ABSTRACT
To what extent is Husserlian phenomenology in a position to address metaphysical problems? Did Husserl’s turn to transcendental philosophy, did his endorsement of transcendental idealism, entail some kind of metaphysical commitment, as was certainly believed by Husserl’s early realist followers, or did Husserl’s employment of the epoché and phenomenological reduction on the contrary entail a suspension of metaphysical commitments? In the following, I will engage with these questions by taking a closer look at an influential interpretation that has been proposed and promoted by Steven Crowell in various publications, according to which Husserl’s transcendental turn entails a kind of metaphysical neutrality.
