Husserl on symbolic technologies: A critical reconstruction

Dr Peter Woelert (The University of Melbourne)

While there is a vast body of literature on Husserl’s philosophy, little attempt has been made to systematically explore its comprehensive engagement with the phenomenon of symbolic technologies, that is, of those technologies the purpose of which it is to aid, structure, and guide processes of thinking. This paper addresses this lacuna by reconstructing Husserl’s philosophical take on symbolic technologies as developed throughout the entirety of his work. In doing so, this paper further aims to critically evaluate Husserl’s contribution to the philosophical understanding of symbolic technologies, past and present. My discussion will proceed as follows. In the first part of my discussion I explore what the early Husserl has to say about the role symbolic technologies play in arithmetic cognition. A particular focus in this regard is on what Husserl refers to as the “method of sensible signs”. Building upon this discussion, the focus in the second part is on Husserl’s views concerning the link between the use of symbolic technologies and the formation of “thought-economies” as developed in his Logical Investigations. In the third part focusing on the late Husserl, I elaborate on his critical concepts of sedimentation and technization, and explore their innovative potential compared to Husserl’s earlier views. Bringing together the various strands of discussion, in the final part of my paper I illustrate how some of the shortcomings and contradictions in Husserl’s conception of symbolic technologies could be resolved.

Peter Woelert is a Research Fellow at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne, with a background in philosophy (PhD, University of New South Wales) and sociology (M.A., University of Frankfurt, Germany). His current research primarily focuses on exploring tensions and contradictions in current governance regimes for universities, both theoretically and empirically. He also has a continuing research interest in Husserlian phenomenology as well as in the philosophy of technology. Recent publications in philosophy include: ‘Husserl and the problem of abstract objects’ (co-authored with George Duke, forthcoming in Pacific Philosophical Quarterly), ‘Technology, knowledge, governance: The political relevance of Husserl’s critique of the epistemic effects of formalization' (Continental Philosophy Review, 2013), and ‘Idealization and external symbolic storage: The epistemic and technical dimensions of theoretic cognition’ (Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, 2012).