This edited collection discusses phenomenological critiques of formalism and their relevance to
the problem of responsibility and the life-world. The book deals with themes of formalization
of knowledge in connection to the life-world the natural world the history of science and our
responsibility for both our epistemic claims and the world in which we live. Readers will
discover critiques of formalization the life-world and responsibility and a collation and
comparison of Patocka's and Husserl's work on these themes. Considerable literature on Husserl
is presented here and the two themes of epistemic responsibility and the life-world are
discussed together. This work specifically emphasizes the interrelatedness of these existential
aspects of his work - self-responsibility and the crisis - as not only epistemological but
also related to human life. This volume also introduces Jan Patocka to English-speaking readers
as a phenomenologist in his own right. Patocka shows us in particular the significance of the
modern abyss between our thinking and the world. Readers will discover that this abyss is of
concern for our everyday experience because it leads to a rupture in our understanding of the
world: between the world of our living and its scientific construct. We see that Patocka
continually emphasized the relevance of Husserl's work to existential questions relating to
human responsibility and the life-world which he admits is left largely implicit in Husserl's
work. This edited collection will spark discussion on the question of responsibility against
the backdrop of formalized knowledge which is increasingly inaccessible to human understanding.
Despite the complexity of some of the analyzed ideas this book discusses these themes in a
clear and readable way. This work is scholarly exact in its discussion and authoritative in
its reading but at the same time accessible to anyone motivated to understand these debates.
