Broad Reflections on the Relationship betweenPhenomenology and Category Theory

Authors

Keywords:

Category Theory, Theory of Manifold, Morphisms, Pure Logic

Abstract

According to Peruzzi (2006), Category Theory (CT) aims to unify various branches of mathematics through a common language. Experts such as Cheng (2023) also consider CT to be a fundamental tool for understanding and generalizing the relationships between mathematical objects. Moreover, based largely on the assertions made by Husserl in the Prolegomena to Pure Logic and Formal and Transcendental Logic regarding the proposal of a transcendental phenomenology—specifically the ideas of a theory of manifolds, intentionality, and pure logic—scholars such as A. Peruzzi, Patras, Benoist, and Król have sought to relate phenomenology to category theory, aiming at a comprehensive review of their mathematical-philosophical implications. Consequently, the objective of this article is to evaluate the feasibility of this relationship by presenting the proposals of these researchers, with special emphasis on their approach to what these ideas represent for them, interspersed with some critical reflections based on Husserl’s expositions on the matter.

Author Biography

  • Luis Alberto Canela Morales, Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación en Humanidades (CIIHu)

    Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación en Humanidades (CIIHu)
    Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos (UAEM)
    lcanelamorales@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3740-5234

References

Awodey, S. (2006). Category Theory. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Benoist, J. (2007). Mettre les structures en mouvement: La phénoménologie et la dynamique de l’intuition conceptuelle. Sur la pertinence phénoménologique de la théorie des categories. En P. Kerszberg, F. Patras & L. Boi (Eds.). Rediscovering Phenomenology, Phenomenological Essays on Mathematical Beings, Physical Reality, Perception and Consciousness (pp. 339-355). New York: Springer.

Bernet, R. (2002). Different Concepts of Logic and their Relation to Subjectivity. En D. Zahavi y F. Stjernfelt (Eds.). One Hundred Years of Phenomenology. Husserl’s Logical Investigations Revisited (pp. 19-29). Dordrecht/Boston/London: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Cheng, E. (2023). The Joy of Abstraction. An Exploration of Math, Category Theory, and Life. UK: Cambridge University Press.

Estrada González, L. y Pallares Vega, I. (2011). La diferencia entre lógicas y el cambio de significado de las conectivas: un enfoque categorista. THEORIA. Revista de Teoría, Historia y Fundamentos de la Ciencia, 26(2), 133-154.

Husserl, E. (1999). Investigaciones lógicas (Manuel G. Morente y J. Gaos, Trads.). Madrid: Alianza Editorial.

Husserl, E. (2009). Lógica formal y lógica trascendental (L. Villoro, Trad.; 2.ª ed.). Preparación de la segunda edición de Antonio Zirión Q. México: IIF-UNAM.

Husserl, E. (2013). Ideas relativas a una fenomenología pura y una filosofía fenomenológica. Libro Primero: Introducción general a la fenomenología pura. Nueva edición y refundición integral de la traducción de José Gaos por Antonio Zirión Q. México: IIF-UNAM/FCE.

Król, Z. (2019). Category Theory and Philosophy. En M. Kuś y B. Skowron (Eds.). Category Theory in Physics, Mathematics, and Philosophy (pp. 21-32). Switzerland: Springer.

Landry, E. (Ed.). (2017). Categories for the Working Philosopher. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Lawvere, F. W. y Schanuel, S. H. (2002). Matemáticas conceptuales. Una primera introducción a categorías (F. Marmolejo, Trad.). México: Siglo XXI.

Leinster, T. (2014). Basic Category Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

MacLane, S. (1998). Categories for the Working Mathematician. Dordrecht: Springer.

Marquis, J. P. (2023). Category Theory. En E. N. Zalta & U. Nodelman (Eds.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2023 Edition). Stanford University. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2023/entries/category-theory/

Patras, F. (2005). Phénoménologie et Théorie des Catégories. En L. Boi (Ed.). Geometries of Nature, Living Systems and Human Cognition: New Interactions of Mathematics with Natural Sciences and Humanities (pp. 401-419). Singapore: World Scientific Publishing.

Peruzzi, A. (1989). Towards a Real Phenomenology of Logic. Husserl Studies, 6, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00369238

Peruzzi, A. (2006). The Meaning of Category Theory for 21st Century Philosophy. Axiomathes, 16(4), 425-460. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10516-005-0466-8

Romero Contreras, A. (2022). Husserl, Intentionality and Mathematics: Geometry and Category Theory. En L. Boi y C. Lobo (Eds.). When Form Becomes Substance (pp. 327-357). Cham: Birkhäuser. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83125-7_12

Rosado Haddock, G. (2017). Husserl and Riemann. En S. Centrone (Ed.). Essays on Husserl’s Logic and Philosophy of Mathematics (pp. 229-243). Dordrecht: Springer.

Spivak, D. (2014). Category Theory for Scientists. USA: MIT Press.

Downloads

Published

2026-07-29

Issue

Section

Articles