Phenomenology Explained: From Experience to Insight

Description

Phenomenology is one of the most important and influential philosophical movements of the last one hundred years. It began in 1900, with the publication of a massive two-volume work, "Logical Investigations," by a Czech-German mathematician, Edmund Husserl. It proceeded immediately to exert a strong influence on both philosophy and the social scien

David Detmer is Professor of Philosophy at Purdue University Calumet. He is the author of Sartre Explained: From Bad Faith to Authenticiy (2008), Challenging Postmodernism: Philosophy and the Politics of Truth (2003), and Freedom as a Value: A Critique of the Ethical Theory of Jean-Paul Sartre (1988). He is a former president of the North American Sartre Society and is currently Executive Editor of Sartre Studies International.

"Detmer's Phenomenology Explained is the essential guidebook to Husserl's phenomenology. This text should be the first read for those wading into the study of phenomenology for the first time and senior scholars will appreciate the subtlety by which Detmer navigates Husserl's most difficult terrain. Phenomenology Explained offers a thoughtful and accessible treatment of the evolution of phenomenology from Husserl's early influences to his 20th century successors while shedding new light on where phenomenology might be headed. Detmer offers an important analysis of the often overlooked and critical influence that Husserl's thought has on the relationship between phenomenology and ethics." --NICHOLAS WERNICKI, Assistant Professor, Peirce College "It is rare that a book is required reading for scholars and undergraduates. Phenomenology Explained is such a book. It is accessible, clear, and direct, yet it provides a high level of breadth and detail. David Detmer illuminates the key ideas and current relevance of phenomenology, largely through Husserl's works. Detmer's analyses are balanced, insightful, expertly developed, and extend current Husserl scholarship particularly with respect to previously unpublished Husserl works. This is a marvelous book and an invaluable guide for those interested in phenomenology." --LAWRENCE FERRARA, New York University, author of Philosophy and the Analysis of Music "Phenomenology can be notoriously opaque to beginners, but Detmer succeeds at being clear and accessible without shying away from an engagement with the most important and difficult ideas in phenomenology. Detmer's approach transcends traditional divides, making it accessible to both analytically- and continentally-trained philosophers. One of the greatest strengths of this volume is its balance of range and depth. Detmer shows the reader why phenomenology is not a relic of the early 20th century, but rather a vibrant and growing field in philosophy today." --ELIZABETH BUTTERFIELD, Georgia Southern University, author of Sartre and Posthumanist Humanism "In Phenomenology Explained, Detmer identifies a central goal of phenomenology as "descriptive fidelity," a term that aptly characterizes his own thorough treatment of the subject. With admirable clarity and ease, Detmer has managed to capture the profundity of the contributions of phenomenologists from Husserl to Merleau-Ponty, without watering down the complexity of this vibrant field of inquiry. The book is an invaluable resource for scholars and students alike." --CONSTANCE L. MUI, S. Youree Watson, S.J., Professor of Philosophy, Loyola University New Orleans "David Detmer provides a clear, easily readable, and comprehensive overview of Husserlian phenomenology for both the novice and the initiated. Pushing beyond this, he also lays out a persuasive case for the relevance and importance of Husserl's phenomenology within the current philosophical scene..." --BOB SANDMEYER, University of Kentucky, author of Husserl's Constitutive Phenomenology