Alfred Schütz
Alfred Schutz (/ʃʊts/; born Alfred Schütz, German: [ʃʏts]; 1899–1959) was an Austrian philosopher and social phenomenologist whose work bridged sociological and phenomenological traditions. Schutz is gradually being recognized as one of the 20th century's leading philosophers of social science.[1]: xv He related Edmund Husserl's work to the social sciences, using it to develop the philosophical foundations of Max Weber's sociology, in his major work Phenomenology of the Social World.[2] However, much of his influence arose from the publication of his Collected Papers in the 1960s.[3]
Alfred Schütz
April 13, 1899
May 20, 1959 (aged 60)
- Austrian
- American
Intellectual career[edit]
Schutz was strongly influenced by Ludwig von Mises,[10] Henri Bergson, William James, and Edmund Husserl, as well as Max Weber.
Drawing on phenomenology, Schutz's principal aim was to create a philosophical foundation for the social sciences. While Schutz's work paralleled George Herbert Mead’s analysis of the meanings within social interactions, Schutz was highly critical of Mead’s behavioristic approach.[1]: xviii Although Schutz was never a student of Husserl, he and colleague Felix Kaufmann intensively studied Husserl's work in order to seek a basis for Weber's interpretive sociology and for Austrian economic theory.[11]
In 1932, Schutz’s efforts resulted in his first published book, Der sinnhafte Aufbau der sozialen Welt ('The Meaningful Structure of the Social World') which was published in English as The Phenomenology of the Social World. Schutz argues that social science must be grounded in analysis of what Husserl referred to as 'the natural attitude', the assumptions that structure everyday perceptions and actions in the social world. Schutz retains Weber's conception of social science as properly committed to the principle of value neutrality, but also to value relevance, and that its investigations must rely on “ideal types”. He viewed the technique of bracketing, drawn from Husserlian phenomenology, as a way beyond the limitations of ideal-type analysis.[12] This publication brought him to the attention of Husserl, whom he visited frequently and corresponded with until Husserl's death in 1938. Even so, when Husserl asked Schutz to be his assistant, he was unable to accept the offer at Freiburg University for personal reasons.[1]: xviii
Schutz's main area of concern was the ways in which people grasp the consciousness of others while living within their own streams of consciousness. He spoke much about intersubjectivity, in a broader sense, using it in reference to the social world, specifically the social nature of knowledge. A great deal of his work deals with the "lifeworld," in which people create social reality under the constraints of preexisting social and cultural factors and structures. He was very focused on the "dialectical relationship between the way people construct social reality and the obdurate social and cultural reality that they inherit from those who preceded them in the social world."[13]
Schutz is also known for his belief that humans attempt to typify everything; i.e., to categorize people and things to better understand them within the context of society. He believed that the various typifications we use inform how we understand and interact with people and objects in the social world.
Schutz's theories and conceptions are illuminated through an intense and insightful correspondence with Harvard scholar Talcott Parsons.[14] The thrust of the discussion centered on the meaning of the concept "social action." Whether the Schutz-Parsons correspondence can be characterized as “dialogue” rather than “debate” has been analyzed by Rehorick (1980).[15] Further insights into the fundamental differences between Schutz and Parsons is provided by a critical examination of original correspondence that brought in a third scholarly voice—that of Eric Voegelin.[16] This discussion shows that conceptual and theoretical differences between Schutz and Parsons stem from different “ways of knowing,” implying fundamentally different orientations toward social scientific thought.
1932: Der sinnhafte Aufbau der sozialen Welt: eine Einleitung in die verstehende Soziologie. Wien: J. Springer.
1941: "William James' Concept of the Stream of Consciousness Phenomenologically Interpreted." Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 1:442–51.
1942: "Scheler's Theory of Intersubjectivity & the General Thesis of the Alter Ego." Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 2: 323–47.
1944: "The Stranger." American Journal of Sociology 49(6):499–507.
1945: "On Multiple Realities." Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 5:533–576.
1948: "Sartre's Theory of Alter Ego." Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 9:181–199.
1951: "Choosing Among Projects of Action." Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 12:161–84.
1953: "Edmund Husserl's Ideas, Volume II." Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 13: 394–413.
1953: "Die Phänomenologie und die fundamente der Wissenschaften. (Ideas III by Edmund Husserl: A Review.)" Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 13:506–14.
1953: "Common-sense and Scientific Interpretation of Human Action." Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 14:1–38.
1954: "Concept and Theory Formation in the Social Sciences." Journal of Philosophy. 51:257–72.
1957: "Max Scheler's Epistemology and Ethics: I." Review of Metaphysics 11:304–14.
1958: "Max Scheler's Epistemology and Ethics: II." Review of Metaphysics. 11:486–501.
1959: "Type and Eidos in Husserl's Late Philosophy." Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 20:147–65.
1962–66: Collected Papers I: The Problem of Social Reality, edited by M. A. Natanson and H. L. van Breda. Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
1967: The Phenomenology of the Social World. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.
1970: Reflections on the Problem of Relevance, edited by R. Zaner. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
1970: On Phenomenology and Social Relations: Selected Writings, edited by Helmut R. Wagner. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
1971: Das Problem der Relevanz. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
1972: Gesammelte Aufsätze: Band I. Das Problem der Sozialen Wirklichkeit Translated by B. Luckmann and R.H. Grathoff. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
1972: Gesammelte Aufsätze: Band II. Studien zur Soziologischen Theorie, translated by A. von Baeyer and edited by A. Brodersen. Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
1972: Gesammelte Aufsätze: Band III. Studien zur Phänomenologischen Philosophie, translated by A. von Baeyer and edited by I. Schutz. Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
1973: The Structures of the Life-World [Strukturen der Lebenswelt], with Thomas Luckmann, translated by R. M. Zaner and H. T. Engelhardt, Jr. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.
1976: "Fragments on the Phenomenology of Music." Music Man 2:5–72.
1977: Zur Theorie sozialen Handelns: Briefwechsel Alfred Schutz, Talcott Parsons, edited by W. M. Sprondel. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
1982: Life forms and meaning structure [Lebensformen und Sinnstruktur], translated by H. R. Wagner. London: Routledge & K. Paul.
1985: Alfred Schutz, Aron Gurwitsch: Briefwechsel, 1939-1959, edited by Ludwig Landgrebe. München: W. Fink.
1996: Collected Papers IV, edited by H. Wagner, G. Psathas, and F. Kersten. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
2010: Zur Methodologie der Sozialwissenschaften. Werkausgabe Alfred Schütz, 4: Hrsg.: Jochen Dreher, Thomas Eberle, Gerald Sebald. UVK-Verlag: Konstanz, ISBN 9783896697455.
2011: Relevanz und Handeln 2.Gesellschaftliches Wissen und politisches Handeln. Werkausgabe Alfred Schütz, 6; Hrsg.: Andreas Göttlich, Gerald Sebald, Jan Weyand. UVK-Verlag: Konstanz, ISBN 9783896697424.
2013: Schriften zur Literatur. Werkausgabe Alfred Schütz; 8; Hrsg.: Michael D. Barber and Jochen Dreher. UVK-Verlag: Konstanz, München; ISBN 9783896697400.