionality in D ilthey's t u d ie s T o w a r d t h e F o u n d a t i o n o f th e H u m a n

S c i e n c e s " in R. Makkreel and J. Scanlon, eds., D i l t h e y a n d P h e n o m e n o l o g y (W ashington, D. C.: T heCenter for A dvanced Research in Phenomenology & UniversityPress of Am erica, 1987). See alsoMichael Erm arth, W i l h e l m D i l th e y : T h e C r i t i q u e o f H i s t o r ic a l R e a s o n (Chicago: The University ofChicago Press, 1978), 216-22.~' Edmund Husserl, P h a e n o m e n o l o g i s c h e P s y ch o l o g ie , H u s s e r l i a n a 9 , Hrsg. W alter Biemel (DenHaag : Martinus Nijhoff, 1968), Beilage lI, p. 359.


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H U S S E R L ' S P O S I T I O N 2 8 5p r o b l e m o f t h e o b j e c ti v i ty o f m e n t a l f o r m a t i o n s is a d d r e s s e d . ~2 E r m a r t h ' sp o s i t io n s e e m s p l a u s i b l e , e s p e c ia l ly s i n ce H u s s e r l d o e s d e s c r i b e D i lt h e y 's D e rAufbau der geschicht lichen W elt a s o n e o f h is m o s t " b e a u t i f u l w r it in g s o n t h et h e o r y o f t h e h u m a n s cie nc es ."~ s W h a t E r m a r t h ' s v i e w d o e s n o t ta k e i n t os u f f ic i e n t a c c o u n t , h o w e v e r , i s H u s s e r l ' s o b s e r v a t i o n r e g a r d i n g D i l th e y 's w r i t-i ng s : " o n e c a n n o t g a in f r o m t h e m i n s t ru c t i o n i n t h a t p u r e l y i n n e r - d i r e c t e dp s y c h o l o g y w h i c h D i l t h e y ac t u a ll y h a d i n m i n d a n d w h i c h h e h i m s e l f h a d n o ty e t f o r m e d i n t o a r i g o r o u s s c ie n c e w i t h a c o n c e p t u a l l y r i g o r o u s m e t h o d a n dd e c is iv e ly c a r r ie d o u t e s ta b l is h m e n t s. '~ 4 T h u s , it m a y b e t r u e t h a t t h e e m p h a -sis p l a c e d o n t h e o b j e c t iv i ty o f m e n t a l p r o d u c t s i n th e Aufbau~5 o b v i a t e sH u s s e r l ' s c r i t i c i s m , b u t i n a n o t h e r s e n s e i t d o e s n o t a n d s u r e l y d i d n o t f o rH u s s e r l . I n f a c t, f r o m H u s s e r l ' s p o i n t o f v i e w , i t is e a s y t o s e e w h y t h e i s s u e inq u e s t i o n w o u l d b e e x a c e r b a t e d b y t h e Aufbau . Reca l l , f o r i ns t ance , t ha t t heAufbau , w h i c h i s w h e r e t h e i n f l u e n c e o f H u s s e r l ' s Logical Inves t igat ions ist h o u g h t b y s o m e t o b e e s p e ci a ll y p r o m i n e n t , is a l so th e p l a c e w h e r e D i l th e ym a k e s a d e c i s iv e t u r n i n t h e d i r e c t i o n o f h e r m e n e u t i c s , a c c o m p a n i e d b y a d e -e m p h a s i s o n t h e p r e v i o u s ly a t te m p t e d p s y ch o lo g ic a l f o u n d a t i o n o f th e h u m a ns c ie n c e s, w h i c h i s p r e c i se l y th e p a r t o f D i l th e y ' s p r o g r a m t h a t H u s s e r l a t t e m p t st o s a lv a g e . ~6 N e v e r t h e l e s s , o n e m u s t a g r e e w i t h R u d o l f M a k k r e e l , w h o h o l d st h a t d e - e m p h a s i s h e r e is n o t t h e s a m e a s r e je c t io n , a n d H u s s e r l , to o , m u s t h a v eu n d e r s t o o d t h is b e c a u s e h e p e r s i s te d i n tr y i n g t o c o m p l e t e D i lt h e y 's p r o j e c t b yr e s t o ri n g p s y c h o l o g y to its f o r m e r p l ac e o f p r e e m i n e n c e a m o n g t h e p a r t ic u l a rGeisteswissenschaftenw i th t h e h e l p o f p h e n o m e n o l o g y .

W e s h o u l d , m o r e o v e r , k e e p t h e f o l l o w i n g c o n s i d e r a t i o n s in m i n d . I t m a y b e ,i n p r in c i p le , c o r r e c t t o u n d e r s c o r e t h e o b j e c ti v e s t at u s o f m e n t a l p r o d u c t s a sw e l l a s t h e f a c t t h a t t h e o p e r a t i o n o f Nacherleben h a s m o r e t o d o w i t h t h e r e -c r e a t i o n o r p r o d u c t i o n o f th a t m e n t a l f o r m a t i o n t h a n i t d o e s w i th t h e r e it e r a -t i o n o f t h e p s y c h i c a c t s t h a t p r o d u c e d i t i n t h e f i rs t p l a c e . T h i s e m p h a s i s ,

" E r m a r t h , Wilhelm D ilthey: The Critique of Historical Reason, 3 7 2 , n . 5 9 .'~ See Phen. P sych., 25.,4 Ibid., 5 S e e , f o r e x a m p l e , W i l h e l m D i l t h e y , Der Aufbau der Geschichtlichen Welt in den Geisteswissen-schaften, Gessam elte $chriften 7, e d . b y B . G r o e t h u y s e n ( S t u t t g a r t : B . G . T e u b n e r V e r l a g s g e s e l l -

s c h a f t , 1 9 7 3 ) , 8 5 . H e r e a f t e r c i t e d a s G.S. 7.,6 S e e , f o r e x a m p l e , J f i r g e n H a b e r m a s , Knowledge and H um an Interests , t r a n s , b y J e r e m y J .

S h a p i r o ( B o s t o n : B e a c o n P r e s s , 1 9 7 1 ) , 3 3 7 , n . a a n d M a k k r e e l , Dilthey: Philosopher of the H um anStudies, 2 7 9 f f . , w h o e m p h a s i z e s H u s s e r l ' s i m p a c t o n s t u d i e s l e a d i n g d i r e c t l y t o t h e Aufbau.H a b e r m a s , h o w e v e r , g i v e s t h e e r r o n e o u s i m p r e s s i o n t h a t D i l t h e y ' s e a r l y t e n d e n c y t o w a r dp s y c h o i o g i s m i s n e c e s s a r i l y l i n k e d t o h i s c o n c e p t i o n o f a d e s c r i p t i v e a n d a n a l y t i c p s y c h o l o g y , a n dt h e l a t e r e m p h a s i s o n h e r m e n e u t i c s a p p e a r s , t h e r e f o r e , t o t ak e a i m a t b o t h t h e p s y c h o l o g i s m andt h e p s y c h o l o g y o f t h e e a r l ie r p e r i o d . F o r t u n a t e l y , f r o m M a k k r e e l 's w o r k ( 3 o 2 - 3 o 3 ) , w e le a r n n o tt o c o n s t r u e D i l t h e y 's r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f p s y c h o l o g y ' s f o u n d a t i o n a l r o l e in r e l a t i o n to t h e o t h e rGeisteswissenschaften a s a c o m p l e t e r e j e c t i o n o f t h e i m p o r t a n c e o n c e a t t a c h e d t o it.


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286 JOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF PHILOSO PHY 2 6:2 APRIL 198 8h o w e v e r , d o e s t e n d t o e c l ip s e t h e s u b j e c ti v e s i d e o f t h e i n t e n t i o n a l e q u a t i o n . I no r d e r t o o v e r c o m e t h e l as t v es ti ge s o f p s y ch o l o g is m in t h e t h e o r y o f m e n t a lf o r m a t i o n s , a f u l l - f l e d g e d e i d et i ca l ly e x e c u t e d i n t e n t i o n a l a n a l y si s is r e q u i r e d - -o n e w h i c h n e i t h e r i g n o r e s s u b je c ti v it y i n f a v o r o f t h e o b j e ct iv e m e a n i n g a n dc o n t e x t b e l o n g i n g t o m e n t a l p r o d u c t s n o r s i m p l y " p s y c h o lo g i z e s" it. H u s s e r lt r ie s to m a k e p r e c i se l y t h is p o i n t w h e n h e r e m i n d s u s in t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n t o th el e c t u r e s o n p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l p s y c h o l o g y o f t h e n e c e s s i ty a n d s i g n if i ca n c e o ft h e t y p e o f c o r r e l a t i o n a l i n v e s t ig a t i o n s i n it i a te d i n t h e Log ical Invest igations: "i t ise v i d e n t t h a t w h e n e v e r s o m e t h i n g l ik e n u m b e r s , m a t h e m a t i c a l m u l ti pl ic it ie s ,p ro p o s i t i o n s , t h e o r i e s , e t c. a r e t o b e c o m e s u b j e c ti v e l y g i v e n , b e c o m e o b je c t s o fc o n s c i o u s n e s s i n s u b j e c t i v e l i v e d e x p e r i e n c e s , the l ived experiences which are neededfo r that to ha pp en m ust ha ve essential ly necessary an d everywhere identical structure.'27E v e n m o r e s ig n if ic a n t f o r o u r p r e s e n t i n t e re s ts is H u s s e r r s s u b s e q u e n t r e m a r kt h a t t h e a b o v e h o l d s t r u e f o r " al l i n v e s ti g a ti o n s o f p s y c h ic c o r r e l a t io n s r e f e r r i n gt o o b je c ts o f e v e r y r e g i o n a n d c a t e g o r y . ''8 I n o t h e r w o r d s , i t a p p l ie s n o t o n l y t om a t h e m a t i c a l p r o p o s i t i o n s a n d t h e l ik e , b u t t o t h e e n t i r e r e a l m o f c u l t u r e a n do b j ec t iv e s p i ri t t h a t f o r m s t h e s u b j e c t m a t t e r o f t h e h u m a n s c ie n c e s ,9

2.A n o t h e r d i m e n s i o n o f H u s s er l's p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l c o n c e p ti o n o f t h e h u m a ns ci en c es t o w h i c h w e h a v e a l r e a d y a l l u d e d m u s t n o w b e e x a m i n e d m o r ec l os e ly . B e s i d e s i n t e n t i o n a l i t y , w h a t d i s t i n g u i s h e s H u s s e r l ' s v i e w m o s t c l e a r l yf r o m t h a t o f D i l th e y , W i n d e l b a n d , a n d R i c k e r t is th e c o n v i ct io n t h a t p h e n o m e -n o l o g ic a l p s y c h o l o g y , a s t h e f o u n d a t i o n a l s c ie n c e f o r t h e p a r t i c u l a r h u m a nd i s c i p l i n e s , m u s t b e i n i t s a i m a n d m e t h o d a p u r e l y e i d e t i c s c i e n c e . H u s s e r lc o n t e n d s t h a t p r e v i o u s p r a c t i t i o n e r s a n d t h e o r i s t s o f t h e h u m a n s c ie n c e s w e r et h e m s e l v e s , d e s p i t e t h e i r p r o t e s t a t i o n s a g a i n s t a n d a t t a c k s o n n a t u r a l i s m ,b l i n d e d b y t h i s p r e j u d i c e i n a s m u c h a s t h e y " t o t a l l y f a i l e d e v e n t o s e e t h ep r o b l e m o f a u n i v e r s al a n d p u r e h u m a n i s t i c sc ie n c e a n d t o in q u i r e a f t e r at h e o r y o f t h e e s s e n c e o f s p i r i t p u r e l y a s s p i r i t w h i c h w o u l d p u r s u e w h a t i su n c o n d i t i o n a l l y u n i v e r s a l, b y w a y o f e l e m e n t s a n d la ws, i n t h e s p i ri t u al s p h e r e ,

97 P h e n . P s y c h . , 27. Emphases mine., s I b i d .~9 Perhap s the clearest exampl e of the form this type of historico-intentional research would

take can be fou nd in Husserl 's essay "the Origin of Geometr y" (Cr/s/s, Appe ndi x VI, especially356-6o). While this essay focuses on a mathematical formation, it is evident that Husserl meansthe analysis to which ge ometr y is subjected to be applicable to othe r forms of cultural objectivitiesand, in particular, to works of literature and oth er docu ments or traces (357). It must be noted,however, and Husserl seems to have been aware of this (see note, 357), that the latter class ofcultural objects does not admit of the same de gree of infinite "repeatability" and "accessibility" toothers that is characteristic of mathematical objects. See, in this connection, Robert D'Amico,"Husserl on the Foundational Structures of Natural and Cultural Sciences," P h i l o s o p h y a n d P h e -n o m e n o l o g i c a l R e s e a r c h 4 ~ (i 981 ): l o- 1 I.


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H U S S E R L ' S P O S I T I O N 987with the purpose of proceeding from there to scientific explanations in anabsolutely final sense."3oAn eidetic hum an science would call into question earlier attempts to tracethe distinction between the human and natural sciences back to distinctionsbetween description and explanation on the one hand or individual and law-oriented scientific attitudes on the othe r. Th us, in contrast to Dilthey and theNeo-Kantians, Husserl maintains that a systematic investigation and disclo-sure of the essential laws pertaining to the mental domain is precisely what isneeded to rende r psychology a rigorous science and to render the specialhuman disciplines "scientific." Only through such an investigation would em-pirical observations and facts be referable to a corresponding set of ideal lawsand essences. What is more, the development of an a p r i o r i science of themental is Husserl's answer to the urgent need for the human sciences toprovide the necessary "medicine" for a nation or humani ty confr onted with aspiritual crisis. It shou ld be noted , finally, that from the historical perspectiveof the present essay, that the introduction of an eidetic component into thetheory of the hu ma n sciences not only sets Husserl apart from Dilthey and theNeo-Kantians but, at the same rime, places him squarely between them. Inother words, Husserl attempt s to avoid their errors while simultaneously pre-serving and fusing their positive aims.

A bri ef discussion of a point o f basic disagreement between Dilthey andRickert will serve to elucidate Husserl's position. Dilthey and the Neo-Kantians generally agreed that the categories and methods suitable for aninvestigation of the world conceived as nature are not necessarily the catego-ries and methods most suitable for articulating the socio-historical world.Dilthey maint ained t hat the h uma n sciences must employ concepts taken fromlife itself if these sciences were not to mir ror the natural sciences and becomealienated fro m life.3' Rickert believed, on the o ther hand, that Dilthey's insis-tence on a certain attachmen t to "life" and his attempt to draw philosophicalprinciples and concepts fro m socio-historical or cultural life is precisely whatsecured Dilthey's place in the tradi tion o f historicism.3~ In an attempt to avoidthe historicism which he associated, as did Husserl, with Dilthey, Rickert calledupon a system of transcendental values to serve as the basis for the merelyempirical and derived concepts of the socio-cultural world. Rickert's basicreasoning is that socio-cultural and natural scientists are confronted with aplethora of data that must be pared down and distilled before it can be ren-

so Crisis, ~73; se e a l so Phen . Psych., lxo , 169 .s~ See espec ia l ly , D i l they , G.S. 7: 1 3 6 - 3 8 .s , H e i n r i ch R i ck e r t , Die Philosophie des Lebens: Darstellung und Critique der PhilosophischenModestroemungen Unserer Zeit (T u b i n g en : V e r l ag v o n J . C . B . M o h r , 1 9 22 ), 4 6 , 4 8 . H e r ea f t e r c i t ed

as Ph. Lebens.


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288 JOUR NAL OF THE HISTORY OF PHIL OSOP HY 26:~ APRIL 1988dered intelligible. This selection process must rely on principles and not, as isthe case with some historical researchers, on mere "instinct" or "feeling."z3The principles upon which the historian's process of selection is based areexpressed in the notion of culture or, as Rickert would have it, that which isaffected with value or has relevance to values. Since values occupied a centralrole in his theory of cultural sciences, Rickert inevitably had to address theproblem of subjectivism in historical research. He does so by making a sharpcontrast between refe rence or relation to values ( W e r t b e z i e h u n g ) and evaluation( W e r t u n g ) .

W e r t b e z i e h u n g is a theoretical performance whereby the historian estab-lishes the historical significance of a phe nom eno n by ascertaining whether itadvanced or retarded cultural values; W e r t b e z i e h u n g has nothing to do withevaluation or the i ntroduction o f the historian's own values and biases into thesubject matter. In fact, for Rickert, the objectivity and hence "scientific" char-acter of history hinges up on this distinction. The dem and for objectivity re-quires that the hi storian not r emain satisfied with the culturally limited valuesmanifested in religion, art, law, and so on as guiding principles. Instead,Rickert poses the following rhetorical question: "Must we not therefore ...assume the v a l i d i t y of suprahistorical v a l u e s and the complexes of meaningconstituted by them, which the values actually receiving acknowledgement inthe various cultures investigated by the historical sciences at least m o r e or lessapproximate? Is this not the sole basis on which the objectivity of history canbe made comparable to that of the natural sciences?"34

No further elaboration is needed here to explain why Husserl could nomore fully agree with Rickert than he could with Dilthey. We should note,however, that there are indeed instances where Husserl is evidently closer toRickert than to Dilthey and where Rickert's formulations had measurablepositive impact on him. The real character of Husserl's relationship to theNeo-Kantians and to Rickert in particular has to some extent been obscuredby the scholarly attention given to the Husserl-Dilthey relationship and, ofcourse, by Husserl's own avowed "affinity" with Dilthey. Husserl undoubte dlyagrees with Dilthey's position, expressed in the I d e e n , that psychology is thefundamental and unifying human science and that the preservation of theintimate bond between the hu ma n sciences and life is a necessary goal. In fact,for Husserl, this bond to life holds true, in principle, for all the sciences of theworld insofar as they all rest upon and arise out of the life-world. But contactwith "life" does not constitute science, and here Husserl is in a certain sensecloser to Rickert. Husserl and Rickert agree in their estimates of Dilthey,

33 Ibid., 47-Rickert,Science and History, 137.


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H U S S E R L ' S P O S I T I O N 2 8 9w h o m t h e y v i e w e d a s e x t r a o r d i n a r i l y s e n si ti v e to h i s t o r y , y e t l a c k in g i n t h er e q u i s it e p h i l o s o p h i c a l r i g o r a n d a c u m e n t o d e l i n e a t e t h e b a si c p r in c i p le s a n dc o n c e p t s f o r a g e n u i n e s c i e n c e o f life .3 5 T h u s , e v e n t h o u g h H u s s e r l ' s le c t u r e so n p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l p s y c h o lo g y l a u d D i l th e y 's e f f or t s a n d a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s ,H u s s e r l n o n e t h e l e s s r e g a r d s D i l t h e y 's a s f a il i n g t o g o b e y o n d " v a g u e e m p i r i c a lg e n e r a l i z a t i o n s ," a n " i n d u c t i v e m o r p h o l o g i c a l t y p o l o g y , " a n d a " n a t u r a l h is -t o r y o f h i s t o r i c a l f o r m s o f m i n d . " ~ 6 I n s h o r t , o n e f a il s t o a t t a i n t h e l e ve l o fg e n u i n e s c i e nc e a n d s c ie n ti fi c k n o w l e d g e .

B u t d o e s a n a n s w e r l ie i n t h e o t h e r d i r e c t i o n ? C a n o n e t u r n f o r a n a n s w e rt o R i c k e r t' s s p e c u l a t i o n s a n d f o r m a l d e d u c t i o n o f t h e f u n d a m e n t a l ( s u p r a h is -t o ri c al ) c o n c e p t s o r v a l u e s o b t a i n i n g i n t h e d o m a i n o f t h e c u l t u r a l s c ie n c es ?H u s s e r l r e s p o n d s t o t h i s q u e s t i o n i n h i s 1 92 7 l e c t u r e s o n N a t u r u n d G e i s t . H e r eh e d e s c r i b e s t h e t h e o r e t i c a l f o u n d a t i o n R i c k e r t g iv e s t o th e s c i en c e s a n d t h e i rr e s p e c ti v e m o d e s o f c o n c e p t - f o r m a t i o n a s " b ri l li a n t a n d i m p r e s s i ve " ( g e i s t r e i c hu n d e i n d r u c k s v o U ) b u t , a s w i th a ll f o r m a l c o n s t r u c t io n s , " e x t r e m e l y d a n g e r o u s "( s e h r g e f a e h r l i c h ) . T h e r e s u l t i n g e v i d e n c e s , H u s s e r l a v e rs , c a n t o o e a s il y a n dp e r h a p s t o o o f t e n b e m e r e " i l lu s o r y e v i d e n c e s " ( S c h e i n e v i d e n z e n ) , 3 7 n o t t o m e n -t io n t h a t t h e r e l e v a n t c o n c e p t s r e m a i n v a g u e a n d e m p t y i n s o f a r a s t h e y a r en e i t h e r t a k e n f r o m n o r t r a c e d b a c k t o t h e i r s o u r c e in e x p e r i e n c i n g l i fe a n d t h ee x p e r i e n c e d w o r l d . P r o t e c t i o n a g a i n s t R i c k e rt 's f o r m a l i s m r e q u i r e s " a g e n u i n ec o n c r e t e e p i s te m o l o g y o r , b e t te r , a p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l f o u n d a t i o n [ F u n d a m e n -t i e r u n g ] t h a t d r a w s t h e e t h e r e a l [ l u f t i g e n ] f o r m a l u n i v e rs a l it ie s f r o m t h e i r i n t u -i t ive sources ."38

T h e p r ec i se s e n s e in w h i c h th e p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l p r o g r a m c a n b e sa id t oo c c u p y a po s i ti o n b e t w e e n D i l th e y a n d t h e B a d e n N e o - K a n t i a n s s h o u l d n o wb e c le a r . P h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l p s y c h o l o g y e n d e a v o r s t o b e " i n tu i ti v e a n d d e s c r i p -t i ve " y e t , a t t h e s a m e t i m e , a p r i o r i . T o d o s o , it b e g i n s w h e r e i t m u s t , t h a t is ,w i t h " i n tu i t i v e c o n c r e t e i n s t a n c e s , " a n d a s c e n d s f r o m t h e r e t o " in t u i ti v e ne c e s -s it ie s a n d u n i ve r s al it ie s ." 3 9 P h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l p s y c h o l o g y a n d , t h r o u g h i t, t h ep a r t i c u l a r G e i s t e s w i s s e n s c h a f t e n c a n s a t is f y t h e D i l t h e y a n d e m a n d f o r a c o n c r e t ea n d d e s c r i p t iv e d i s c i p l i ne a s w e ll as R i c k e r t' s a p p a r e n t l y c o n f l ic t i n g d e m a n df o r a s c ie n c e t h a t a c c e s se s t h e r e a l m o f a p r i o r i v a l u e s a n d c o n c e p t s . T o b es u r e , t h e a p r i o r i r e q u i r e d t o pl a c e th e G e i s t e s w i s s e n s c h a f t e n o n a sc i en t i f i cf o u n d a t i o n c a n n o t b e r e a c h e d f r o m R i c k e rt 's p os i ti o n . H u s s e r l a g r e e s w i t hD i l t h e y t h a t R i c k e r t 's f o r m a l d e d u c t i o n s l e a d o n l y t o c o n s t r u c t i o n s a n d a b s tr a c -t io n s t h a t a r e d e v o i d o f a n y i n t u it i v e c o n t e n t . T h e s o l u ti o n , t h o u g h , a c c o r d i n g

s5 See, for instanc e, Ib id . , xvii; and Huss erl, Ph en . Psych . , 3, 7, 95.3 6 Ph en . Psych . , 8 , 1 1 .37 S e e F 1 3 2 , 154 165.3s Ibid., 154.3 9 Ph en . Psych . , 28; see also ~9, 34.


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~ 9 o J O U R N A L O F T H E H I ST O R Y O F PH I L O SO P H Y 2 6 : 2 A PR I L 1 9 8 8t o H u s s e r l , is n o t t o a b a n d o n t h e s e a r c h f o r t h e a p r i o r i b e l o n g i n g t o t h ed o m a i n o f t h e h u m a n s c ie n c e s b u t t o p u r s u e i t i n a s u it a b le m a n n e r , t h a t is , t op r o c e e d w i t h t h e m e t h o d o f e i de t ic v a r ia t io n t o t r a n s f o r m f a c tu a l e x p e r ie n c ei n t o p o s si b le e x p e r i e n c e ( m 6 g l i c h e E r f a h r u n g ) . B y f o l lo w i n g t h is p r o c e d u r e , t h eb a si c c o n c e p t s , n a t u r e a n d m i n d , a s w e l l a s t h e f u n d a m e n t a l s t r u c t u r a l e l e-m e n t s o f t h e e x p e r i e n t ia l w o r l d s t o w h ic h t h e y c o r r e s p o n d , a r e b r o u g h t t ol i gh t . T h u s , i d e a t i o n s e r v e s " a s a m e a n s f o r a r r i v i n g a t a r a d i c a l d i v i s io n o f t h es c ie n c es o f t h e w o r l d o r a t a r a d i c a l c o n c e p t u a l a r t i c u l a t i o n o f t h e w o r l d i n t ot h e e s s e n t i a l p r o v i n c e s o f t h e w o r ld ." 4 o I t t h e r e b y e x p l i c it l y a d d r e s s e s a c e n t r a li s su e o v e r w h i c h D i l t h e y a n d t h e N e o - K a n t i a n s c o u l d n o t a g r e e .

H u s s e r t a l s o c la r i fi e s h o w t h i s p r o c e d u r e s e c u r e s " o b j e c t i v i ty " f o r t h e s o c i o -c u l t u r a l s c i en c e s w i t h o u t l a p s i n g i n t o a p r i o r i c o n s t r u c t i o n s . B y f r e e l y v a r y i n gt h e e x p e r i e n t i a l w o r l d , H u s s e r l w r it e s: " w e t h e r e f o r e r e m a i n i n t h e i n tu i ti v es p h e r e a n d o u r a p r io r i h a s t h e c h a r a c t e r o f a m a t e r i a l a p ri or /. O n l y in t h a t w a yd o c o n c e p t s s u c h a s t h o s e o f o b j e c ti v e s p a c e a n d o b je c ti v e ti m e , o f m a t e r i a l a n da n i m a l r e a li ti es , p e r s o n s a n d p e r s o n a l a c c o m p l i s h m e n t a n d t h u s o f c u lt u r e a n dh i s t o r y , c o n c e p t s w h i c h R i c k e r t ' s d e d u c t i o n [ d ie R i c k e rt s c h e D e d u k t i o n ] p er s i s -t e n t l y p r e s u p p o s e s , o b t a i n t h e i r i n t u i t i v e l y d e t e r m i n e d s en se ."4 ~ I m p l i c i t in a llt h i s i s H u s s e r l ' s c o n v i c t i o n t h a t , a l o n g s i d e t h e G e i s t e s w i s s e n s c h a f t e n a s f a c t u a l -e m p i r i c a l s c i e n c e s , t h e r e a r i s e s a s c i e n c e o f p r i n c i p l e s , t h a t i s , a u n i v e r s a l ap r i o r i s c i e nc e o f p e r s o n a l s p i r it o r a u n i v e r s a l G e i s t e s w i s s e n s c h a f t . 4 ~ H e n c e , i t i s i nt h is l i g h t a n d i n o b v i o u s o p p o s i t i o n t o t h e N e o - K a n t i a n s ' f o r m a l c l a ss if ic a ti o n o ft h e s c i e nc e s , w h e r e b y n o m o l o g i c a l is e q u a t e d w i t h n a t u r a l s c ie n ti fi c m e t h o d s ,t h a t H u s s e r l a l l u d e s t o th i s u n i v e rs a l G e i s t e s w i s s e n s c h a f t a s " n o m o l o g i c a l ." 4 3

T h e m e t h o d o f e id e t ic v a r ia t i o n a n d t h e d o c t r i n e o f e s s e n ce s a re n e c e s s a r -i ly c o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e i d e a o f a u n i v e r s a l a p r i o r i G e i s t e s w i s s e n s c h a f l , a n d t h e ya r e i n t e n d e d t o p r o v i d e t h e t h e o r e t i c a l b a s is o f v a l id k n o w l e d g e , t h a t is , " o b je c -t iv i ty , " i n th e G e i s t e s w i s s e n s c h a f t e n . F o r s o m e t h e o r is t s , h o w e v e r , t h e y r a i s e ds e r i o u s q u e s t i o n s r e g a r d i n g t h e p o s s i b i li t y o f s u cc e s s o f t h is a s p e c t o f H u s s e r l ' sp r o g r a m . F o r i n s t a n ce , D i l t h ey a p p a r e n t l y f e lt c o m f o r t a b l e t o e m p l o y s o m eH u s s e r l i a n i n s i g h t s t o s h a r p e n h is o w n p o s i t io n a n d d e f e n d i t a g a i n s t t h e N e o -K a n t i a n s , y e t D i l t h e y p e r s i s t e n t l y r e g a r d e d H u s s e r l a s s o m e o n e w h o " c r e a t e sa b s t r a c t e n ti ti e s" 4 4 a n d a s a " t r u e P l a t o " w h o t r ie s t o i m p o s e f i x e d c o n c e p t s o n

40 Ibid., 65; see also 67 , 694, F 1 3 2 , 194.42 See Edm und Hus seri, unpublished ma nuscript classifiedby the Hus serl Archives, Leuv en,Belgium asA V I z 8 0925), 3.43 See Edm und Hus serl, unpublished ma nuscript classifiedby the H usserl Archives, Leuv en,Belgium as A I V 8 , 32, 35-Dilthey,G . S . 7 : 237.


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H U S S E R L ' S P O S I T I O N 2 9 1" t h i n g s t h a t b e c o m e a n d f lo w ." 45 I f t h e g o a l i s t o r e n d e r l if e i n t e ll i g ib l e w i t h o u ts i m u l t a n e o u s l y d i s t o r t i n g i t b e y o n d r e c o g n i t i o n , t h e n D i l t h e y p r e s e n t s u s w i tht h e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t a n e i d e t i c G e i s t e s w i s s e n s c h a f t w i t h i t s e s s e n t i a l c o n c e p t s a n dla w s o f f e r s n o r e a l a d v a n t a g e o v e r t h e t r a n s c e n d e n t a l v a l u es o f R ic ke rt .4 6

.D i l t h e y r a is e s q u e s t i o n s a b o u t t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n f a c t a n d e s s e n c e inH u s s e r l ' s t h o u g h t , s o it is t o t hi s r e l a t io n s h i p t h a t w e n o w d i r e c t o u r a t t e n t i o n .G i v e n H u s s e r l 's a t t e m p t t o r e d r e s s t h e d e f i c ie n c i e s h e f o u n d i n t h e D i l t h e y a na n d N e o - K a n t i a n c o n c e p t i o n s o f t h e h u m a n o r c u l t u r a l sc ie n ce s , i t is u n l i k e l yt h a t h e w o u l d h a v e b e e n i n se n s it iv e , in f o r m u l a t i n g h i s d o c t r i n e o f es s e nc e s , tot h e d a n g e r o f s e v e r i n g e ss e n ce s f r o m f ac ts , k n o w l e d g e f r o m e x p e r i e n c e , o rs c ie n c e f r o m l if e. I t is t r u e , h o w e v e r , t h a t H u s s e r l 's t h o u g h t s a b o u t t h e r e la -t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n f a c t s a n d e s s e n c e s a r e r a t h e r o b s c u r e a n d h a v e t h e r e f o r er e s u l te d i n a p r e d i c t a b le l a ck o f c o n s e n s u s a m o n g c o m m e n t a t o r s . M a u r i c eM e r l e a u - P o n t y p r o v i d e s s o m e i n s ig h t in h is es sa y " P h e n o m e n o l o g y a n d t h eS c i en c e s o f M a n " w h e n h e w r it e s t h a t " i n s i g h t i n t o e s se n c e is a n i n t e l l ec t u a lt a k i n g o v e r , a m a k i n g e x p l ic i t a n d c l a r i fy i n g o f s o m e t h i n g c o n c r e t e l y e x p e r i -e n c e d .' 4 7 F o r t h is r e a s o n , t h e k n o w l e d g e o f e s se n c e s is " a t th e s a m e t i m eu n i v e r s a l a n d c o n c r e t e. " 4 8 F i n a l ly , h e i ns is ts th a t p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l p s y c h o l -o g y a n d t h e p a r t i c u l a r s o c i o - c u l tu r a l sc ie n c es th a t d r a w t h e i r s u s t e n a n c e f r o mit c a n o n l y c i r c u m s c r i b e t h e e s s e n c e o f t h e i r s ub j e c t m a t t e r a n d d e l i n e a t e t h ee s s en t ia l c o n c e p t s p e r t i n e n t t o t h a t s p h e r e o f re a li ty if t h e y d o n o t r e m a i nt o t al l y i s o l a t e d f r o m t h e f a c ts o f e x p e r ie n c e . 4 9

O f c o u r s e , n o o n e is c l a i m i n g t h a t t h e v a l i d i t y o f e ss e n ti a l t r u t h s o r n o r m sc a n b e d e r i v e d f r o m f ac ts o r e x p e r i e n c e a lo n e . H u s s e r l a n d o t h e rp h e n o m e n o l o g i s t s h a v e g e n e r a l l y a n d p e r s i s te n t ly a r g u e d t h a t e id e ti c tr u t h sc a n b e n e i t h e r p r o v e n n o r d e n i e d o n t h e b a si s o f f ac ts , a n d t h is is, y o u w i llr e c a l l , a n a r g u m e n t u s e d i n P h i l o s o p h y a s R i g o r o u s S c i en c e a g a i n s t D i l t h e y ' sa l l e g e d h i s to r i c is m . 5 o I t is s i g n i f i c a n t , t o o , t h a t R i c k e r t , w h o a l s o a t t a c k s h i s t o r i -

45 See Georg M isch's introduction to D ilthey,G.S. 5: cxii.46 F or an interesting parallel to this line of criticism, see Rudo lf Boehm , "A Tale o f Estrange-men t. H usserl and Contem porary Philosophy" in Jo hn Sallis, ed., Husserl and ContemporaryThought (Atlantic Highlands, N : Hum anities Press, 1983).47 M aurice Merleau-Ponty, "Phenomenoiogy and the Science of M an" in The Pr imacy o fPercept ion and Other Essays on Phenom enological Psychology, the Phi losophy of Art , His tory and Pol i tics ,ed. by James M. Ed ie (Evanston: Northw estern University Press, 1964), 68.4s Ibid.49 Ibid., 95 .~~ S e e P R S , 187.


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292 JOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPH Y 26 : 2 A P R I L 1988c i s m in D i l t h ey , r e m i n d s u s o f H u s s e r l ' s c r i ti q u e o f h is t o ri c i sm s , e v e n t h o u g hh e is s k e p ti c a l o f t h e p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l n o t i o n o f W e s e n s c h a u w h i c h i s t h e k e yt o H u s s e r l ' s cr it iq u e.5 ~ A c c o r d i n g t o H u s s e r l i a n p h e n o m e n o l o g y , e s se n t i a l i n -s i g ht s a n d p r i n c i p l e s m a y n o t b e r e d u c i b l e t o m e r e f a ct s, b u t t h i s i n n o w a yp r e c l u d e s t h e n e e d t o a r r i v e a t t h e s e t r u t h s b y a p p l y i n g t h e m e t h o d o f i m a g i n a -t iv e v a r i a t i o n t o t h e r e a l m o f e x p e r i e n c e w h i c h , a f t e r al l, c o n s t i t u t e s t h e s u b j e c tm a t t e r o f th e Ge i s t e sw i s se nsc ha f t e n .

T h e p r e s e n t i n t e r p r e t a t i o n r ec e iv e s f u r t h e r s u p p o r t in a n u n p u b l i s h e dl e t te r f r o m H u s s e r l t o D i e t r ic h M a h n k e (2 . W e i h n a c h t s t a g 1 9 ~ 7 ) i n w h i c hH u s s e r l w r i t e s t h a t D i l t h e y 's g ro s s m i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g ( a r g e s M i s s v e r s t a e n d n i s )w a s to v ie w t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f e s s e n c e s, t h a t is , e i d e ti c p h e n o m e n o l o g y , a st h o u g h i t s o m e h o w f a i l e d to g r a s p f a c t u a l li fe a n d a s t h o u g h i t a i m e d t oe x c l u d e a n d d e t a c h i t s el f a l t o g e t h e r f r o m h i s t o r ic a l a n d f a c t u a l i n v e s t ig a t i o n .P r e d i c t a b l y , H u s s e r l a s s u r e s M a h n k e t h a t D i l t h e y w a s i n c o r r e c t : " A l l e i d e ti c sp r e s u p p o s e a s a p o i n t o f d e p a r t u r e t h a t w h i c h i s f a c tu a l ly g iv e n , p o ss i bl yf a n t a s y [ P h a n t a s i e ] , b u t t h a t i s o b v i o u s l y a t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f a f a ct . T h e f ir s tm a t t e r f o r r e s e a r c h , t h e r e f o r e , is t o b e c o m e f a m i l i a r w i t h e x p e r i e n c e a n dn a i v e n a t u r a l s u r v e y i n g [Um se he n] . B u t t ha t i s no t a sc ie nce ."53 T h u s , i n a c e r t a i ns e n se , n a iv e e x p e r i e n c e a n d e v e n t h e s c ie n ce s w h i c h p r e o c c u p y t h e m s e l v e sw i t h n a i v e e x p e r i e n c e c a n b e s a i d t o p r o v i d e m a t e r i a l f o r e id e t ic r e s e a r c h , b u t ,w i t h o u t t h e l a t t e r , a c r u c i a l a s p e c t o f p r e s c i e n ti f i c e x p e r i e n c e n e c e s s a r i ly r e -m a i n s h i d d e n a n d t h e r e b y t h r e a t e n s t h e " s c ie n ti fi c" s t at u s o f t h e m u n d a n ed i s ci p l in e s . A c c o r d i n g l y , H u s s e r l c l a im s in t h e M a h n k e l e t t e r t h a t e v e r y i n t e r -p r e t a t i o n u n d e r t a k e n b y D i l t h ey a n d , in d e e d , t h e m e t h o d o f h u m a n s c i en c e(Ge i s t e sw i s se nsc ha f t ) i n g e n e r a l i s " e i d e t ic a n d s h o u l d h a v e b e e n e x p l i c it l yg r o u n d e d a s s u c h ." M o r e o v e r , a s e a r l y a s t h e L o g o s e s sa y , H u s s e r l b e l i e v e d t h a tt h e " i n n e r m o v e m e n t " o f D i lt h ey ' s t h o u g h t w a s a w a y f r o m a m e r e l y e m p i r i c a lp o i n t o f v i ew t o w a r d t h e " p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l e s se n t i a l p o i n t o f view ."5 4 A n d , a sp r e v i o u s ly n o t e d , t h e e i d e t ic p o i n t o f v ie w is r e q u i r e d i f t h e h u m a n s c ie n c es

5~ Rickert, Ph. Lebens, 5o.52 Ibid. 28.53 See letter f ro m Husserl to Dietrich M ahnke (2. W eihnachtstag 1927) as cited in Guy vanKerckho ven's article "Die Grundansaetze yon Hu sserls Konfrontation mit Dilthey im Lichte desgeschichtlichen Selbstzeugnisse,"p. 151 in Ernst Wolfgang Orth, PhtinomenologischeForschungen,Bd. 16, Dilthey u.nd der W and el des Philosophiebegriffs seit dem 19. Jahrhu nder t: Studien zu Dilthey undBrentano, Ma ch, Nietzsche, Twardowski, Husserl, Heidegger(Freiburg/Muenchen: Verlag Karl Alber,1984). Translation and emp hases ar e mine. It should b e mentioned that the criticism of Diltheyimplied in th e cited passage fai ls to take sufficient account of the distinction Dilthey makesbetween Erlebnis and Lebenserfahrung: "D as Verstehen setzt ein Erleben voraus, und das Erlebniswird erst zu einer Leb enserf ahrun g dadurch, dass das Verstehen aus der Enge und Subjektivit~tdes Erlebens hinausfiihrt in die Region des Gang en un d des Allgemeinen" (G.S. 7: 143).54 PRS, 197, n. t 1. From Husserl's point o f view, the notion o f Lebenserfahrung(see fn. 4 o)could perha ps be taken as a sign of or clue to this "inner m ovement."


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H U S S E R L ' S P O S I T I O N 2 9 3a r e t o h e l p h u m a n i t y r i g h t i t se l f b y a d v a n c i n g i n s i g h ts t h a t t a k e o n a n o r m a -t i v e f u n c t i o n a n d l e a d t o w a r d a t r u l y h u m a n , t h a t i s , r a t i o n a l a n d e t h i c a l ,e x i s te n c e . F r o m a H u s s e r l i a n p e r s p e c ti v e , t h i s t a s k c a n n o t b e a s s i g n e d t o th eG e i s t e s w i s s e n s c h a f t e n s o l o n g a s t h e y o p e r a t e f r o m a p u r e l y e m p i r i c a l p o i n t o fv ie w n o r c a n i t b e a s s i g n e d t o a p u r e l y f o r m a l a n d t r a n s c e n d e n t a l p h i l o s o p h y ,a s a d v o c a t e d b y R i c k e r t , t h a t e s c h e w s t h e e m p i r i c a l a l to g e t h e r .

H o w e v e r , i n a n a t t e m p t p r o b a b l y t o m e e t t h e o b j e ct i on s o f D i l th e y , R i c k e r tis h i m s e l f e v e n t u a l l y f o r c e d t o c l a r if y h i s p o s it io n : " P h i l o s o p h y c a n h o p e t oa p p r o a c h t h e s u p r a h i s t o r i c a l s o l e ly b y w a y o f t h e h i s to r i ca l . A s y s t e m o f c u l t u r a lv a l u e s t h a t l ay s c l a im t o v a l i d it y c a n b e f o u n d e x c l u s i v e l y /n m e a n i n g f u l e x p e r i -e n c e a n d c a n o n l y g r a d u a l ly b e e l a b o r a t e d f r o m i t b y o u r a s k i n g w h a t g e n e r a la n d f o r m a l v a l u e s u n d e r l i e t h e s u b s t a n t i v e a n d c o n t i n u o u s d i v e r s i ty o f c u l tu r a ll ife. '55

T h e r e s e e m s l i tt le in t h is p a s s a g e w i t h w h i c h H u s s e r l c o u l d n o t a g r e e . S o ,w h i l e H u s s e r l a g r e e s w i t h D i l t h e y t h a t w e m u s t l e a r n f r o m h i st o ri c a l r e f l e c t io nw h a t i t m e a n s t o b e h u m a n a n d w h a t v a lu e s o b ta i n i n th e s o c i o - c u lt u ra l w o r l d,h e i s c l o s e r t o R i c k e r t w h e n h e i n s i s t s t h a t w e n o t m i r e o u r s e l v e s i n m e r e l yf a c t u a l h i s t o r y a n d n e g l e c t t o r is e t o t h e l e v e l o f e i d e t i c r e f l e c t io n . D i l t h e yd o e s, o f c o u rs e , m e n t i o n t h e u n i v e rs a l ly h u m a n ( A l l g e m e i n m e n s c h l i c h e n ) a n da l lu d e to a c o m m o n n a t u r e o r c o n d i t io n s h a r e d b y h u m a n b e i ng s (d ieG e m e i n s a m k e i t m e n s c h l i c h e n W e s e n s ) , s 6 b u t h e s t o ps f a r s h o r t o f c a ll in g f o r t h ee i d e ti c d i s c l o s u re o f o u r h u m a n e s s e n c e w h i c h H u s s e r l b e l i e v e d w a s n e c e s s a r yi n o r d e r t o u n d e r g i r d f a c t u a l a n d e m p i r i c a l i n v e s ti g a t io n s o f th i s r e g i o n . C o n -s e q u e n t l y , H u s s e r l a r g u e s , u n l i k e D i l t h ey , t h a t e v e r y fa c t ha s a n e s s e n c e o rp o i n ts t o a n e s s e n ce , a n d t h is is t r u e f o r f a c t u a l h u m a n i t y e v e n t h o u g h o n ea r r i v e s a t e s s e n t i a l i n s i g h t s h e r e o n l y w i t h g r e a t d i ff ic u lt y. 57

I n s h o r t , w h a t is l a c k i n g y e t u r g e n t l y n e e d e d i n th e G e i s t e s w i s s e n s c h a f t e n is ,a c c o r d i n g t o H u s s e r l , a n a p r i o r i s c i e n c e o f t h e m e n t a l a n d , m o r e s p ec if ic a ll y,o f t h e h u m a n p e r s o n t h a t w o u l d d i s cl o se th e e s s e n ti a l s t r u c t u r e s p e r t a i n i n g t oi t a n d t o p e r s o n a l p r o d u c t i o n s , t h a t i s, c u l t u r e . I n c o n t r a s t to W i n d e l b a n d ' sf o r m a l d i v is i o n o f th e s c ie n c es , w h i c h d o e s n o t , i n d e e d c a n n o t , d i s t i n g u i s hb e t w e e n h u m a n a n d n a t u r a l h i s t o ry , H u s s e r l f o rc e f u l ly m a i n t a i n s th a t t h eG e i s t e s w i s s e n s c h a f t e n a r e c o n c e r n e d w i t h " h u m a n b e i n g s ex c l us i ve l y a s p e r s o n s ,a t th e i r p e r s o n a l l i f e a n d a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s . . . . P e r s o n a l l if e m e a n s l i v in gc o m m u n a l i z e d a s ' I' a n d ' w e' w i t h a c o m m u n i t y h o r iz o n , a n d t hi s i n c o m m u n i -t ie s o f v a r i o u s s i m p l e a n d s t r a ti f ie d f o r m s s u c h a s fa m i l y , n a t i o n , s u p r a n a -t io n a l c o m m u n it ie s ." 5 8 B u t w h a t h a p p e n s w h e n t hi s p e rs o n a l a n d c o m m u n i t yl if e h a s b e e n o r i s i n t h e p r o c e s s o f b e i n g d e s t r o y e d a n d t h e p r i n c i p le s a n d

55 Rickert, Science and History, 144-45.56 See Dilthey,G.S . 7 : 159.57 H usse rl alludes to this in Phen. Psych ., 69 .58 Crisis, ~7o ; see als oA V I 18, II 4, a95.


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2 9 4 JOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY 2 6"2 APRIL 1 9 8 8n o r m s n e e d e d t o h o l d i t t o g e t h e r h a v e b e e n d i s s o l ve d i n t o h is t o ri c al f ac ts ?W h a t t h e n ? C a n m o r e f a c t s , m o r e s t a t i s t i c s , m o r e c a u s a l e x p l a n a t i o n s , m o r em a t h e m a t i z a t io n , a n d m o r e q u a n t i f i c a ti o n p r o v i d e a n s w e r s t o t h e u l ti m a t eq u e s t i o n s o f h u m a n e x i s t e n c e ? T h e a n s w e r , i t s e e m s , is n o . F o r a ll o f itss o p h i s t i c a t e d a n d i m p r e s s i v e t e c h n i q u e s , a n a n s w e r w i l l n o t c o m e f r o m m e t h -o d o l o g i c a l n a t u r a l i s m b e c a u s e t h e s p ec if ic a ll y h u m a n s p h e r e d o e s n o t l e n di ts e l f t o t h e s a m e t y p e o f r a t i o n a l i z a t io n a s p h y s i ca l n a t u r e . A s H u s s e r l n o t e s ," A h u m a n b e i n g is i n th e w o r l d o f f a ct s a n d i n i t is c u l t u r e , b u t a h u m a n b e i n gis n o t o n l y a f a c t a n d c u l t u r e s a r e n o t o n l y fa c ts , t h e y a r e i n t r u t h o r n o t i nt ru t h. "5 9 T o m a k e a d e c is i o n a b o u t w h e t h e r o r n o t o u r e x i s t e n c e is g e n u i n e o r" i n t r u t h " ( in der Wahrhe i t ) i m p l i e s t a k i n g a p o s i t i o n a n d c r it i ca l ly e v a l u a t i n gt h a t l i f e . T h i s , i n t u r n , d e m a n d s i n s i g h t s i n t o t h e r e l e v a n t n o r m s a n d n o tm e r e l y i n t o h i s t o r ic a l f a c t s a n d r e l at iv i t ie s . I n t h i s c o n n e c t i o n , H u s s e r l a s s e r t st h a t " w i t h t h e h u m a n s c ie n c es , a v e r y s pe c ia l m a n n e r o f r a t i o n a l iz i n g t h ee m p i r i ca l d o m a i n a p p e a r s : t h e n o r m a t i v e j u d g m e n t a c c o r d i ng to u n i v e r s a l n o rm s ,w h i c h b e l o n g s t o t h e a p r i o r i e s s e n c e o f ' r a t i o n a l ' h u m a n i t y . ''6~

T h i s t h e m e , w h i c h i s t h e f o c a l p o i n t o f H u s s e r l ' s " R e n e w a l " e s s a y , a l s oo p e n s h i s l as t m a j o r w o r k , t h e C r/s/s. I n f a c t , t h e " R e n e w a l " e s sa y s h e d s s o m el ig h t o n p r e c is e ly h o w t h e i n t e r n a l m o v e m e n t o f th e Crisis i s i n i t i a t e d . I f , b yb e g i n n i n g w i t h o n e ' s p r e s e n t f a c t u a l s i t u a t i o n , o n e c o n d e m n s t h a t c u l t u r e a ss p ir it u al ly ill, t h e n t h e m e a s u r e - - " t r u e a n d g e n u i n e " h u m a n i t y - - m u s t b e c la ri -f ie d if t h e c o n d e m n a t i o n is t o b e m e a n i n g f u l . W h a t e v e r f e a t u r e s b e l o n g ap r i o r i t o t h e i d e a " t r u e h u m a n i t y " m u s t b e c a r e fu l l y u n r a v e l l e d a n d c o n c e p t u -a lly d e t e r m i n e d . T h i s i n c lu d e s t h e c o n c e p t s o f h u m a n i t y , c o m m u n i t y l i f e,f a m i l y , s t a t e , e t c . ; i t i n c l u d e s c u l t u r a l f o r m a t i o n s s u c h a s a r t , r e l i g i o n , a n ds c ie n c e a s w e l l a s t h e i r n o r m a t i v e f o r m s , " t r u e " a n d " g e n u i n e " a r t , r e li g i o n ,a n d s o o n . 6~ N o r m s a t t a i n e d i n t h is m a n n e r , a n d e v i d e n t l y s ee n , n o t o n l yp r o v i d e a ba si s f o r e v a l u a t i n g w h e r e a n d w h a t o n e h a s b e e n b u t a ls o g i ve a d u et o w h i c h p a t h o n e " o u g h t " t o fo l lo w .

A q u e s t i o n t h a t a r i se s a t th is p o i n t , w h i c h c a n n o t b e f u l ly a d d r e s s e d a t th ist im e , i s h o w a n d t o w h a t e x t e n t a n e i d e t ic p e r s o n a l s c i e n c e s u c h a s t h a t p r o -p o s e d b y H u s s e r l w o u l d r e l a te to p u r e t r a n s c e n d e n t a l p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l p h i -l o s o p h y . S u f f i c e it t o s ay th a t t h e s h a r p d i s t i n c t i o n f o u n d i n Philosophy asRigorous Sc ience b e t w e e n p h e n o m e n o l o g y a n d t h e h u m a n s cie nc es a n d , th u s ,b e t w e e n q u e s t i o n s o f v a l id i ty a n d a b s o l u t e n o r m s a n d t h o s e o f fa c t is g e n e r a l l yq u i t e s i m i l a r t o R i c k e r t ' s v i e w . I n l a t e r w r i t i n g s , h o w e v e r , H u s s e r l s e e m s l e s sc o n c e r n e d a b o u t i n s is t in g o n s u c h a s h a r p c o n t r a s t . O n e w a y t o a c c o u n t f o rt hi s sh i ft is t o r e m e m b e r t h a t Philosophy as Rigoro us Science a t t e m p t s t o c o n t r a s t

59 A VI 1 8, x96-97.60 Edmu nd Hu sserl, "Renew al: Its Problems and M ethod" in Husserl: Shorter Works, 398; seealso 3296~ Ib/d. 33o.


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HUSSERL'S POSITION 295philosophy and empirically (factually) oriented human sciences, and, once thenotion of an a priori essential personal science ( G e i s t e s w i s s e n s c h a f t ) is devel-oped, the lines separating it from transcendental phenomenological philoso-phy are more fad ed and difficult to discern. 6~ One point is certain, though ,according to Husserl, a phenomeno logical reorientation and g rounding of thehuman sciences would purge them of their naturalistic tendencies and restoreto them their task of serving humanity.

CONCLUSIONAs we have just seen, Husserl de mands an eidetic G e i s t e s w i s s e n ~ c h a f l that wouldprovide the scientific and theoretical foundation for the particular sciencesdealing with the region of culture an d spirit. This g roun ding science would be,on the one hand , intuitive and concrete and, on the othe r hand, universal and apriori. We have argued, furthermore, that this position represents a middleground between Dilthey's emphasis on lived experience and the Baden Neo-Kantians' emphasis on scientific rigor. As Husserl himsel f states: "The fund a-mental character of p henomen olog y is thus scientificL e b e n s p h i l o s o p h i e . ' 6 3

In his introduction to Husserl's third volume on the phenomenology ofintersubjectivity, Iso Kern cites this same statement in order to emphasize theinternal connection between Husserl's constitutive phenomenology and theDiltheyan project.64 Kern, who is well aware of Husserl's relationship toRickert and the Neo-Kantians in general, nonethelesss makes no mention ofthem in this context. The historical perspective afforded by the present essayand the conditions und er which Husserl himself describes phenomeno logy asa scientific L e b e n s p h i l o s o p h i e suggest, however, that this striking description ofphenomenology implies significant affinities with the Neo-Kantians as well aswith Dilthey while simultaneously harking back to the ancient Greek ideal ofphilosophy.

Beyond the merely historical dimension of our examination of Husserl'srelationship to and estimates of other major theoreticians of the G e i s t e s - andK u l t u r w i s s e n s c h a f t e n , what is important is that the inquiry illuminates what isultimately at stake in the debate over the connection between the N a t u r - andG e i s t e s w i s s e n s c h a f t e n , namely, ethical norms and ideals. While it is admittedlyno longe r fashionable today to speak about the quest for rational and ethical"norms" as necessary conditions for genuine (i.e., rational and ethical) hum anlife, the presen t paper is nonetheless predicated upon the conviction that whatis out of fashion on the theoretical level is not necessarily extirpated from the

6, See, for example,Crisis, 333-334; A VI 18 , 178.63 F I 3 2 ' 168.64 See Iso Kern's introduction o Edmund Husserl,Zu r Phaenomenologie der ln tersubjektivi tt i t:Tex te am Dem N ach lass , Dr i f ter Te l l: ~ 92 9 -1 93 3 , Husserl iana t5 , ed. by Iso Kern (Den Haag:Martinus Nijhoff, 973), XLVI1.


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296 J O U R N A L O F T H E H I S T O R Y O F P H I L O S O P H Y 2 6 : 9 A P R I L 1988p r a c t i c a l s c e n e . I n f a c t, it is n o t r e a l l y a q u e s t i o n o f w h e t h e r o r n o t w e , a sp r a c t i t i o n e r s o f t h e h u m a n s c ie n c es o r i n o u r e v e r y d a y l iv es , r e s o r t t o n o r m a -t iv e j u d g m e n t s ; i t is , r a t h e r , a q u e s t i o n o f w h e t h e r o r n o t w h a t i s, i n f ac t ,a c c e p t e d a s " n o r m a t i v e " h a s b e e n c l a ri f ie d a n d ju s t i f ie d o n t h e b a si s o f g e n u -i n e i n s i g h t. I r o n i c a l l y , it is p r e c is e l y w h e n t h e s o c i o - c u l t u r a l s c ie n c e s a t t e m p t t om o d e l t h e m s e l v e s a f t e r t h e n a t u r a l s c i e n c e s a n d s e e k t o c o n t r o l a s w e l l a s t oe x p l a in a n d p r e d i c t t h e i r s ub j ec t m a t t e r t h a t t h e n e e d f o r th e k i n d o f g r o u n d -i n g H u s s e r l d e m a n d s is u n d e r s c o r e d . O t h e r w i s e , o n w h a t ba sis a n d t o w a r dw h a t e n d w o u l d t hi s c o n t r o l t ak e p l ac e ? T h e n e e d f o r a g r o u n d i n g o f t hi s so r tis a ll t h e m o r e p r e s s i n g w h e n w e r e c o g n i z e t h a t " p h i l o s o p h i c a l " e t h ic s t o d a y isb e c o m i n g i n c r e a s i n g l y f r a g m e n t e d i n t o a p p l i e d a r e a s (e .g ., bu s i n es s e th i cs ,m e d i c a l e t h ic s , a n d l e g a l e t h ic s ) , w h i l e t h e p r i n c i p l e s a n d n o r m s n e c e s s a r y f o rt h e m e a n i n g f u l e x a m i n a t i o n o f c a se s t u d i es i n t h e s e a r e a s a r e e i t h e r f o r g o t t e n ,g l o s s ed o v e r , o r , p e r h a p s w o r s t o f all, s i m p l y a c c e p t e d a s se l f -e v i d e n t.

I t is t o H u s s e r l ' s c r e d i t t h a t h e r e c o g n i z e d t h a t w h a t w a s b e i n g j e o p a r d i z e d i nt h e n a t u r a li s ti c t e n d e n c i e s o f t h e Geis teswissenschaf ten w a s t h e i d e a l v a l id i t y o f t h ev e r y n o r m s n e c e s s a ry f o r a g e n u i n e l y h u m a n l if e a n d g o v e r n a n c e o f th e p e r -s o n al s p h e r e , y e t h e n e i t h e r s u c c u m b e d t o th e s p e c u l a t io n s o f th e N e o - K a n t i a n sn o r t o t h e a l l e g e d h i s t o r i ci s m o f D i l th e y . H u s s e r l ' s v ie w s, t h o u g h , w e r e n o tc o m p l e t e l y a t o d d s w i t h e i t h e r. T h e y t o o , a f t e r all , r e c o g n i z e d t h a t t h e s u c ce ss -f ul e l a b o r a t io n a n d s t u d y o f h u m a n e x i s t e n c e r e q u i r e d m o r e t h a n t h e n a tu r a li s -t ic m e t h o d o l o g y t h a t w a s a n d , o f c o u r s e , s til l is s o f a s h i o n a b l e i n t h e s o c io -c u l t u r a l s c ie n c es . T h e N e o - K a n t i a n s , R i c k e r t i n p a r t i c u la r , m o v e d i m m e d i a t e l yi n th e d i r e c t i o n o f p u r e a p r i o r i v a lu e s , b u t t h e p e n a l t y f o r d o i n g s o w a s t h ea l i e n a t i o n o f ( sc i e nt if ic ) p h i l o s o p h y f r o m l if e , a f a t e s im i l a r t o t h e n a t u r a l i s mt h e y o p p o s e d . D i l t h e y , w h o i n t h is r e g a r d is c l o s e r t o H u s s e r l , o b s e r v e d t h a t at o o r ig i d d i c h o t o m y b e t w e e n l if e a n d s c ie n c e , f a c t a n d v a l u e ( es s en c e ) h a d n op l a c e in t h e s o c i o - h i s t o r ic a l w o r l d a n d t h e Geis teswissenschaf ten. O n t h e c o n t r a r y ,h e s t a t e s t h a t " t h a t w h i c h is s h o w s i t s e l f a s i n s e p a r a b l e f r o m i ts v a l i d i ty a n d w h a to u g h t t o b e . T h u s , t h e n o r m s o f l i fe a r e a t t a c h e d t o t h e f a c ts o f life ."6 5 P r e c i s e l yh o w t h e s e n o r m s a r e t o b e w r e s t e d f r o m t h e f a c ts o f l if e a n d h o w t h e i r v a li d it y ist o b e s e c u r e d is n o t s p e l l e d o u t b y D i l t h e y o r , a t l ea s t, n o t a s c l e a r l y a n d s y s t e m a t i -c a ll y a s H u s s e r l w o u l d h a v e l ik e d . U n l es s o n e u n d e r s t a n d s t h a t t h e m e t h o d s o fe poc he a n d e i d e ti c r e d u c t i o n a r e d e v o t e d i n p a r t t o t hi s t as k a t a sk w h o s ed e m a n d s D i l t h e y d i d n o t c l e a rl y s e e a n d t h e N e o - K a n t i a n s , i n a c e r t a i n s e n se ,c i r c u m v e n t e d - - - o n e fa il s t o a p p r e c i a t e a n i m p o r t a n t a s p e c t o f H u s s e r l 's p l a n f o rt h e r e h a b i l i t a t i o n o f t h e Geis teswissenschaf ten.

S a c r e d H e a r t U n i v e r s i t y% Dilthey, G.S. 5: 267.

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