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In The Structures of the Life-World, Thomas Luckmann carries out a careful systematization and explication of Schutz's thought based upon notes for a proposed book left behind by Schutz.¹ Moreover, he develops a brilliant extension of Schutz's work in Chapter 4 entitled "Knowledge and Society".* Although Luckmann is not explicitly concerned with the problem of inter subjectivity, his analyses do have a bearing upon this topic. In the following, we shall first examine this extension of Schutz's work by Luckmann which will simply be referred to as "the Luckmann position'. The concern will not be with whether Schutz really intended to say what Luckmann puts forth or whether Schutz would agree with it. Rather, the concern will be with whether the Luckmann position makes sense in itself, especially with respect to the question of intersub-jectivity. This critical analysis will not only provide us with an evaluation of the contribution made by Luckmann to Schutz's work in the Structures, but, more importantly, it will provide us with a starting point for taking up, in a critical manner, one of Schutz's essential theses regarding intersubjectivity; a thesis from which Luckmann develops his own position. Schutz's conception of the practical attitude, intimacy, the Person, and the social group will then be considered.

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-009-2077-4_8

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