Philosophy

This course introduces students to the philosophical method of phenomenology. Developed by the German philosopher Edmund Husserl, the method of what he called “pure phenomenology” has determined the character of Continental Philosophy throughout the 20th century. Emerging as a radical break with the philosophical tradition, Husserl’s thought provided the method that would determine the course of 20th century existential philosophy and serve as the point of departure for postmodernism. The course will be concerned with the main features of Husserl’s thought, particularly his theory of the intentional structure of consciousness, his critique of traditional epistemology, and the foundations and crises of the sciences, as well as his views on the “natural attitude,” the “irreality” of “the world,” and the “life-world.”