Edmund Husserl’s Notion of Life and Its Biocentric Implications

Abstract

This study aims to explore certain fundamental biocentric, eco-ethical, and eco-political implications of Edmund Husserl’s ethics and conception of life. Husserl, as argued here, attributed intrinsic value not only to human but also to nonhuman life-forms; every living being deserves fundamental respect simply by virtue of being alive. According to Husserl, authentic human life presupposes such respect for all life; without it, one cannot live a genuinely human existence. While he was fully aware of the irreconcilable tensions and conflicts that often exist between living beings—and that it is neither possible nor desirable to eliminate all such tensions—Husserl maintained that ethical life requires a Kantian commitment to treating all forms of life as ends in themselves, never merely as means. In the final two sections, this paper suggests that Husserl’s ethical reflections lend themselves to a political vision that may be characterized as eco-socialist: a rational, empathetic, and egalitarian conception of society grounded in the universal respect for life.