Alexander Schnell

Phenomenology now has a history of over one hundred years. This book introduces the variety of its different approaches in three ways. The author is not only concerned with presenting the history of phenomenology. He also demonstrates how its claim to analyse things themselves is fulfilled and how a philosophical movement such as German Idealism can be made phenomenologically fruitful. Schnell also contributes to the current debate on New Realism. This introduction does not refer to what phenomenology is: it is phenomenology itself. By now, Phenomenology is looking back upon a history spanning more than a century. This book introduces the diversity of its different approaches by applying a threefold approach. The author is not only concerned with a presentation of the history of phenomenology. He also demonstrates how its claim to examine things themselves ("die Sachen selbst") is fulfilled, and how even a philosophical movement like German idealism can be rendered fruitful when looked at from a phenomenologically informed perspective. Not least, Schnell's book is a contribution to the current debate about New Realism. This introduction does not simply answer the question as to what is phenomenology: in its mode of discussing its subject, it is itself phenomenology.