NOEMAYA

In the rich history of philosophical thought, few streams are as intricate and captivating as the exploration of consciousness. Among the great philosophers who delved into the depths of human experience, Edmund Husserl stands out, offering profound insights into the nature of subjectivity and consciousness. Central to Husserl’s philosophical framework are the concepts of the natural attitude and phenomenological attitude, two modes of engaging with the world that shape our understanding of reality.

The Natural Attitude

Husserl introduces the notion of the natural attitude as our default mode of experiencing the world. In this state, we take for granted the objects around us, accepting their existence, i.e. their being-in-the-world, without questioning their nature or origin. It is an unreflective and habitual way of engaging with reality, characterized by a straightforward acceptance of the external world as it presents itself. In the natural attitude, we operate on the assumption that our perceptions accurately represent the objective reality.

Consider an everyday scenario: you walk into a room, see a chair, and instinctively accept its presence without pondering the intricacies of its existence, an existence that is established and made intelligible only in and through consciousness itself. This unreflective acceptance is the hallmark of the natural attitude. In this mode, we don’t dwell on the essence or origin of objects as they are constituted in consciousness; we simply take them at face value. Even when we begin to reflect on objects as philosophers and scientists, we are still operating in the natural attitude, for we’ve set ourselves as reflecting subjects over and against a world of objects, inevitably holding on to the subject-object distinction.

However, Husserl is quick to highlight the limitations of the natural attitude. While it serves us well in navigating our daily lives or carrying out our scientific or technological projects, it falls short when we seek a deeper understanding of consciousness as the foundation of reality. The natural attitude, according to Husserl, veils the richness and complexity of our subjective experience, preventing us from grasping the true nature of phenomena. As it is clearly established in The Sixth Cartesian Meditations by Eugene Fink, insofar as we perceive ourselves as humans in the world, we are in the grip of the Natural Attitude. In other words, to be in the Natural Attitude is to perceive oneself as human.

The core theme of the Natural Attitude, or what Husserl calls the Natural Thesis, is the unreflective belief in the existence of phenomena, the belief that things are there in the world. It is an unreflective attitude because we fail to recognize that the existence, or being, of things prior to or apart from our consciousness is itself something constituted within consciousness. Consciousness is precisely that which bestows the sense of being and independent existence to its objects, making them appear as if they existed independently of it. To put it more universally, consciousness produces, from within itself, the experience of the world in such a way as if it were itself a finite part of this world, a finitude we call human subjectivity: the world that is in reality contained within consciousness appears as containing consciousness within it.

The Phenomenological Attitude

To transcend the limitations of the natural attitude, Husserl introduces the phenomenological attitude—a methodical and reflective approach to experiencing the world. In adopting this attitude, we suspend our preconceptions and biases, peeling away the layers of habitual thinking to reveal the raw, unfiltered phenomena as they appear to consciousness. The final movement from Natural Attitude to Phenomenological Attitude occurs in successfully suspending the Natural Thesis, i.e. the unreflective belief in being.

Phenomenology, as a philosophical discipline, is concerned with the study of phenomena—those objects, events, or experiences that manifest in our conscious awareness. The phenomenological attitude involves a deliberate and disciplined effort to examine these phenomena without the presupposition of being, seeking to unveil the essence of consciousness itself.

In contrast to the natural attitude’s passive acceptance, the phenomenological attitude is an active engagement with experience as it is given to consciousness. It requires a heightened level of awareness and a radical commitment to the suspension of belief, and an openness to the manifold ways in which consciousness unfolds.

The Epoché and Phenomenological Reduction

Central to the phenomenological attitude is the concept of epoché, a Greek term meaning “suspension” or “bracketing.” Epoché involves setting aside our preconceived beliefs and assumptions about the external world, creating a space for pure, unmediated experience. By suspending judgment about the natural thesis, we can examine phenomena as they arise in consciousness, free from the distortions of the natural attitude.

The reduction is another crucial component of the phenomenological method. Through a process of eidetic reduction, we strip away the accidental and contingent aspects of an experience, focusing solely on its essential features. This reduction aims to uncover the universal structures that define a particular phenomenon of consciousness, revealing the essence that transcends individual instances.

To illustrate, consider the experience of seeing a tree. In the natural attitude, we might simply acknowledge the tree’s presence and move on. In the phenomenological attitude, we would suspend our assumptions about the tree—its name, its function, its familiarity—and focus on the pure act of seeing. What are the essential features that constitute the experience of seeing a tree? For example, the tree is always seen from a particular side and perspective, and as we move around it, the given sides slip away as the new sides come into view. Also, the tree is always given against an unthematic background that’s out of focus, a background that can always become thematic by moving our attention away from the tree, and hence making the tree an unthematic object of consciousness. In all such movements of attention through which new sides come into view as the previously given sides hide from view, the hidden and unthematic sides are still given to us as being-there and available to access at will. By engaging in reduction, we aim to distill the essence of this experience, unveiling the fundamental structures that underlie our visual perception.

The Transcendental Ego

At the heart of Husserl’s phenomenology is the notion of the transcendental ego—a core, unchanging self that serves as the locus of consciousness. Unlike the empirical, human ego, which is shaped by personal history and contingent circumstances, the transcendental ego is the foundation of all experience. It is the “I” that remains constant amidst the ever-changing landscape of phenomena. Whereas the empirical is ego is the seer in an instance of visual perception, the transcendental ego is that which sees the seeing of the empirical ego. When I see a tree, I am at once aware that I am seeing the tree; I am aware of this experience as a seeing and not a hearing or a touching. In other words, transcendental ego is that which constitutes and perceives the essence of perception.

The transcendental ego is not an individual ego tied to a particular person; rather, it is a universal and necessary structure that makes experience possible. There’s no plurality of transcendental egos; in fact, the plurality of empirical egos is something itself constituted within the unitary transcendental ego. By turning inward and reflecting on the ever-present “I” of consciousness, we can uncover the transcendental ego—the essential core that unifies all conscious experience.

The significance of the transcendental ego lies in its ability to ground objectivity. In the natural attitude, objects appear as if they exist independently of consciousness. In the phenomenological attitude, we recognize that all phenomena are constituted by the transcendental ego. This realization challenges the common-sense view of an external, objective reality and opens the door to a more profound understanding of the interplay between consciousness and its end-product, i.e. the experience of the world.

The Lifeworld and Intersubjectivity

Husserl’s phenomenology extends beyond individual consciousness to encompass the lifeworld—a shared, intersubjective reality that forms the backdrop of our everyday experiences. The lifeworld is the horizon within which all phenomena unfold, providing a context for our interactions with the world and with others.

In adopting the phenomenological attitude, we not only explore the structures of individual consciousness but also delve into the intersubjective dimensions of experience. Our perceptions and meanings are not isolated; they are woven into the fabric of a communal lifeworld. Through empathetic reflection, we gain access to the perspectives of others, recognizing the interconnectedness of our subjective worlds.

The lifeworld is not a static backdrop but a dynamic, evolving context shaped by our collective experiences that spring from the constitutions of the transcendental ego. By attending to the lifeworld, phenomenology offers a bridge between the subjective and the intersubjective, paving the way for a deeper understanding of the social and cultural dimensions of consciousness.

Conclusion

In the intricate phenomenological philosophy of Edmund Husserl, the concepts of the natural attitude and phenomenological attitude stand as pillars that support our exploration of consciousness. The natural attitude, while practical for navigating daily life, whether in our pre-scientific or our scientific projects, obscures the depth and richness of subjectivity. In contrast, the phenomenological attitude invites us to suspend judgment and perform the phenomenological reduction to uncover the hidden dimension of transcendental subjectivity and the life of the transcendental ego as the very ground and source of objective reality.

In performing the phenomenological reduction, phenomenology challenges our assumptions about an objective reality external to consciousness. Instead, it reveals a dynamic and mutually dependent interplay between the subject and the world, with the lifeworld serving as the shared horizon of our collective experiences. In adopting the phenomenological attitude, we embark on a journey that transcends the mundane and unveils the profound mysteries of consciousness, inviting us to explore the depths of our subjective worlds and the interconnectedness that binds us all. In the final analysis, a successful entry into the phenomenological attitude coincides with the realization that while as empirical egos we appear to be living in the world, as transcendental ego, it is the world that lives within us, a world that is constantly constructed and simultaneously lived as the field of play for consciousness itself.