THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA Empty and Filled Intentions in Husserl‘s Early Work A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Philosophy Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Philosophy © Copyright All Rights Reserved By Micah D. Tillman Washington, D.C. 2011 Empty and Filled Intentions in Husserl‘s Early Work Micah D. Tillman, Ph.D. Director: Robert Sokolowski, Ph.D. Our theme in this dissertation is the theory of empty and filled intentions (leere und erfüllte Intentionen), as that theory is introduced, developed, and employed in the opening years of Husserl‘s career. The first major exposition and employment of the theory is provided by Husserl‘s Logical Investigations (Logische Untersuchungen, 1900/1). In chapter 1, we show how the introduction of empty and filled intentions in Investigation I arises from Husserl‘s attempt to understand the nature and function of signs. In chapter 2, we turn to Husserl‘s further exploration and use of the theory of empty and filled intentions in Investigations V and VI. To elucidate the background and development of the theory of empty and filled intentions, we turn to Philosophy of Arithmetic (Philosophie der Arithmetik, 1891). In chapters 3 and 4, we uncover a series of parallels between the theory of empty and filled intentions in Logical Investigations and the theory of ―symbolic and authentic presentations‖ (symbolische und eigentliche Vorstellungen) in Philosophy of Arithmetic. This leads us to argue that the theory of empty and filled intentions is actually a more mature version of the theory of symbolic and authentic presentations. Finally, in ―Psychological Studies in the Elements of Logic‖ (―Psychologische Studien zur elementaren Logik,‖ 1894), Husserl (a) argues that Philosophy of Arithmetic‘s terminology of ―presentations‖ should be replaced, and (b) introduces the notion that intentions can be filled (or ―fulfilled‖). We turn to this article in chapter 5, and show how it provides the decisive link between Philosophy of Arithmetic‘s theory of symbolic and authentic presentations and Logical Investigations‘ theory of empty and filled intentions. By clarifying the terminological and theoretical developments that occur between Philosophy of Arithmetic and Logical Investigations, chapter 5 completes the argument of chapters 3 and 4. The theory of empty and filled intentions is, in fact, a more mature version of the theory of symbolic and authentic presentations. This dissertation by Micah D. Tillman fulfills the dissertation requirement for the doctoral degree in philosophy approved by Robert Sokolowski, Ph.D., as Director, and by John McCarthy, Ph.D., and Jean DeGroot, Ph.D., as Readers. _______________________________________ Robert Sokolowski, Ph.D., Director _______________________________________ John McCarthy, Ph.D., Reader _______________________________________ Jean De Groot, Ph.D., Reader ii Table of Contents Introduction ..............................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1 Empty and Filled Intentions in Logical Investigations: Investigation I ...........................................................................................................................4 §1. Overview ........................................................................................................................4 §2. Indication-Signs .............................................................................................................9 §3. Expression-Signs from the Hearer‘s Perspective .........................................................20 §4. Expression-Signs from the Speaker‘s Perspective .......................................................32 §5. From the Hearer‘s to the Speaker‘s Perspective ..........................................................45 §6. The Fulfillment of Expression-Signs ...........................................................................52 §7. Toward the Fulfillment of Husserl‘s Theory of Signs, through His Theory of Fulfillment ...............................................................................................................63 a. Fulfillment Reveals a Difference between the Extents of Subjective Involvement in Indication and Expression .............................................................64 b. Fulfillment Clarifies the Part-Whole Reasoning at the Heart of Husserl‘s Theory of Signs .......................................................................................67 c. The Relation of Expression-Sign to Referent Is a Relation of Part to Whole ......................................................................................................................72 Chapter 2 Empty and Filled Intentions in Logical Investigations: Investigations V & VI ............................................................................................................79 §8. Empty and Filled Intentions outside the Context of Meaning and Expression ....................................................................................................................79 §9. The Internal Structure of Intentions .............................................................................83 §10. The Sensory Content of Acts .......................................................................................87 §11. The Role of Empty and Filled Intentions in Husserl‘s Explication of Topics in Investigation VI ..........................................................................................95 a. Being and Truth .......................................................................................................95 b. Objects and Intuition ...............................................................................................99 c. Authentic and Inauthentic Thought .......................................................................104 d. Husserl‘s Claim to an Advance over the Epistemological Tradition ....................112 §12. Addendum: Empty and Filled Intentions in the Prolegomena‘s Study of Logic and Science ......................................................................................................117 Chapter 3 Background for Empty and Filled Intentions in Philosophy of Arithmetic: Part One ................................................................................................................................125 §13. Introduction ................................................................................................................125 a. Overview ...............................................................................................................125 b. Connection to Themes in Logical Investigations ..................................................132 §14. Chapter One: From Multiplicities to the Collective Combination.............................136 iii §15. Chapters Two and Three: From Incorrect Understandings of the Collective Combination to the Correct Understanding ..............................................140 §16. Chapter Four: From Authentic Presentations of Multiplicities to the Concepts of Multiplicity and Number ......................................................................144 §17. Chapter Five: The Clarification of Multiplicities and Numbers, according to More and Less ........................................................................................................149 §18. Debate: The Objectivity of Numbers .........................................................................153 §19. Summary of Part One.................................................................................................161 Chapter 4 Background for Empty and Filled Intentions in Philosophy of Arithmetic: Part Two ...............................................................................................................................166 §20. Chapter Ten: Transition from Authentic Number Concepts to Calculation ..............166 §21. Chapter Eleven: From Sensible Multiplicities to Figural Moments ..........................171 §22. Critique: Miller on Husserl‘s Theory of Figural Moments ........................................202 §23. Chapter Twelve: From Symbolic Presentations of Multiplicities to Symbolic Presentations of Numbers .........................................................................210 §24. Miller on the Absence of Numbers ............................................................................219 §25. Chapter Thirteen: From the Number System to Calculation .....................................224 §26. Critique: Willard and Hartimo on Number Signs ......................................................240 §27. Review and Conclusion .............................................................................................251 a. Review of Seven Specific Subjects, with Regard to Empty and Filled Intentions ...............................................................................................................251 b. Review of the Structure of PA, with Regard to Empty and Filled Intentions ...............................................................................................................259 c. Summary ...............................................................................................................262 Chapter 5 Background for Empty and Filled Intentions in “Psychological Studies” .....................264 §28. Introduction ................................................................................................................264