The Phenomenal Experience of the I: The Idea of the I in Hedwig Conrad-Martius’ Early Phenomenology

This paper addresses the phenomenal experience of the I that is at the foundation of the realistic phenomenology of Hedwig Conrad-Martius (hereafter: HCM) (1966–1888). Focusing on HCM’s early book On the Ontology and Doctrine of Appearance of the Real External from 1916, the discussion strives to interpret the modes of the involvement of the I in the appearances of the real external world. It also extricates from HCM’s analysis of the external world two dispositions of the I: “passive and resting self-inclusiveness” (passive und ruhender Ichhaltung) and “active consciousness”. These two real dispositions correspond to two kinds of consciousness: as “saturated” (inprägniertheit), in itself the I illuminates itself by itself and as such that “objectively absorbs” (gegenständlich aufnehmende) the reality external to it. Moreover, these two dispositions correspond to two spheres of objects in the external world discerned by HCM: that of sensory manifest (sinnfällige) objects, regarding which the I conducts itself as a passive and self-including being vis-à-vis the phenomenality of objects. However, regarding the sphere of covert objects, the I is active and directed beyond itself, to the concealed essence that is covered over by the phenomenal layer of things.