In the Name of Phenomenology (PDF)

Phenomenology is one of the twentieth century's most important philosophical movements. It is also attracting renewed interest from philosophers working within the 'analytic' tradition, often thought to be at odds with phenomenology. In this bold and controversial book, Simon Glendinning explores some fundamental questions about phenomenology that are frequently overlooked, including: To what extent is phenomenology a coherent school? If it shares some methods and problems with analytic philosophy and continental philosophy, what makes it philosophically distinctive? Should phenomenology be considered in the larger context of 'post-Kantian' philosophy? Beginning with an exploration of what it might mean to 'do phenomenology', Glendinning explores the phenomenologies of Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Levinas and Derrida, considering important topics such as ontology, existentialism, perception and the other. He argues that we should consider phenomenologically informed philosophy apart from the history of the phenomenological movement itself, and argues that the main dividing line within philosophy now lies not between analytic and continental but scientific and conceptual. Clearly and engagingly written, The Movement of Phenomenology is essential reading for students of phenomenology and contemporary philosophy.