Phenomenology and Existentialism in the Twentieth Century Book I. New Waves of Philosophical Inspirations

Krakow was the setting of the August 2008 conference on Phenomenology and Existentialism from which the papers in this and two succeeding volumes were drawn. Phenomenology and Existentialism had strikingly different inspirations and yet the two waves of thought became closely linked as both movements flourished in the mid-twentieth century. Time has given us greater perspective on that interaction. Piotr Mroz’s study in this first volume -- "What Does It Mean To Be an Existentialist Today?" -- shows the distance we have traveled. It was thought that a conference devoted to these movements and their interaction would now be especially valuable.

The hope was not disappointed. The studies here range from the predecessors of existentialism -- Kierkegaard (Kremer-Marietti), Nietzsche (Storm Torjussen), Wahl (Kremer-Marietti) -- to the work of its adherents -- Shestov (Gruca), Berdyaev (Stark), Unamuno (Tze-Wan Kwan), Blondel (Walkey, Mandolini), Blumenberg (Zowislo), and Heidegger and Mamardashvili (Stafecka). Existentialism’s congruence with Christian faith or with atheism is examined (Franke).

Among the Husserlian themes covered are Husserl’s apprehensions on essence and experience (Ortiz Hill), the place of questioning (Plotka), ethics and intentionality (Ferrarello); temporality and passivity (Shahid), and the lifeworld (Servan). Another study focuses on Husserlian progeny, namely, Dufrenne and Merleau-Ponty (Berman). Affinity between phenomenology and Tibetan Buddhism is also explored (Kurpiewski).

Studies focusing specifically on the interaction of phenomenology and existentialism are a comparison of Husserl and existentialists between the World Wars (Villela-Petit), on the intentional and the existential (Sivak), and on time consciousness in each line of thought (Rizzacasa).