Husserl’s Intentionality and the “Mind” in Chinese Philosophy

Abstract

Husserl’s phenomenology, in a certain sense, is a theory of pure consciousness, one which tries to lay an absolute, ultimate and rigorous ground for the sciences in the field of pure consciousness. Husserl believes that through his phenomenology he can provide eternal significance for the spiritual life of human beings. I think that intentionality is a key concept in the theory of pure consciousness in Husserl’s phenomenology, that for Husserl it plays an important role in the realization of his philosophical ideal. In contrast, Chinese philosophy does not pay any attention to how an absolute and ultimate ground for the sciences is to be found and how a set of moral norms and a theory of value for the life of human beings may be derived from logical and scientific knowledge. Rather, Chinese philosophy is concerned with how to adjust the relationships between Heaven (Tian, 天 in Mandarin Chinese) and man, and between man and man in secular life, and does not value pure logic, pure science, and pure consciousness as does Husserl’s phenomenology. Chinese philosophy establishes an experiential and intuitive “mind” (Xin, 心) as the ground of moral reason. The existence of this “mind” does not need to be proven by a rigorous logic and a theory of science - any person can often perceive his own “mind” in daily life, and can thereby, by analogy, discern the “mind” of others.³

To set up the mind for Heaven and Earth; to establish their Heaven-ordained being for the people.

Chang Tsai ( 〔宋〔 張載)

Man muss erst die Welt durch έπoχή verlieren, um sie in universaler Selbstbesinnung wiederzugewinnen.²

Husserl