sserl believed that Phenomenology was a rigorous science whose principal purpose was to study the phenomena, or appearances, of human experience. However, he did not think of it as a science of facts, but rather as an apriori or "eidetic" science, which deal with essences, and is grounded on the absolute certainty. This type of certainty was thought to be achieved through examination of consciousness by consciousness itself. According to Husserl, the natural standpoint is the customary/ involuntary attitude that we all have, where everything about cognition and its validity is taken for granted. When one aware from this view, there is no distinction made between the objects of knowledge and the act of knowing. In contrast, Husserl introduced the phenomenological standpoint which may be characterized as critical or aware of this distinction. Furthermore, Husserl thought that Phenomenology symbolized a philosophical method that lacked presuppositions, and would therefore describe phenomena without aspects extraneous to the act of consciousness. In other words, it could be thought of as a descriptive analysis of subjective processes. Husserl's method entailed setting aside the question of whether there is a world behind appearances, and focusing on the appearances themselves. The goal was to find the basic components of a phenomena, and to probe the thinking life hidden within us. This method, phenomenological reduction, is similar to the method used by Descartes when he tried to isolate what could be known. It consists of eliminating assumptions, and "purifying" data. This allows the essential characteristics of the phenomenon to be elucidated and examined. In addition, it prevents one from circular reasoning caused by the problem of cognition. In summary, Husserl, through phenomenology attempted to form detailed comparisons between the phenomena as presented in consciousness and the universal form of the phenomena. We, as huma...
