The External World—“Whole” and “Parts”: A Husserlian Hermeneutics of the Early Ontology of Hedwig Conrad-Martius

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

This chapter proposes an analysis of Hedwig Conrad-Martius’s (1888–1966) On the Ontology and Doctrine of Appearance of the Real External World (Conrad-Martius in Jahrbuch für Phänomenologie und philosophische Forschung III. Max Niemeyer, Halle, pp. 345–542) from the perspective of Husserl’s theory, of whole and parts in Logical Investigations. The author identifies the “whole (Ganz)” with “sensory givenness” and “parts (Teile)” with “feeling givenness (Empfindungsgegebenheit)” and “appearance givenness (Erscheinungsgegebenheit)”. The dependent-independent relations and laws that prescribe unity of objects at the center of Husserl’s theory of whole and parts are also foundational in HCM’s early ontology. This is torn between two forces. On the one hand, she searches for an essential and unified whole, viewed as independent of the senses, of consciousness, and of the human subject in general. This search is expected to provide a grip on the problem of “reality as such”. On the other hand, while searching for access to this whole, HCM encounters the involvement of the senses and consciousness in its appearances, that is, in the appearing of the external world.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationWomen in the History of Philosophy and Sciences
PublisherSpringer Nature
Pages141-165
Number of pages25
DOIs
StatePublished - 2023

Publication series

NameWomen in the History of Philosophy and Sciences
Volume8

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Gender Studies
  • History
  • Philosophy
  • History and Philosophy of Science

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