CFP: Realism, Pragmatism, Naturalism. The Metamorphosis of Phenomenology in North America

Submission deadline: January 30, 2020

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Realism, Pragmatism, Naturalism.
The Metamorphosis of Phenomenology in North America


Discipline Filosofiche, XXX, 1, 2020, edited by Danilo Manca and Antonio Nunziante

Between 1902 and 1903 two former students of Josiah Royce, Winthrop Bell and William Ernest Hocking, moved to Göttingen to study with Husserl. Between 1922 and 1925 a second generation of North American scholars (Marvin Farber, Dorion Cairns and Charles Hartshorne) visited Husserl in Freiburg. Back in the States, Marvin Farber founded the International Phenomenological Society in 1939 and the journal “Philosophy and Phenomenological Research” in 1940. From 1950 on Dorion Cairns gathered around the New School for Social Research many phenomenologists and phenomenologically-minded scholars, including Aron Gurwitsch and Alfred Schütz. Finally, in 1962 John Wild founded the (still active) Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy.

The history of phenomenology in North America does not simply tell the story of a transfer of contents across the Atlantic, for the reception of phenomenology was not merely a matter of passively absorbing a given doctrine. What took place was an active re-elaboration and re-shaping, whose goal was to “adapt” the phenomenological approach to the aims, research strategies, debates and worldviews typical of the North American philosophy of the time. This generated many enlightening debates within the North American phenomenological world, as well as between that world and the representatives of other philosophical traditions. So phenomenology intermingled with analytical philosophy, leading to the rise of analytic phenomenology, a tradition that counts among its leading figures Hubert Dreyfus, Sam Todes and Dagfinn Føllesdal

This issue of “Discipline filosofiche” will assess the process of re-elaboration and re-definition that Husserl's phenomenology underwent in North America not only from the standpoint of its historical-philosophical implications, but especially in view of its theoretical outcomes, the underlying conviction being that the exploration of such debates can offer the opportunity to outline a new interpretative canon for Husserlian phenomenology.

Submissions are welcome on any aspect of the early interpretations and conceptions of phenomenology in North America. These include, but are not limited to:

1)     The issue of realism, construed not only as an ontological approach to the problem of the world, as Husserl’s Göttingen students first understood it, but as a re-definition of the status of consciousness, tightly linked to the problem of human nature, as well as to the role of the natural and social sciences in philosophical knowledge.

2)     The relationship between phenomenology and pragmatism. As Spiegelberg points out, at the origin of this connection lies the relationship between Carl Stumpf and William James, as well as Husserl’s acknowledgement of the key role played by the latter in the development of his own position.

3)     Marvin Farber’s attempt to naturalize phenomenology, with the attendant goal of detaching it from any form of foundationalism.

 

Guidelines for authors. Manuscripts, which cannot exceed 9000 words, may be submitted in Italian, English, German or French. They must be sent as an email attachment in .doc or .docx format, along with a .pdf version, to Antonio Nunziante ([email protected]) and Danilo Manca ([email protected]).

Submitted manuscripts will be sent to two independent reviewers, following a double-blind peer review process. The reviewers may ask authors to make changes or improvements to their contributions in view of publication. Authors are kindly requested to attach both an anonymous version of their contribution entitled “Manuscript” and a separate “Cover Page” stating their name, academic affiliation and contact details. Manuscripts must include an English abstract of less than 150 words and 5 keywords. Any property of the file that might identify the author must be removed to ensure anonymity during the review process. A notification of receipt will be issued for each submission. In drafting their text, authors can adopt any clear and coherent style, but should the text be accepted for publication, they will be required to send a final version in keeping with the editorial guidelines of the journal (please refer to the editorial guidelines at http://www.disciplinefilosofiche.it/norme-redazionali/). Submission of a manuscript is understood to imply that the paper has not been published before and that it is not being considered for publication by any other journal. Should the manuscript be accepted for publication, the author will be required to transfer copyrights to the University of Bologna. Requests to republish the article may be made to the Editorial Board of the Journal.

Deadline for the submission of manuscripts: January, 31 2020
Notification of acceptance, conditional acceptance, or rejection: March, 15 2020
Deadline for the submission of the final draft: April 30 2020

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