ABSTRACT
Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) began a philosophical project which became the greatest single influence on continental European philosophy in the twentieth century. Husserl undertook a Ph.D. in mathematics before turning to philosophy. Applying his mathematical rigor to philosophical inquiry, Husserl developed a philosophical system, including his phenomenology: the science of the essence of consciousness. We now know Husserl’s work to comprise a system covering logic, mathematics, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. In this article we will take a brief look at Husserl’s thought, before considering a number of remarks he makes about Kierkegaard. In this I shall argue that Kierkegaard had little, or no substantive, influence on Husserl’s thinking. I will close by attempting to locate Kierkegaard in the more general context of Husserl’s views. While Husserl and Kierkegaard appear to be engaged in similar projects, and while Husserl may have envisaged parts of his project to be reflected in Kierkegaard’s work, they are in fact very different.
