Transcendental Subjectivity Gives Meaning to the World - Edmund Husserl Part 2: Career, Learning, and Philosophy

Consciousness is always consciousness of something

I am talking about Husserl and phenomenology. In the previous part, I discussed how the major shift from objectivity to subjectivity was exactly what Husserl intended with phenomenology, but I would like to delve a little deeper into this point.

Phenomenology places unshakable certainty in the vivid experience of the "here and now," the subjective experience. Husserl then advances the discussion to the question of how that subjective experience is possible in the first place. For Husserl, it is because there is "consciousness." The reason why experiences of the five senses occur—such as "seeing something bright" or "hearing the sound of rain from outside" in the "here and now"—is because there is a consciousness there that is perceiving something.

Husserl gives a simple definition to consciousness. Namely, that "consciousness is always consciousness of something."

Suppose there is a cup in front of me right now. I am looking at the cup. At this moment, I am conscious of the cup. Conversely, the cup is being perceived by me. In this way, consciousness always has a subject that is conscious and an object that is being perceived. Consciousness is established through this pair relationship between the thing that is conscious and the thing that is being perceived.

Therefore, Husserl believes that there is no such thing as consciousness without an object, or vague consciousness in general. Even if it is a past event, such as going to the sea last summer or going to see fireworks with friends, I am conscious of the sea or my friends. For example, when I think about a future event like a job interview next week, I must be conscious of the company office or the face of the interviewer.

There is always an object for consciousness. Husserl recognizes an even more positive significance in the fact that consciousness has an object.

We have various experiences in our casual daily lives. However, it is easy to have the feeling that these experiences come to us from the outside, such as "a bird flew by" or "I hear a sound from somewhere." For this reason, we tend to think of them as somewhat passive.

However, Husserl believes that the positive and active power of consciousness is indispensable for experience.

Even in the everyday world, phenomena, the appearances themselves, appear in infinitely diverse ways. Even if it is a cup, it appears in various forms when viewed from above, from the right, or from an angle. If there is another cup next to it, what kind of cup is it? Metal, ceramic, white, red, black, large, small. There is no limit to the possibilities of the cup's appearance. Even so, we can recognize them as the same object called a "cup."

No matter how infinitely diverse the phenomena may be, we can understand them as a single object called a "cup." The reason we can do this is because consciousness gives meaning to the object, Husserl thinks. Because consciousness gives the meaning of "cup" to the appearance in front of me, I can experience the cup.

Therefore, experience is not a passive thing that merely accepts what comes from the outside, but an active thing in which consciousness gives meaning to the object. In this way, Husserl comes to think of consciousness as something that has a very active and positive power.

Transcendental Subjectivity

Husserl recognizes great value in the activity and subjectivity of consciousness. It is precisely because there is consciousness that we can experience the world as the world. It can be said that consciousness is the very foundation that makes the world possible.

The world is filled with infinitely diverse appearances. The wind is blowing, clouds are drifting, it is a warm day or a cool day, the vividness of the flowers we see, the green of the trees, the people passing by. No two days are the same.

Phenomena appear and disappear, disappear and appear. But we do not drown in the phenomena that continue to change infinitely. We experience the world day by day. We can do this precisely because of the power of consciousness that gives meaning to the world.

Even when a wide variety of phenomena appear around us, our consciousness can assign meanings to each appearance, such as "wind," "flower," or "building." In doing so, we transform the world into a collection of experiences that we can understand. In a world that is constantly changing and where the same thing never happens twice, my consciousness alone remains constant, continuously assigning meaning to the world. It is none other than our consciousness that supports our world. Consciousness is the center of the world.

Husserl sought something absolutely certain in subjectivity to serve as the foundation for knowledge. And what makes the experience we call the world possible for us is our subjectivity as consciousness. In Husserl's philosophical terminology, this is called "transcendental subjectivity."

"Transcendental" is a term unfamiliar to many. Previously, it was translated into Japanese as "a priori." That is, it means "preceding experience." While having various experiences, such as "seeing a light in front of me" or "hearing a sound from outside," there is a foundation or premise that precedes and enables those experiences. Questioning that foundation or premise is what is called "transcendental" (a priori). For Husserl, since the transcendental premise lies in subjectivity, it is called "transcendental subjectivity."

Let's review briefly. Husserl believed that we can experience the world because there is something that gives meaning to the world as a world. And what gives meaning to the world as a world is my consciousness, my subjectivity as a conscious being. In a world that appears in infinitely diverse ways and is constantly changing, the only thing that remains the same is my subjectivity, and because that subjectivity is constantly assigning meaning to the world, I can recognize the world as a world. In other words, the creator that produces the world, the one that creates the world, is my consciousness, my subjectivity.

Husserl argues that transcendental subjectivity exists unshakably as the center of the world. Transcendental subjectivity should be the foundation of all academic knowledge, including philosophy, as something certain that cannot be doubted even if one tries.

To learn is to assign meaning

The power to give meaning to an object is the most positive and active power of consciousness. The objects to which meaning can be given are not limited to physical objects that can be seen or heard. We can also assign meaning to experiences we have had in the past and experiences we hope to have in the future.

For example, when asked about their "greatest achievement during student days" in a job interview, one student might answer seminar activities, another might answer club activities, and others might answer internships, volunteer work, or part-time jobs.

There is no student who only did seminar activities during their student days. Everyone must have done various activities, such as working hard in seminars, participating in clubs, working part-time, volunteering, or going on internships. Even so, among the diverse events of student life, one must choose one "greatest achievement." Of course, there is no objective scale for this (e.g., 50 points for working hard in a seminar, 30 points for being vice-representative of a club, 70 points for being the representative). You have to decide for yourself. In short, you have to assign meaning to your own experiences yourself.

This is even more true for career changes as a working adult. No one but the person themselves knows what kind of career advancement they want to achieve in a new workplace. There can be no objective indicator for how you want to live your life. Whether you think, "I want to gain management experience at my new workplace, so I want to study management and coaching," or "I want to acquire professional qualifications to further enhance my expertise," it is up to you to decide what meaning to give to your own learning and growth.

For adults, career and learning are processes of assigning meaning to what they want to do or how they want to be. However, the only thing that supports this meaning-making is one's own subjectivity. That is the power of consciousness.

It is very important to be aware of the meaning-making power of consciousness in learning. Because meaning is not objective but can be generated and changed subjectively, we can reflect on past experiences and re-examine the meaning of the "here and now." Experience is always generated in the "here and now." Even if an experience is one you would rather not remember because you consider it a failure, if you illuminate it with the light of the "here and now," you might find great learning value in it. Because experience always arises in the "here and now," the meaning of experience can be changed at any time.

For adults, learning and career development begin with fully realizing the value of the meaning-making power of consciousness.

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