Introduction

James Dodd


Phenomenology , in all of its forms, has constituted one of the fundamental trends of intellectual life for almost a century. Any account of the philosophical legacy of the 20th century must weigh the contributions of phenomenology, and any attempt to look forward in philosophy assess its claim to the future. In fact, it is the promise of a renewed future for philosophy that remains a central legacy of the “breakthrough” of phenomenology in the work of Edmund Husserl. What is the status of this legacy today? Does phenomenology—above all in its Husserlian form—remain a viable, living philosophical promise? Or has phenomenology become merely “classical” phenomenology, having matured into a legacy of influence, a chapter in the history of thought interesting only for the purposes of a historical narrative of ideas?

The truth may be something in between. The influence of phenomenology, and the different forms it has taken, is so varied and complex that the horizon of phenomenology can no longer be taken in at a single glance, as it were. If the promise of a renewed idea of and commitment to philosophy remains alive, it is surely mediated by a remarkably diverse intellectual embodiment, one that is not without its tensions. Phenomenological philosophy is a living philosophy that finds its home in territories far beyond the institutional field of philosophy, which even within academia is not always the center of activity. On the other hand, if the promise for a renewal remains salient to the meaning of the breakthrough of phenomenology, then it is doubtful that the ongoing development of ever more sophisticated “phenomenological perspectives” in more and more areas of intellectual and cultural activity is in and of itself the fulfillment of this promise. Phenomenology must, to be both a tradition and a philosophy, reflect on its breakthrough, precisely in order to be able to look ahead. It needs to ask the fundamental question of its sense, for it is only in this way that a tradition can look ahead of itself.

This third and last installment of the internet project On the Future of Husserlian Phenomenology features an introductory essay by Professor Dr. Dieter Lohmar of the Husserl Archives at the Universität Köln. We would like to thank Professor Lohmar, as well as all of the contributors who have shared their diverse and engaging perspectives on the prospects and promises of Husserl's phenomenological philosophy.