Husserl in the Context of His Works

Husserl in the Context of His Works is a notable work by Abdolkarim Rashidian, in which he explores the views and beliefs of this great 19th-century philosopher through an investigation of his works. Husserl studied astronomy in Leipzig and also attended lectures in mathematics, physics, and philosophy there. He was influenced by the lectures of Wilhelm Wundt, the pioneer of the first institute of experimental psychology, on philosophy. As a philosopher with a mathematical background, Husserl aimed to develop a general theory of inferential systems, viewing it as a scientific theory following Bolzano’s perspective, arguing that any science, including mathematics, can be seen as a theory and system of propositions interconnected by a set of inferential relations. Following John Stuart Mill, he argued in his logical investigations that the best way to study the nature of such propositional systems is to start with their linguistic manifestations, i.e., sets of sentences and their assertoric utterances. How can these sentences and propositions be analyzed? Husserl’s approach studied units of consciousness that the respective speaker is aware of or, in other words, addresses. When expressing a proposition, for example when writing a mathematics textbook or delivering a lecture, he called these units of consciousness intentional acts or intentional experiences because they always present something as something. According to Husserl, there are also non-intentional units of consciousness, citing pain as an example. What distinguishes intentional experiences from non-intentional ones is the intentional content of the former. Abdolkarim Rashidian, by carefully examining “Husserl in the Context of His Works”, effectively familiarizes the audience with Husserl’s thoughts.