Chung-Chi Yu Boeken

Cultural differences are evident across the globe, prompting essential questions about the nature of our life-worlds: do we share a singular life-world despite these differences, or do we inhabit distinct life-worlds shaped by our cultures? The first perspective suggests a universal life-world, while the latter implies multiple, culturally influenced life-worlds. This raises inquiries into how cultural differences relate to the concept of the life-world. Edmund Husserl, the founder of phenomenology, views the life-world as the foundational ground for natural sciences, granting it universal validity. In contrast, Alfred Schutz emphasizes the life-world as a field of social and cultural praxis, inherently acknowledging cultural differences. The book critiques these opposing viewpoints and explores Bernhard Waldenfels' idea of a common grounding concept. Both Husserl and Schutz offer foundationalist interpretations of the life-world, but the text aims to move beyond foundationalism—whether universalism or culturalism—by advocating for a focus on the status of cultural objects. It argues that universals are inadequate for addressing cultural complexities and that understanding cultural objects from different backgrounds requires humility and an openness to difference, fostering the potential for genuine understanding.