Gerda Walther’s Phenomenology of Sociality, Psychology, and Religion

Description

This book explores the philosophical writings of Gerda Walther (1897–1977). It features essays that recover large parts of Walther’s oeuvre in order to show her contribution to phenomenology and philosophy. In addition, the volume contains an English translation of part of her major work on mysticism. The essays consider the interdisciplinary implications of Gerda Walther’s ideas. A student of Edmund Husserl, Edith Stein, and Alexander Pfänder, she wrote foundational studies on the ego, community, mysticism and religion, and consciousness. Her discussions of empathy, identification, the ego and ego-consciousness, alterity, God, mysticism, sensation, intentionality, sociality, politics, and woman are relevant not only to phenomenology and philosophy but also to scholars of religion, women’s and gender studies, sociology, political science, and psychology. Gerda Walther was one of the important figures of the early phenomenological movement. However, as a woman, she could not habilitate at a German university and was, therefore, denied a position. Her complete works have yet to be published. This ground-breaking volume not only helps readers discover a vital voice but it also demonstrates the significant contributions of women to early phenomenological thinking. Front Matter ....Pages i-xvii Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Gerda Walther (1897–1977): A Sketch of a Life (Rodney K. B. Parker)....Pages 3-9 Gerda Walther: Searching for the Sense of Things, Following the Traces of Lived Experiences (Marina Pia Pellegrino)....Pages 11-24 Front Matter ....Pages 25-25 Social Acts and Communities: Walther Between Husserl and Reinach (Alessandro Salice, Genki Uemura)....Pages 27-46 On Community: Edith Stein and Gerda Walther (Anna Maria Pezzella)....Pages 47-56 Gerda Walther and the Possibility of a Non-intentional We of Community (Antonio Calcagno)....Pages 57-70 Human Beings as Social Beings: Gerda Walther’s Anthropological Approach (Julia Mühl)....Pages 71-84 Körper, Leib, Gemüt, Seele, Geist: Conceptions of the Self in Early Phenomenology (Christina M. Gschwandtner)....Pages 85-99 What Is the Condition for the Members of Social Communities to Be “Real” People According to Gerda Walther? (Manuela Massa)....Pages 101-111 Front Matter ....Pages 113-113 Phenomenology of Mysticism, Introduction and Chapter One (Rodney K. B. Parker)....Pages 115-133 The Sense of Mystical Experience According to Gerda Walther (Angela Ales Bello)....Pages 135-147 Phenomenological Approaches to the Uncanny and the Divine: Adolf Reinach and Gerda Walther on Mystical Experience (Kimberly Baltzer-Jaray)....Pages 149-167 Back Matter ....Pages 169-171