Abstract
Today Schutz's sociological theory is often criticized on account of the “conservative” tendency. But in this paper, I would like to inquire Schutz's theoretical significance that would involve a system critique, relating to the problem of “open possibilities” in his theory about everyday world. Of course, it doesn't mean returning to the former “subjectivistic” interpretation of Schutz's sociological theory, but it means trying to find the theoretical significance in the problem of “typicality” that is usually criticized to be “conservative”.
The usual interpretation has often overlooked the problem of “open possibilities” of everyday world in contrast with the closed meaning world of social science. Although “typicality” or “the take for granted nature” is characteristic of everyday world, it doesn't mean the closed typicality of everyday experience (“conservative tendency”). It would rather be the condition of the subjectivity in everyday world. Schutz constructed his theory of everyday world through criticizing both subjectivistic and positivistic social science, so that the actuality and significance of his theory consist in the way of relating typicality and subjectivity in everyday world.
