The phenomenological critique of formalism

responsibility and the life-world

Anita Williams

Ivan Chvatík

pp. 1-14

in: L'ubica Učník, Ivan Chvatík, Anita Williams (eds), The phenomenological critique of mathematisation and the question of responsibility, Berlin, Springer, 2015

Abstract

Self-responsibility and self-critique have been themes in philosophy since Plato 's Socrates endorsed the demand to "know thyself' [γvωθι σαυτοv]. In the modern philosophical tradition, self-critical reason, a reason that gives the law to itself, has been at the very centre of the practice of both epistemology and ethics . In the twentieth century, the European phenomenological philosophers Edmund Husserl and Jan Patočka brought new clarity and a sense of urgency to the critical thinking surrounding the need for responsibility . Using Husserl 's and Patočka 's thinking as the starting point for a critical reflection, this volume proposes different approaches to reflect upon the increasing formalisation of all aspects of our lives, which is particularly relevant for the present age.

Cited authors

Husserl Edmund

Patočka Jan

Plato

Socrates