The ethics of Husserl and his contemporaries (Lipps, Pfänder, and Geiger)

Abstract

In this chapter, I analyze the connections between what, in general terms, can be called Husserl’s ethics and the ethical approaches associated with three of his contemporaries, namely Theodor Lipps, Moritz Geiger, and Alexander Pfänder. Establishing these connections is, in my opinion, not only of historical interest, but is also of philosophical importance insofar as it highlights three fundamental ethical issues. I discuss the epistemological status of ethical laws, the fact that ethical values are not strictly comparable and, finally, the need for a detailed phenomenological analysis of the will. The first of these issues arises in discussion with Theodor Lipps about the experience of others (Fremderfahrung); the second is raised by one of Moritz Geiger’s objections; while the third is the result of Husserl’s study of two of Alexander Pfänder’s texts. Husserl raised these issues early on in his ethics, but, in one way or another, they are present throughout all of his research. Thus, I intend to reconstruct these issues in dialogue with the three aforementioned authors.