lifeworld (Lebenswelt) The context in which any given consciousness is inevitably immersed, even if it is incapable of registering it directly. Although it is intended to describe a kind of background to consciousness, it should not be thought of as inert; it is rather a constantly shifting and changing horizon in which consciousness is enveloped. In this regard, the lifeworld is both subjective and intersubjective. Husserl, Edmund introduced this concept in his late work, Die Krisis der europĂ€ischen Wissenschaften und die transzendentale PhĂ€nomenologie: Eine Einleitung in die phĂ€nomenologische Philosophie (1936), translated as The Crisis of European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology: An Introduction to Phenomenological Philosophy (1970). The concept was further developed by Merleau-Ponty, Maurice and Alfred SchĂŒtz, among others in the field of phenomenology. In critical theory, lifeworld is central to the work of Habermas, JĂŒrgen, who incorporates it into his theory of communicative action as a kind of minimum level of linguistic consciousness. Used in a less technical way, the concept of lifeworld has also featured in studies of everyday life as a code word for the human environment.