Why did Husserl reject historicism as a foundation for philosophy?

Edmund Husserl rejected historicism as a foundation for philosophy primarily because he believed it inevitably leads to relativism and skepticism.1

While Husserl acknowledged the work of thinkers like Wilhelm Dilthey regarding the classification of worldviews, he argued that historicism—which emphasizes that all thought is immersed in a specific historical context—fails to provide the objective, apodictic certainty required for a "rigorous science".1

For Husserl, the fundamental distinction lies in the nature of the inquiry:
* History is concerned with the study of facts, which possess only relative validity.1
* Phenomenology is concerned with the knowledge of essences, seeking the absolute foundations of meaning within consciousness.1

By grounding philosophy in the essential structures of conscious acts rather than historical facts, Husserl aimed to move beyond the limitations of worldviews and establish a scientific basis for knowledge that is not subject to historical contingency.1