The Making of Phenomenology as an Autonomous Discipline

The present article analyses the transformation of the first version of phenomenology, introduced by Husserl in the Prolegomena to Pure Logic (1900), into the transcendental phenomenology as outlined in Introduction to Logic and Theory of Knowledge (1906-7). First, it is argued that phenomenology was initially conceived as a discipline that should clarify the legitimacy of the objective constructions of pure logic by relating them to the corresponding subjective acts of thought. Then, it is shown that Husserl acknowledges that this first investigation is dependent on pure logic, and that he gradually extends the phenomenological tasks so as to develop an autonomous universal science of pure consciousness, committed to exploring the totality of the experience of the world. However, it is suggested, in the conclusion, that the problem of the dependence on pure logic is not completely solved in 1906-7.