Volume 4, Issue Part 2, 2007
Selected Essays from Northern Europe Part 2
Joona Taipale
Pages 735-763
Perceiving the Other
Husserl and Merleau-Ponty on the Genesis of Intersubjectivity
The Husserlian phenomenology of intersubjectivity has gained increasing interest in recent years. However, some aspects of the traditional interpretation still obstruct the meaning of Husserl’s views and block the access to the phenomenological theme of intersubjectivity. This essay aims to disclose and unravel some of these obstacles.
The constitution of the other is still often understood as being, for Husserl, merely a matter of empathy, of a relation between two full-fledged egos. This misreading connects to the interpretation according to which the constitution of the ego is independent of the constitution of the other. It will be argued that both these notions are untenable in the light of Husserl’s writings.