Husserlian Phenomenology and Liberal Naturalism

This chapter argues that Husserlian phenomenology is compatible with liberal naturalism. By ‘compatible’ I mean that they share a common philosophical agenda, that is, the critique of scientific (bald) naturalism and the articulation of a better alternative to replace it; however, I also argue that Husserlian phenomenology and liberal naturalism pursue different philosophical strategies to articulate an alternative to scientific naturalism. Liberal naturalism typically advocates an expansion of the concept of nature beyond the physical, including the normative, the cultural, etc. This strategy is potentially problematic because it invites reconsideration of natural teleology. Husserlian phenomenology, by contrast, relies on an austere concept of nature, but it aims to show that mere nature is an abstract layer of the human life-world. Therefore, nature cannot be taken to be the ‘real world’ and our human reality must be taken seriously: it is the arena in which all that matters to us occurs.