Vienna-born philosopher Alfred Schutz developed phenomenology, the study of the development of human consciousness and self-awareness into a sociological science. He was born on April 13, 1899, after the death of his father, Alfred. His mother, Johanna Fialla Schutz, married her husband's brother, Otto, a bank executive. During his school years, Schutz became interested in literature, music, and art. He graduated from Esterhazy Gymnasium and was drafted into the Austrian army at age 18. During World War I, he served on the Italian front.

After the war, Schutz entered the University of Vienna and studied law under Hans Kelsen, an Austrian and later American legal philosopher and teacher who formulated what is called the "pure theory" of law, meaning that law itself should be logically self-supporting. Schutz also studied economics under another Austrian-American, Ludwig von Mises, known for his contribution to liberalism in economic theory and his belief in the power...