The Prob em of Psychologism and the Idea of a Phenomenological Science

This chapter is a detailed discussion of the nature of psychologism and the efficacy of Husserl’s critique thereof. It argues, first, that the critique of logical psychologism in the “Prolegomena” reveals that the problem raised by psychologism is fundamentally one of determining the proper philosophical standpoint and, second, that this critique played a central and decisive role in the development of Husserl’s phenomenology. The proper standpoint incorporates a commitment to the presuppositionless description of essential structures of experience, and from this perspective, Husserl saw that his initial response to psychologism was inadequate insofar as it focused on the consequences of psychologism rather than its presuppositions.