Phenomenology can offer a new point of view to the critical philosophy of history. Through a phenomenological reduction which permits an analysis of the essential structures of the "life-world," the phenomenologist suspends theoretical assumptions in order to discern the implicit attitude which defines the field of a science. Phenomenological reflection can help lay bare an original act. When applied to the discipline of history, this process of "reactivation" uncovers the original emergence of historical consciousness and brings to light the structural a priori of the field of historical research. A phenomenological approach to the problem of historical knowledge will be the convergence of the analysis of the essential structures of the historical attitude and the analysis of the historical dimension of the life-world.