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Mandatory reading for any social scientist
Quoting from the backcover of my edition

"In this book, his major work, Alfred Schutz attempts to provide a sound philosophical bases for the sociological theories of Max Weber [...] Using Husserlian phenomenology, Schutz provide a complete and original analysis of human action and its "intended meaning". [..] In the process he offers apossible answer to a fundamental question - whether the social sciences can provide genuine understanding of human beings"

After having read it I can only agree with the above. In my opinion this is a masterpiece of social philosophy. The questions which this book touches upon are the ones always lurking in the back of every social scientist, namely the epistemological status of the science as such. The great thing about this book is that it, unlike any other I have read, manages to pinpoint this questions and sketch a possible answer to most of them.

The book is, as the quote points out, based upon the phenomenology of Hussrl. Now, this might scare away many people familiar with the writings of Hussrl or Heidegger, but no need to worry.

Upon its release in 1932 Schutz sent a dedicated copy of the book to Hussrl whom replied "I am anxious to meet such a serious and thorough phenomenologist, one of the few who have penetrated to the core of the meaning of my life's work, access to which is unfortunately so difficult .."

This then is exactly what Schutz have managed, namely to produce an easy access/introduction to the profound thoughts of Hussrl.

This book is written with great rigour, but without ever loosing clarity or direction. It reads easy for anyone customed to reading philosophical essays. The translation from german I think was very well done.

The book will, for sure, require some intellectual effort from its reader, but when thinking about the great complex questions it manages to solve, this effort seem small in comparison.

If I were a teacher of social sciences, I would make this mandatory reading at the higher levels. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

perfect service
I could get this book very quickly.It's very new.thank you so much!

Seeking after the meaning of our life
The life-world is a field of action. But action is not praxis. Acton should get meanings. Today, the life-world is faced with split.People are becoming one-sided. Schutz and Luckmann's research gave us a guide,they analied the sturcture of everydaylife, told us how to balance different aspects of our life. We'll know how to esteblish the meaning in the future. Shuguang,Yin. ... Read more

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Natanson has clearly done his homework...
The late, great, Maurice Natanson, himself a student and friend of Alfred Schutz, was told by Schutz, "Maybe you will discover that anonymity and death are the same." This profound thought underlies the entire text, as Natanson explores the causes and effects of anonymity (also called abstraction, typification, alienation, or as Dr.Martin Luther King has called it, "the darkness of nobody-ness").. Natanson reminds us that anonymity is not always a bad thing, but when it is instituted as a system upon unwilling participants, then it becomes problematic.

Also, I would recommend the work of Lewis R. Gordon, who adapts Schutz's and Natanson's theories of anonymity to discuss issues of antiblack racism and Africana thought. Gordon's "Existentia Africana," "Her Majesty's Other Children," and "Fanon and the Crisis of European Man" are suggested. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The definitive biography of Schutz
Michael Barber's book immediately replaces Helmut Wagner's earlier work as the definitive biography of Alfred Schutz. Although the book is short, a quick glance at the copious endnotes (44 pages of references for 229 pages of body text) indicates the thoroughness -- indeed, exhaustiveness -- of Barber's archival work and wider research. His prose is clear, approachable, and workmanlike. At times this does lead to a certain sense of distance -- Schutz's personality remains naggingly intangible throughout the book despite Barber's attempts, mostly because of his reserved and unadventerous style. But then this volume is a study of Schutz's life and philosophy, not a memoire or a literary biography, and the book's concision and clarity are welcome in this regard. Phenomeneology has not produced very many light reads, and Barber ably guides the reader through extremely technical discussions of Schutz's work and phenomenology more generally, describing and summarizing vast amounts of work which would scare the bejezus out of many readers if they attempted them on their own. For scholars familiar with Schutz's work and the history of German emigree intellecuals, this is a very welcome addition to the literature. Newbies looking for a quick overview of Schutz's thought might want to chech out other sources -- for instance, Wagner's edited volume "Alfred Schutz on Phenomenology and Social Relations" in Chicago's 'Heritage of Sociology' series.

Definitive ...
The Vienna-born philosopher and social scientist, Alfred Schutz (1899-1959), is credited with applying to the social sciences the new methods of phenomenology, the philosophical movement initiated by Edmund Husserl in the early twentieth-century.Ironically, the only biography of Schutz available until now, Helmut Wagner's ALFRED SCHUTZ: AN INTELLECTUAL BIOGRAPHY (1983), overlooks many details of the fascinating social world of this quintessential philosopher of the social world.Barber's biography remedies this.Drawing on vast amounts of previously unpublished materials, it draws the reader directly into his life and times-his childhood; studies under Hans Kelsen, Ludwig von Mises and Husserl; first visit to the United States; efforts to secure asylum for his Jewish family and friends after the Austrian Anschluss; family and business life; connections with phenomenologists worldwide; the New School for Social Research; close friends and associates-especially Felix Kaufmann, Eric Voegelin, Aaron Gurwitsch, and Marvin Faber.Barber's biography also examines the ethical dimensions of Schutz's philosophical work, including its well-known resistance to ethical theory, and shows how during the civil rights movement he developed a standard for evaluating democracy in terms of its ability to facilitate individual citizen participation.A delightful and highly informative read. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is a journal article from Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, published by Elsevier in 2006. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Book Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of Alfred Schutz, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thomson Gale. The length of the entry is 845 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

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