A Comparative Study of the Sociological Theory of Phenomenology (with an emphasis on the theory of Alfred Schutz) and Islam's Theoretical Bases

The theory and method of phenomenology has been formed in the West by Edmund Husserl after the philosophical crisis. He tried to release himself from the common presuppositions and explanations and present a method for the intuition of intrinsic meanings while he emphasized on cultural awareness, functions and obligations. Suspending the natural approach which he considered as the root of this misunderstanding, he tried to achieve a kind of pure awareness. Alfred Schutz who followed this perspective and method, also tried to transmit this theory from philosophy to sociology and presented a kind of descriptive and non-experimental research regarding exterior phenomena. The concepts he used in the explication of his theory has drawn the attention of sociologists. Although this theory has some flaws, but is close to some of the theoretical accomplishments of the Islamic thought including the suspension of the natural world and reduction of its role, presenting a dialectic image of the individual and the structure, and …; yet there are some basic differences from some perspectives as well.