The Brentanian Legacy in Early Phenomenology? On Sources of the Phenomenological Movement in Poland and in Central Europe

The basics of phenomenology were created in a permanent dispute with the Brentanian tradition. In this regard, it is enough to mention Husserl’s struggles known from the first edition of his Logical Investigations where he (in)famously defined phenomenology as a form of descriptive psychology. Indeed, the reception of early phenomenology was shaped to some extent by Brentano’s theoretical framework. This was clear especially in Central Europe where Brentano’s students took chairs in philosophy, including, Meinong in Graz, Bergman and Kraus in Prague and Twardowski in Lvov. The central purpose of the workshop is to discuss the beginnings of the phenomenological movement in Central Europe on the borderline with the Brentanian tradition. This can be a suitable point of departure to look closer at connections between early phenomenology and other philosophical disciplines and schools of thought, e.g., the Prague School or the Lvov-Warsaw School. Moreover, we wish to undertake a detailed systematic analysis of doctrines developed or merely sketched by prominent figures of the phenomenological movement in Central Europe; this can show that their ideas are still inspiring and can be utilized in many contemporary debates. To give only one example: Twardowski’s puzzles concerning the parts-whole relation as well as Ingarden’s theory of higher-order objects and compound substances could shed new light on recent neo-Aristotelian attempts to work out non-standard mereologies. Thus our ambition is to explore not only how early phenomenology in Central Europe was rooted in the Brentanian tradition, but also how the post-Brentanists adopted some phenomenological tools.

The list of participants include:

• Daniele De Santis | Charles University
• Arnaud Dewalque | University of Liège
• Guillaume Fréchette | University of Geneva
• Hynek Janoušek | Czech Academy of Sciences
• Marek Piwowarczyk | John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin
• Witold Płotka | Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw
• Sébastien Richard | Free University of Brussels
• Robin Rollinger | Czech Academy of Sciences
• Wojciech Starzyński | Polish Academy of Sciences

The workshop is co-organized by John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw and Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Poster is available here: https://www.academia.edu/75500581/WORKSHOP_Brentano_and_Early_Phenomenology

Program is available here: https://www.academia.edu/75501035/WORKSHOP_Brentano_and_Early_Phenomenology_PROGRAM  

Organizing committee: Marek Piwowarczyk, Witold Płotka, Wojciech Starzyński

More and registration, please, contact: [email protected]