The Concept of “Tradition” in Edmund Husserl

Abstract

That of tradition is a so-called limit problem of Husserlian phenomenology. The text is based on an investigation of the existential and historical character of the formal ego, which implies its temporal and historical stratification and personal constitution. The ego is essentially situated in a spiritual context historically determined by a transmission of ideas and values that have a communitarian character. The fundamental point of this study is to affirm that, in Husserlian thought, tradition, being a transcendental prerequisite of the existential dimension of the formal ego, is consequently a constitutive moment of the human being. The study also brings to light the important concept of “Vergemeinschaftung” and provides an interpretation of the theme of the crisis of European mankind, which seems to correspond to an oblivion of its tradition.

Keywords

• phenomenology
• formal ego
• historicity
• existentialism
• intersubjectivity
• tradition