Hosted by the Mita Association for Philosophy

2021/02/04

Workshop Outline:

Husserl's investigations into time, for which he continued to write research manuscripts from his early to his late years, have been interpreted as relating to the limits of the phenomenological theory of reflection—which uses the constitutive analysis of objects of consciousness as its method—once the problem of the "riddle of the living present" (Husserl) was raised. The leading proponent of this interpretation in Germany was Klaus Held, author of "Lebendige Gegenwart" (1966). In Japan, Keiten Saito and others, based on this interpretation, developed phenomenology into the problem-field of post-war French post-structuralist philosophy, including figures like Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida (e.g., Keiten Saito, "Shikō no Rinkai: Chōetsuronteki Genshōgaku no Tettei" [The Limits of Thought: A Thorough Investigation of Transcendental Phenomenology], 2000, and others).

In recent years, Daisuke Sato (Okayama University) has vigorously developed counterarguments to these trends in works such as "Is the Problem of Reflection Really a Problem? A Re-examination of Husserl's Early Theory of Time" (in "Tetsugaku" [Philosophy], no. 70, edited by the Philosophical Association of Japan, 2019). Therefore, we have organized this workshop to take this opportunity for Sato and Saito to engage in direct discussion, and together with the participants, to reconsider what was happening in Husserl's phenomenology, what should be considered the problem there, and what the scope and potential for development of that problem are. The workshop will be moderated by Genki Uemura (Okayama University), who is a leading figure in the vibrant contemporary phenomenological research in Japan, active in organizations such as the Phenomenological Association of Japan and the Husserl-Colloquium in Japan.

The workshop will begin with 40-minute presentations by Sato and Saito, respectively. After a break, the second half, lasting one hour, will be entirely dedicated to discussion between the presenters and the audience.