From the “Still Covered” to the “Pure Primordial” Phenomena and Back: The External World in the Phenomenology of Conrad-Martius

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Abstract

This chapter addresses the two questions HCM poses at the opening of her first great treatise, “On the Ontology and Doctrine of Appearance of the Real External World” (HCM, 1916): “In which real mode are perceived “essences (Washeiten)” given to us, in more or less big definiteness (Bestimmtheit)? And where do we encounter them in their concrete realization?” (HCM, 1916, 356). These questions initiate the problematization of the given and thus pose a clear limit between the immediate appearance of the external world and its real being, which in HCM’s opinion are not identical (HCM, 1916, 427). The philosopher deals with the first through a careful investigation of what she calls “feeling givenness” (Empfindungsgegebenheit) and the second through a keen observation of the givenness of “manifest-appearance”. These two tracks are woven together, and thus, the phenomenology of the external world moves simultaneously in two opposing directions: by following the line from the “still covered” to the “pure primordial” phenomena we are looking for the ideal reality that brings about the reality of things. This reality does not manifest itself on the phenomenal level but transpires as covering or hiding reality as such. However, since the phenomenon of the external world is not an idea, while moving from the “primordial” to the “covered”, we search for the reality that transcends its ideal boundaries—a transcending that is embodied in the fundamental essence of reality achieving external dimensions. The real transcendence of the external world to human consciousness is revealed in these opposing directions, and thus, the reality of the phenomenon of the external world is confirmed.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationWomen in the History of Philosophy and Sciences
PublisherSpringer Nature
Pages93-121
Number of pages29
DOIs
StatePublished - 2023

Publication series

NameWomen in the History of Philosophy and Sciences
Volume8
ISSN (Print)2523-8760
ISSN (Electronic)2523-8779

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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