Central and East European
Society for Phenomenology

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145650

Phenomenology and rigid dualisms

Joachim Renn's critique of Alfred Schutz

Michael Barber(Saint Louis University)

pp. 21-32

Abstract

Joachim Renn argues that Schutz fails to integrate two fundamental strands in his work: phenomenology and pragmatism. Gaps between separated consciousnesses block synchronization and access to others, and objective symbol schemes, absorbed within the egological outlook, cannot bridge these gaps. Renn, however, construes phenomenology as practicing a solipsistic withdrawal of a self cut off from its environs, denies that contents correlative to individual intentional acts can be objective and common, and overlooks the intricacies of Schutz's descriptive methodology. Furthermore, for Renn, Schutz's distinctions between inner and outer time and ego and alter congeal into hardened dualisms. Renn expects more than Schutz's methodology can deliver, but correctly points to problems of the social world that need to be addressed by several philosophical strategies, including pragmatism and Schutzian phenomenology.

Publication details

Published in:

(2006) Human Studies 29 (1).

Pages: 21-32

DOI: 10.1007/s10746-005-9013-2

Full citation:

Barber Michael (2006) „Phenomenology and rigid dualisms: Joachim Renn's critique of Alfred Schutz“. Human Studies 29 (1), 21–32.