Phenomenology in a New Key: Between Analysis and History: Essays in Honor of Richard Cobb-Stevens PDF
Preview Phenomenology in a New Key: Between Analysis and History: Essays in Honor of Richard Cobb-Stevens
Contributions To Phenomenology 72 Jeffrey Bloechl Nicolas de Warren Editors Phenomenology in a New Key: Between Analysis and History Essays in Honor of Richard Cobb-Stevens Contributions to Phenomenology In Cooperation with The Center for Advanced Research in Phenomenology Volume 72 Series Editors Nicolas de Warren, KU Leuven, Belgium Dermot Moran, University College Dublin, Ireland Editorial Board Lilian Alweiss, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland Elizabeth Behnke, Ferndale, WA, USA Michael Barber, St. Louis University, MO, USA Rudolf Bernet, Husserl-Archief, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium David Carr, Emory University, GA, USA Chan-Fai Cheung, Chinese University Hong Kong, China James Dodd, New School University, NY, USA Lester Embree, Florida Atlantic University, FL, USA Alfredo Ferrarin, Universita` di Pisa, Italy Burt Hopkins, Seattle University, WA, USA Jose´ Huertas-Jourda, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada Kwok-Ying Lau, Chinese University Hong Kong, China Nam-In Lee, Seoul National University, Korea Dieter Lohmar, Universita¨t zu Ko¨ln, Germany William R. McKenna, Miami University, OH, USA Algis Mickunas, Ohio University, OH, USA J.N. Mohanty, Temple University, PA, USA Junichi Murata, University of Tokyo, Japan Thomas Nenon, The University of Memphis, TN, USA Thomas M. Seebohm, Johannes Gutenberg-Universita¨t, Germany Gail Soffer, Rome, Italy Anthony Steinbock, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, IL, USA Shigeru Taguchi, Yamagata University, Japan Dan Zahavi, University of Copenhagen, Denmark Richard M. Zaner, Vanderbilt University, TN, USA Scope Thepurposeoftheseriesistoserveasavehicleforthepursuitofphenomenological research across a broad spectrum, including cross-over developments with other fields of inquiry such as the social sciences and cognitive science. Since its estab- lishment in 1987, Contributions to Phenomenology has published nearly 80 titles on diverse themes of phenomenological philosophy. In addition to welcoming monographsandcollectionsofpapersinestablishedareasofscholarship,theseries encourages original work inphenomenology. Thebreadthand depth ofthe Series reflectstherichandvariedsignificanceofphenomenologicalthinkingforseminal questions of human inquiry as well as the increasingly international reach of phe- nomenological research. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/5811 Jeffrey Bloechl (cid:129) Nicolas de Warren Editors Phenomenology in a New Key: Between Analysis and History Essays in Honor of Richard Cobb-Stevens Editors JeffreyBloechl NicolasdeWarren DepartmentofPhilosophy HigherInstituteofPhilosophy BostonCollege KULeuven,Belgium ChestnutHill,MA,USA ISSN0923-9545 ContributionstoPhenomenology ISBN978-3-319-02017-4 ISBN978-3-319-02018-1 (eBook) DOI10.1007/978-3-319-02018-1 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2014957147 SpringerChamHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon ©SpringerInternationalPublishingSwitzerland2015 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,broadcasting,reproductiononmicrofilmsorinanyotherphysicalway,andtransmissionor informationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexempt fromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. Thepublisher,theauthorsandtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformationinthisbook arebelievedtobetrueandaccurateatthedateofpublication.Neitherthepublishernortheauthorsorthe editorsgiveawarranty,expressorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinorforanyerrors oromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade. Printedonacid-freepaper Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) ’ Editors Introduction Thecloserelationshipbetweenfriendshipandelevatedconversationisknowntous fromtheninthbookofAristotle’sNicomacheanEthics.Withagoodfriend,oneis comfortably oneself, enjoys kinship in love of what is best, and feels called to an improvementofallthevirtues.1ThosewhoknowRichardCobb-Stevensarelikely tothinkfirstofhismannerofbefriendingothersmuchinthisspirit.Ofcourse,heis a natural story-teller who digs deeply into a delightful wealth of experiences. But the stories never stray far or long from a point in need of a flourish, and so the conversation advances, even if the work of a philosophy department, this or that committee meeting, or even a town assembly require that good friends suspend it until a later date. We sometimes have the impression that this is also Richard’s relation to the many great figures of the tradition who are his friends and conver- sation partners, fellows in the love of what is best. Among them are to be found Aristotle,aswehavealreadynoted,aswellasMachiavelli,DescartesandHobbes, butithasbeenthemostrecentcenturythathasheldhisattentionmostconsistently: there is an early and steady interest in William James, a respectful dialogue with some of the Analytic philosophers, and above all, as the present volume testifies, longandimportantworkonHusserlandsomeofhisinterpreters.Indeed,wenote thatthisworkonHusserlhas includednotonlyaprofounddialoguewith asingle great master, but also the promotion of another sort of dialogue between the master’sworkandtheAnglophoneworkthatitsometimesmeetsinastrikingand fruitfulmanner. Richard Cobb-Stevens joined the philosophy department at Boston College in 1971.HearrivedasamemberoftheSocietyofJesus,andwiththerichandvaried education for which the Jesuits are well known. After study of Greek, Latin and German he had spent 3 years teaching at the College of the Holy Cross, and 1NicomacheanEthics1169b5–1170b20.Richardknowsthepassagewell.Hiscommentarycan be found in the second chapter of G. Mansini and J. Hart (eds.), Ethics and Theological Disclosures:TheThoughtofRobertSokolowski(seethebibliographyattheendofthisvolume). v vi Editors’Introduction undertaken summercoursesin philosophy first at Georgetown University—where heencounteredHusserlforthefirsttime,inlecturesbyLouisDupre—andlaterat ColumbiaUniversity.From1962through1967,hestudiedtheologyinBelgiumat thealmostlegendaryCollegeSt.Albert,otherwiseknownsimplyas“Egenhoven,” afterthevillagewhereitwassituated.AtEgenhoven,Richard’sthesisconcentrated on Paul Ricoeur’s Symbolism of Evil, though he would not meet Ricoeur himself until late 1967. It was Ricoeur who directed Richard’s doctoral dissertation on HusserlandJames,whichhedefendedattheSorbonnein1971,beforeajurythat alsoincludedSuzanneBachelard,MikkelDufrenne,andEmmanuelLevinas. Richard’scareeratBostonCollegespansnearlyfourdecades.Hisimpactonthe department of philosophy has been powerful and enduring. In 1975, he was promotedtoassociateprofessorafteronly4yearsonthefaculty;in1988hebecame full professor. He was chair of the philosophy department for 9 years of active developmentandexpansion.For31years,healsoledthedepartment’sseminarin college teaching, in the process forming and inspiring many dozens of people on their way to careers in which they in turn taught hundreds of their own students. Richard’sown teachingwas pursuedat every level available tohim,andincludes supervisionofaremarkable29 doctoral dissertations bystudentsfrom around the world. The same warmth, great steadiness and enthusiasm that marked his teaching were also evident in his commitment to a wide range of tasks that many might consideraboveandbeyondthedutiesoftheuniversityeducator–thoughRichard himself never seemed to share that view. His deep commitment to reflection and writingthusneverstoodinthewayofthelonghoursrequiredforcommitteework, andforhimapersonalinterestinthemorespecializedphilosophyofthetwentieth century was of a single piece with gladly teaching in the university’s core curric- ulum for many years. And in fact, the matter of undergraduate education is a hallmark concern of his career. In 1992, Richard was appointed the first Director oftheUniversityCoreCurriculumatBostonCollege,andwhenheretired18years laterhewasatthetimetheonlypersontohaveheldthatpost.Hisapproachtothis kindofwork,andtoworkonmanyothercommittees,focusgroupsandteams,had ledmanyofustothinkofhimastheverymodeloftruecitizenshipattheuniversity. By Richard’s own estimation, he has been strongly influenced especially by threepeopleinparticular.WehavenotedthathemetPaulRicoeurashenearedthe endofhis theologicalstudiesinEgenhoven.Ricoeurwasatonce anearly mentor and later a respected friend with a wide range of common interests. The circum- stancesofRichard’sdecisiontoundertakedoctoralstudiesunderRicoeurarewell known to his friends and colleagues. Finding Richard somewhat undecided about where to seek the Ph.D., Ricoeur invited him to consider the Sorbonne. After Richardexpressed aninterest inbringing the thoughtofHusserlinto contact with that of William James, Ricoeur offered him something of a received promissory noteofadmission,jottedonanapkinpressedintoservicepostehaste.Thiswasthe beginning of what became Richard’s book on James and Husserl, and more generally his lifelong attempt to build bridges between phenomenology and Anglo-American philosophy. Ricoeur, of course, contributed to this same work, Editors’Introduction vii and over the years mentor and student became friends and colleagues. For over three decades, Ricoeur was a frequent visitor to Boston College, generally at the invitationofRichard,oftenjoinedbyDavidRasmussenandRichardKearney. RichardlefttheSocietyofJesus,veryamicably,intheearly1970s.In1979,he marriedVedaCobb,whereuponbothofthemtookonthelastnameCobb-Stevens. Veda was an accomplished philosopher in her own right, becoming tenured pro- fessor at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, not far from their home in Carlisle. Their time together was short, as Veda succumbed to cancer barely a decade later, but Richard has always spoken of her as important influence on his mindnolessthanonhisheartandsoul.Amongotherthings,VedasharedRichard’s interestinthephilosophyoflanguage,andherintellectualculturewasasrichand variedashisown. In 1989, Jacques Taminiaux became full professor and member of the Boston Collegedepartmentofphilosophy(hehadvisitedannuallysincethelate1960s).By special arrangement, he thenceforth undertook his teaching on blocks of several weeks each year. During those visits, he lived with Richard in Carlisle. In Taminiaux, Richard thus had a houseguest with not only a similar philosophical background and orientation, but also native experience with the European culture that has remained a part of him even after returning home from his long years of studyinBelgiumandFrance.LikeRichard,Taminaiuxisaphenomenologistwitha deepunderstandingofthehistoryofphilosophy,aloveofartandliterature,anda keensenseofthepoliticaldimensionofintellectuallife. Taminiaux retired from Boston College a few years before Richard, but this hardlyleftRichardwithoutclosefriendsamonghiscolleagues.Butthisreturnsus tothe matter with which we began. And perhaps that is a fitting way tounderline Richard’slegacyatBostonCollege.Thelifeofthemindandthepursuitoftruthand goodnessrequirecompanionship,awillingnesstopauselongoverprofoundques- tions,andacapacitytoavoiddistractionfromthethingsthemselvesastheycallfor properunderstanding.Itisourpleasure,then,tohaveassembledessaysverymuch on this spirit, and to have been able to offer them to Richard Cobb-Stevens as a collectiveexpressionofthegratitude hisfriendsintheHusserlworldfeel forhim andhiswork. (cid:1) WewouldliketoexpressourgratitudetoStephanieRumpzaforherassistancein the preparation of the manuscript and to the Department of Philosophy at Boston Collegefortheirsupportofthisproject. About the Editors JeffreyBloechlisAssociateProfessorofPhilosophyatBostonCollege. NicolasdeWarrenisProfessorofPhilosophyattheHusserlArchives–Instituteof Philosophy,KULeuven,Belgium. ix
The list of books you might like
