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Social Theorists

Alfred Schutz

Sociology

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Alfred Schutz was an Austrian-American philosopher and sociologist who founded phenomenological sociology by applying Edmund Husserl's phenomenology to the study of everyday social life. In The Phenomenology of the Social World (1932) he analyzed how individuals experience, interpret, and construct meaning within a shared social reality he called the lifeworld, examining concepts such as intersubjectivity, typification, and the stock of common-sense knowledge people use to navigate ordinary interaction. Schutz's work, developed further after he emigrated to the United States, directly shaped the sociology of knowledge of Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann and the ethnomethodology of Harold Garfinkel.

Facts
Birth Date
1899-04-13 1
Birth Year
1899 1
Death Date
1959-05-20 1
Death Year
1959 1
Birthplace
Vienna, Austria 1
Death Place
New York City 1
Nationality / Culture
Austrian 1
Defining Contribution
Related Edmund Husserl's phenomenology to the social sciences, using it to build the philosophical foundations of Max Weber's interpretive sociology. 1
Notable Work
Phenomenology of the Social World (1932) 1
Cross-Tradition Connections

Institutions Informed

Peter L. Berger, Social Theorists

Berger and Luckmann The Social Construction of Reality built its phenomenological method directly on Schutz earlier work.

Thomas Luckmann, Social Theorists

Luckmann phenomenological sociology of knowledge, developed with Peter Berger, drew directly on Schutz philosophy of the everyday social world.

Sources
1. Alfred Schutz (Wikipedia)
WikipediaEarly life section (birth date)
Quote, Early life section (birth date)
Schutz was born on 13 April 1899 in Vienna, Austria
View the Source
1. Alfred Schutz (Wikipedia)
WikipediaEarly life section (birth year)
Quote, Early life section (birth year)
Schutz was born on 13 April 1899 in Vienna, Austria
View the Source
1. Alfred Schutz (Wikipedia)
WikipediaEarly life section (birthplace)
Quote, Early life section (birthplace)
Schutz was born on 13 April 1899 in Vienna, Austria
View the Source
1. Alfred Schutz (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLater life section (death date)
Quote, Later life section (death date)
Schutz died on 20 May 1959 in New York City at the age of 60.
View the Source
1. Alfred Schutz (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLater life section (death year)
Quote, Later life section (death year)
Schutz died on 20 May 1959 in New York City at the age of 60.
View the Source
1. Alfred Schutz (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLater life section (death place)
Quote, Later life section (death place)
Schutz died on 20 May 1959 in New York City at the age of 60.
View the Source
1. Alfred Schutz (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead sentence (nationality)
Quote, Lead sentence (nationality)
was an Austrian philosopher and social phenomenologist
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1. Alfred Schutz (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead paragraph (notable work)
Quote, Lead paragraph (notable work)
his major work Phenomenology of the Social World
View the Source
1. Alfred Schutz (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead paragraph (defining contribution)
Quote, Lead paragraph (defining contribution)
He related Edmund Husserl's work to the social sciences, using it to develop the philosophical foundations of Max Weber's sociology
View the Source
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