What is phenomenology? This question has been asked, indeed, seemingly since the word “phenomenology” was first introduced. It is a question, also, which gives testimony to a point often made by John Deely: efforts at philosophical innovation require either the posit of a neologism, in which case no one understands its significance, or the effort at adapting an old term to a new meaning, in which case everyone will attempt to interpret your new meaning by the old. Despite this confusion, phenomenology has continued to exercise an influence for just as long as its meaning has been questioned.
In an effort, therefore, to provide a much-needed clarification—not by mere didactic exposition but by a “genuine repetition” of the inquiry that led to its development—this seminar will endeavor to re-discover phenomenology from its very roots. Accordingly, we focus our inquiry primarily on the thought of Edmund Husserl (1859–1938), the first founder of phenomenology as a formal movement within philosophy. But we will also expand our considerations into the practical application of phenomenological method for understanding various aspects of human experience, including what it means in fact to be a human person, and to dwell among and with other persons.
By our inquiry into phenomenology, we hope to clarify both what it is, itself, and its fittingness in the context of philosophical inquiry broadly speaking. This seminar, taught by Drs. Daniel Wagner and Brian Kemple, will lead students through the tangle and into the clearing. View the syllabus here.
Schedule
| Discussion Sessions 1:00pm ET (World times) | Study Topics & Readings |
|---|---|
| June 3 | Break with Reality: The Need for Phenomenology Lecture 1: Classical Sense-Realism and the Modern Break Readings: » “Key Texts on Sense-Realism in Aristotle & St. Thomas Aquinas” and “The Modern Break”. |
| June 10 | The History and Question of Phenomenology Lecture 2: Origins and Methodologies Reading: » [Required] Spiegelberg 1956: “Introduction” and “Part One: The Preparatory Phase, Chapter One: Franz Brentano” (1-52). » [Recommended] Moran 2000: Introduction to Phenomenology, 1-22. |
| June 17 | The Phenomenological Attitude Lecture 3: From Natural to Phenomenological Attitude via the Phenomenological Ἐποχή Reading (same for weeks 3 and 4): » [Required] Husserl 1907: The Idea of Phenomenology, 1914: Ideas Pertaining to a Pure Phenomenology and a Phenomenological Philosophy,51-62 (§27–32). » [Recommended] Moran 2000: Introduction to Phenomenology, 124-163. |
| June 24 | First Fruits of the Phenomenological Reduction Lecture 4: Intentionality, Νοησίσ-Νοημα, and the End of Idealism Reading: » [Required] Husserl 1907: The Idea of Phenomenology, 1914: Ideas Pertaining to a Pure Phenomenology and a Phenomenological Philosophy,51-62 (§27–32). » [Recommended] Moran 2000: Introduction to Phenomenology, 124-163. |
| July 1 | BREAK |
| July 8 | The Self and the Other Lecture 5: Other Persons, Empathy, Intersubjectivity, and Objective Truth Reading: » [Required] Husserl 1931: Cartesian Meditations, Meditation V. » [Recommended] Selections from Stein 1916: On the Problem of Empathy. |
| July 15 | Structures of Experience Lecture 6: Perception, Memory, and Language Reading: » [Required] Sokolowski 2000: Introduction to Phenomenology, c.5-7. » [Recommended] Excerpts from various authors. |
| July 22 | Structures of the Lifeworld Lecture 7: Temporality, Science, and Meaning Readings: » [Required] Sokolowski 2000: Introduction to Phenomenology, c.9-11. » [Recommended] Moran 2000: Introduction to Phenomenology, 164-191. |
| July 29 | Phenomenology of Personhood Lecture 8: Reflections upon Intentional Consciousness Readings: » [Required] Spaemann 1996: Persons, 1-40. » [Recommended] Wojtyła c.1965: Person and Act: The Introductory and Fundamental Reflections (36-58). |
Registration
Lyceum Institute seminar costs are structured on a principle of financial subsidiarity. There are three payment levels, priced according to likely levels of income. If you wish to take a seminar but cannot afford the suggested rate, it is acceptable to sign up at a less-expensive level. The idea is: pay what you can. Those who can pay more, should, so that those who cannot pay as much, need not. Lyceum Institute members receive a further discount (see here for details).
One payment covers all 8 weeks.
[2023 Summer] Phenomenology: An Introduction – Public Participant
A payment level recommended for those who are currently students, who are between jobs, or who have part-time employment.
$60.00
[2023 Summer] Phenomenology: An Introduction
Recommended for those in professions that do not pay as well as they ought and for whom continued education is especially important (including professors and clergy). Helps allow us to subsidize lower-cost registrations.
$135.00
[2023 Summer] Phenomenology: An Introduction
Recommended for those with fulltime employment in well-paying professions and sufficient resources to provide a little more. Greatly aids us in allowing to subsidize lower-cost registrations.
$200.00
Pricing Comparison
| Standard price | Basic Lyceum Enrollment | Advanced Lyceum Enrollment | Premium Lyceum Enrollment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benefactor | $200 per seminar | $90 | 3 seminars included $90 after | 8 seminars included $90 after |
| Patron | $135 per seminar | $65 | 3 seminars included $65 after | 8 seminars included $65 after |
| Participant | $60 per seminar | $40 | 3 seminars included $40 after | 8 seminars included $40 after |