What is an engagement act? Husserl and Reinach on ‘Subject of the Superior Level’ (We) and (Non) Social Acts.

Abstract

My intention is to describe one kind of “social act†that I have called “engaged act†(and which should be different from “joint commitment†although the English ‘commitment’ is often translated into German or French as engagement). I wish to uncover and demarcate these engaged acts in Husserl’s endeavor to define and de facto establish social acts as such. My parallel tasks would be: to show the importance of social acts in the construction of some kind of new entities, which it is always problematic to name; to distinguish social acts as clearly as possible from empathy; to name some social acts “engaged acts†thus alleviating and clarifying Husserl’s efforts in the course of determining social acts; and to re-evaluate Adolf Reinach’s contribution to defining social acts in comparison with Husserl.