Episode Details

In this episode of pplpod, we explore the revolutionary mind of Edmund Husserl (1859–1938), the Austrian-German philosopher and mathematician who established the school of phenomenology. We trace his intellectual journey from his early work in the philosophy of arithmetic to his quest to establish philosophy as a "rigorous science" grounded in the structures of consciousness,.

Join us as we discuss:

• The Core of Phenomenology: We break down Husserl’s defining concepts, including "intentionality" (the idea that consciousness is always about something) and the "epoché" (the "bracketing" of the natural world to reveal pure essences),.

• Logic vs. Psychology: Why Husserl launched a rigorous critique against "psychologism," arguing that logical truths are independent of human mental processes,.

• The Turn to Idealism: How his work evolved from the Logical Investigations to Ideas, marking a shift toward transcendental idealism that would influence generations of philosophers,.

• The Nazi Era & Heidegger: The tragic historical context of Husserl’s later years, including his suspension from the University of Freiburg due to his Jewish heritage and the fracturing of his relationship with his famous student, Martin Heidegger,.

• Legacy of the Lifeworld: An look at his final major work, The Crisis of European Sciences, where he introduced the concept of the "Lifeworld" (Lebenswelt) to address the separation between objective science and subjective experience.

From Sartre to Derrida, discover how Husserl’s "return to the things themselves" shaped the course of 20th-century thought,.