HUSSERL'S THEORY OF PHENOMENOLOGY Edmund Husserl began his career as a mathematician, and his philosophy is informed by a rigorous scientific outlook. His primary contribution to the history of philosophy lies in his theories of phenomenology, which he developed in response to the prevailing paradigm of psychologism, which, ironically, he helped to introduce as well. Psychologism argued that mathematical and logical objects are generated from the mind rather than exist independently of the mind. This theory led to the assertion that such abstract objects were necessarily dependent upon psychological laws. By 1900, Husserl had abandoned this view and adopted the view that mathematical and logical truths relate not only to the mind, but also to ideal objects such as theories and ideas. The validity of a mathematical equation could only be ÒprobablyÓ true, were the equation subject to the laws of mental perception. If the truth could be arrived at only through an inductive process, the truth could never be finally and categorically stated. If psychologism were a valid picture of the world, then it would mean that each set of argumentative facts would be dependent upon psychological facts for its veracity.
A further blow to psychologism lies in the assertion that truth resides in the individual mind, and not outside it. If the mind is the final arbiter of truth in every sphere, then truth cannot exist apart from humanity. Science, mathematics, and logic all become subjective disciplines. One personÕs logic might not be another personÕs logic. The answer to one equation might be different in different cases, depending upon the mind analyzing the data. This is a self-negating theory. Truth cannot be relative, by definition. The assertion ÒThere is no truthÓ is correlative to the assertion ÒIt is true that there is no truth.Ó Contradictory statements are a leading indicator of a flawed argumentative system.
Therefore, logical...