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Appresentation and Simultaneity: Alfred Schutz on Communication between Phenomenology and Pragmatics

Human Studies volume 29, pages 1–19 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

In his theory of communication Schutz exhibits a significant tension between two fundamental perspectives, phenomenology and pragmatism, and in the long run he fails to reconcile the contradictory implications these perspectives have with regard to his model of interaction.

The main problem seems to be the notion of sense-constitution. Schutz develops two distinguishable accounts of constitution: an egological one and a model based on the phenomenon of direct interaction of empirical subjects. Two key concepts are related to these different modes of constitution: the model of appresentation with regard to language, symbols and signs, and the model of synchronisation as triangulation of streams of consciousness and outward action sequences. They are analyzed as significant for two different methods and two different theories of communication. I propose some reasons for Schutz's insistence on a phenomenological account of the ego and the constitution of sense, and offer a brief sketch of an alternative strategy that is implicit in Schutz's theory.

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  1. Institut für Soziologie, University of Erlangen-Nuernberg, Kochstrasse 4, D. 91054, Erlangen, Germany

    Joachim Renn

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Renn, J. Appresentation and Simultaneity: Alfred Schutz on Communication between Phenomenology and Pragmatics. Hum Stud 29, 1–19 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10746-005-9012-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10746-005-9012-3

Keywords

  • Subjective Constitution
  • Intentional Object
  • Subjective Sense
  • Linguistic Meaning
  • Transcendental Argumentation