Volume 1, 2010
Selected Essays from Asia and Pacific
Cheung Ching-yuen
Pages 453-468
From Phenomenology of Man to Philosophical Anthropology
Max Scheler’s Turn and its Significance
Max Scheler (1874-1928) is one of the most original and influential figures in phenomenology. He is also known as the father of modern philosophical anthropology. Scheler’s project is not to develop a strict science or to explore the meaning of being, but to question the fundamental question: what is man, and what is man’s place in nature? In this paper, I shall discuss Scheler’s turn from phenomenology of man to philosophical anthropology, and evaluate the significance of this turn.