James F. Sheridan Allegheny College As we come to the end of the century, an attentive student of con temporary European philosophy will no doubt be startled by a volume titled Husserl in Contemporary Context. Such philosophers are most likely to believe that Hussed has now been declared II classical" rather than a contemporary thinker or, worse, simply old fashioned. Access to Hussed today will most likely come through the allegedly definitive critiques of his work by Heidegger and Derrida and to a lesser extent through the readings of his work by Levinas and Merleau Ponty although Merleau-Ponty himself has been declared old fashioned by some postmodems. Hence, if by II contemporary" one understands the problematic set by the work of the late Heidegger, Derrida, Foucault, et. al., Hussed's work seems strange indeed in such a contemporary context, seems better understood as the last gasp of philosophy dominated by metaphysics and thus fit only for inclusion in courses in the history of philosophy.

Presenting the first step-by-step commentary on Husserl's Ideas I, Marcus Brainard's Belief and Its Neutralization provides an introduction not only to this central work, but also to the whole of transcendental phenomenology. Brainard offers a clear and lively account of each key element in Ideas I, along with a novel reading of Husserl, one which may well cause scholars to reconsider many long-standing views on his thought, especially on the role of belief, the effect and scope of the epoché, and the significance of the universal neutrality modification.

Husserl and the Idea of Europe argues that Edmund Husserl’s late reflections on Europe should not be read either as departures from his early transcendental phenomenology or as simple exercises of cultural criticism but rather as systematic phenomenological reflections on generativity and historicity. Timo Miettinen shows that Husserl’s deliberations on Europe contain his most compelling and radical interpretation of the intersubjective, communal, and historical dimensions of phenomenology. Husserl and his generation worked in the aftermath of World War I, as Europe struggled to redefine itself, and he penned his late writings as the clouds of World War II gathered. Decades later, the fall of the Soviet Union again altered the continent’s identity and its political and economic divisions. Miettinen writes as a European involved in the question of Europe, and many of the recent authors and critics he addresses in this work—such as Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, and Giorgio Agamben—likewise deeply engaged with this new problem of European identity. The book illuminates the multifaceted problem of the idea of European rationality, and it defends novel conceptions of universalism and teleology as necessary components of radical philosophical reflection.

Usually Husserl’s analysis of time-constitution is thought of in terms of three phases that are roughly bound up with the central publications, the Lectures, the Bernau Manuscripts and the C-Manuscripts. Today, after the publication of the central texts incorporating the last two phases, the discussion of Husserl’s analysis of time-constitution has entered a new phase. This is true for the interpretation of the latter two texts but it also affects out reading of the Lectures. Today, in the aftermath of the recent publication of the C-Manuscipts, it seems more likely that the seemingly separated first two phases are more close to each other than expected. The new and broader context allows for more thorough interpretation of the whole enterprise of time-constitution. By publishing this collection of contributions of the best international experts in this field, entailing some refreshing approaches of new coming researchers, this collection gives an overview of the most contemporary interpretations of this fundamental phenomenological theme.

The central task of phenomenology is to investigate the nature of consciousness and its relations to objects of various types. The present book introduces students and other readers to several foundational topics of phenomenological inquiry, and illustrates phenomenology’s contemporary relevance. The main topics include consciousness, intentionality, perception, meaning, and knowledge. The book also contains critical assessments of Edmund Husserl’s phenomenological method. It argues that knowledge is the most fundamental mode of consciousness, and that the central theses constitutive of Husserl’s "transcendental idealism" are compatible with metaphysical realism regarding the objects of thought, perception, and knowledge. Helpful tools include introductions that help the reader segue from the previous chapter to the new one, chapter conclusions, and suggested reading lists of primary and some key secondary sources. Key Features: Elucidates and engages with contemporary work in analytic epistemology and philosophy of mind Provides clear prose explanations of the necessary distinctions and arguments required for understanding the subject Places knowledge at the center of phenomenological inquiry

Drawing on Husserl’s concepts of communalization and intersubjectivity, this book aspires to an orientation in which human beings are understood in the context of their full-blooded, concrete existence – the life-world. Michael F. Hickman offers a fresh return to the raw experience of politics through the contemporary realist idea of radical disagreement as the "circumstances of politics." He surpasses realist limitations through the acknowledgment of the constitution of the world as an achievement of the intersubjective community, while crucially asserting that the political horizon is distinguishable from, but coterminous with, the life-world itself. Through the use of hypotheticals, an unprecedented phenomenological account of political experience is offered, in which three major themes of political subjectivity are explored: belonging and possession, authority, and foreignness and political others. Finally, a multi-phase analysis of legitimacy is conducted which, taking into account universal human rights and concretely identifiable expressions of acceptance, is nonetheless rooted in a source – the life-world – that reaches beyond any mere collectivity of ego-acts. Utilizing an expanded philosophical universe, Husserlian Phenomenology and Contemporary Political Realism offers a path forward from the ideological stalemates in which liberal theory seems hopelessly locked. It will appeal to scholars involved in the study of political theory and philosophy, international relations, intercultural studies, human rights and phenomenology.