Phenomenology and Existentialism in the Twenthieth Century

The great flourishing in the Twentieth Century of the amalgamated movement of Phenomenology and Existentialism, having reached its unfolding and reverberation – as we have shown in our two preceding books and continue in this one – seems to have spanned the entire gamut of their marvels.

Although the philosophical field is being still corroborated by phenomenologico-existential insights, their approaches and tendencies in a constant flux of perspectives, phenomenology as such has remained itself an open question. Its ultimate foundations, the question of "phenomenology of phenomenology", its "unconditional positioning" as the source of sense has not been solved by Husserl (see herein Verducci’s study of Husserl and Fink, infra-page).

But in this conundrum in which we find ourselves, there is gathering a wave of thought that continues regenerating philosophy. The deepest phenomenologico-existential inspirations, driven by a prompting logos, is undertaking a new critique of reason (see Verducci), apprehending the pivotal role of Imaginatio Creatrix (see Egbe), realizing Jean Wahl’s importance as an early precursor of the quest after ultimate meaning (see Kremer-Marietti) and is clarifying the Logos of the "Moral Sense" (see Cozma and Szmyd). Finding a new point of departure for all phenomenology in the ontopoiesis of life (Tymieniecka) and so establishing the sought for "first philosophy" encompassing all (see Haney), is fructifying the coalescing reformulations of issues found in the phenomenology/ontopoiesis of life. We have here a powerful ferment we may call the New Enlightenment.