On Cogito In Husserl'S Philosophy

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ON THE COGITO IN EDMUND HUSSERL’S PHILOSOPHY Emel KOC It is not a coincidence that Edmund Husserl named one of his most important works as “Cartesian Meditations”. This title emphasizes Husserl’s aim. On the one hand, philosopher, in a very special sense, considers his philosophical ideal as a cartesian ideal; on the other hand, his method, at the last analysis, is a meditation method. Husserl, who evaluates his all philosophical aims as a meditation over Descartes’ meditations, considers his phenomenology as a “neo-Cartesianism”. According to Husserl, the substance of Cartesianism consists of the passion of a rational confirmation for knowledge. The decision of Cartesianism which searching that confirmation in the self of mind is the thing which Husserl always mentions as the pure Cartesianism. Husserl, who is the most French philosopher among the other German philosophers due to the success in France and the affect on Sartre of his thought, likens himself to Descartes on account of his inclination for clearness and distinctness. While Descartes says that his aim is to find clear and distinct knowledge which we cannot doubt at all and basing on that, to advance, step by step, to clear and distinct knowledge we cannot doubt, alike Husserl is enunciative of that the thing which guarantees the Absolute is clearness; therefore if something is clear, it is not able to be doubted. And he is like to say that he would do on the same principle by means of a series Meditation technique what Descartes tried to do by means of a series of deduction basing on a clear and distinct principle. That is why Descartes’ effort of realising a universal critique is affective for Husserl. Even, Descartes brings a new propulsive force in transcendental phenomenology with his Meditations. Descartes brings methodological doubt in the edge of phenomenology. Husserl gives himself
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