The Crisis of European Sciences and Trascendental Phenomenology

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Recommended: strength and weaknesses of introspection

In section 15 of The Crisis, Husserl proposes an introspective enquiry of ourselves that is guided by the teleology of philosophy. As part of trying to understand ourselves, we must go back and look at what other philosophers in history have been saying in a bid to “understand the unity running through all the [philosophical] projects of history that oppose one another and work together in their changing forms”. In as much as this historical analysis is personal, we are just a part of the whole history of philosophy, and have a role to build up on what has been established before. In order to understand the teleological journey of philosophy, and how we are part of it, we cannot just look at it from the outside. We have to try and understand it from the inside - we already have the spiritual-historical connection - if we are to truly know who we are.
Husserl points out that critiquing some present body of knowledge, a scientific or prescientific ‘Weltaschauung’ is not sufficient to provide us with the answers on this philosophical quest. We can only find the answers we seek “through a critical understanding of the total unity of history – our history”. There is some spiritual connection between philosophers throughout history, and a critical analysis of their philosophies across time will light up our path as we seek to truly understand ourselves. What Husserl is asserting is that philosophy has evolved through time, with each stage revealing more than before, and we are supposed to continue down this path until “perfect insight” is eventually reached. This task is thrust upon us as present-day philosophers because we are, after all, functionaries of modern philosophical humanity; we are heirs and cobearers of the direction of the...

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...esent-day philosophers, we are part of a long historical path that started with Greek primal establishment, and is set to continue with future generations until the final establishment is realized. The concept of reductionism also tries to bring different things, different parts, together to form one whole, unified form. We can trace the origins of modern scientific trends back to Greek primal establishment. From the simplistic Socratic approach of ‘Who am I?’, philosophical self-reflection builds on thoughts and concepts of the likes of Galileo and Socrates until it reaches present thinking.
Modern scientific trends developed from philosophies of the past, they are part of the philosophical path that a philosopher must walk when undergoing self-reflection. They are a presentation of modern-day prejudices, which the philosopher must seek to understand and overcome

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