Analecta Husserliana The Yearbook of Phenomenological Research Volume XCVIII The Divine in Husserl and Other Explorations by Angela Ales Bello THE DIVINE IN HUSSERL AND OTHER EXPLORATIONS ANALECTA HUSSERLIANA THE YEARBOOK OF PHENOMENOLOGICAL RESEARCH VOLUME XCVIII Founder and Editor-in-Chief: Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka The World Institute for Advanced Phenomenological Research and Learning Hanover, New Hampshire For other titles published in this series, go to http://www.springer.com/series/5621 ANGELA ALES BELLO THE DIVINE IN HUSSERL AND OTHER EXPLORATIONS Published under the auspices of The World Institute for Advanced Phenomenological Research and Learning A-T. Tymieniecka, President Library of Congress Control Number: 2008935900 ISBN 978-1-4020-8910-7 (HB) ISBN 978-1-4020-8911-4 (e-book) Published by Springer, P.O. Box 17, 3300 AA Dordrecht, The Netherlands. www.springer.com With kind permission of Sant’Antonio Editrice This volume has been published in the Italian language as EDMUND HUSSERL, Pensare Dio - Credere in Dio © 2005 Prov. Pad. FMC Messaggero di S. Antonio Editrice Basilica del Santo - Via Orto Botanico, 11 - 35123 Padova, Italia Translated by Antonio Calcagno Printed on acid-free paper All Rights Reserved © 2009 Springer No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. To Domenico A. Conci In memoria TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction xi PART I THINKING GOD 1. Phenomenology as Philosophy sui generis 3 I. The Phenomenological Method 4 II. The Analysis of Lived Experiences: Immanence and Transcendence 10 III. Phenomenological Reductions: The Cartesian Way and the Way of Psychology 12 IV. The Phenomenological Approach to Anthropology 14 2. Husserl’s Question of God as a Philosophical Question 25 I. The Objective Way to God 25 II. The Subjective Way to God 28 III. The Intersubjective Way to God 33 IV. Hyle and Telos: The Way to God through the Hyletic 46 V. The Ethical Way 54 PART II BELIEVING IN GOD 1. The Husserlian Approach to Religion 65 I. Philosophy and Religion 65 II. A “Mystical” Way? 67 III. Christ and Christianity 69 IV. Theology and Faith 76 2. Religion as the Object of Phenomenological Analysis 81 I. Analysis of the Religious Phenomenon 83 II. Phenomenological Archeology of the Sacred 86 III. Phenomenological Archeology of the Religious 91 IV. Religion and Religions 95 vii viii TABLE OF CONTENTS PART III SOME EXPLORATIONS IN THE PHENOMENOLOGY OF RELIGION 1. Examples of Archeological Excavation 101 I. Ritual Objects in Archaic Sacrality 103 II. The Goddess in Archaic Sacrality 106 2. Ecstasy and Contemplation in Various Religious Experiences 113 I. Ecstasy in Shamanism 114 II. Contemplation in Hinduism 117 III. Christian Mysticism: Phenomenological and Mystical Hyletic 119 IV. Mystical Union and Contemplation in Sufism 123 3. God as “Third” or as “You”?: Comparing Philosophy and Religion 129 I. The Third from an Anthropological Perspective 129 II. The Divine as You and as Third 135 III. You and the Third: Religions Facing One Another 137 IV. Thinking the “Third” Philosophically 141 Conclusion 147 Bibliography 151 Index 157 ACKNOWLEDGMENT I owe a debt of warm gratitude to Professor Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka for her presence and attention along my research path in the phenomenology of religion, the fruit of which is this work, and for having accepted to publish it in the prestigious series “Analecta Husserliana”, which she created and edits. Heart-filled thanks also go to Prof. Antonio Calcagno (King’s University College, UWO) for his translation of this work. Thanks to his deep knowledge of the phenomenological questions treated herein, the translation of this book was executed with great care and attention. ix INTRODUCTION Reading the phenomenological analyses of Husserl in a theo-logical fashion, understood in the etymological sense of a discourse about God, signifies taking up a challenge and exploring a new territory. Husserl perhaps never would have wanted this theme, which was marginally treated in his work, to become a proper object of specific research precisely on account of its marginality. I had already taken up the challenge in the 80s when I collected and considered Husserl’s arguments on the topic in my book, Husserl—On the Problem of God,1 and I have continued to focus on this theme because, first, I am interested in it as a theoretical argument. Secondly, having chosen as the focus of my research an investigation of the contributions of phenomenology to questions related to history, science, and anthropology, 2 it seemed necessary to ask about the nature of phenomenology’s relationship to “God”. I place the word “God” in quotation marks because divinity is spoken of in many ways. I propose to investigate whether phenomenology is able to clarify the modalities of the human being’s approach to God. I would like to individuate three of these modalities: the first is related to a philosophical position; the second to religious experience; and the third is related to mysticism. One must not forget that the theological point of view is delineated within these modalities, including a “scientific” viewpoint that is interested in sacred things. Also, there are sociological and psychological viewpoints that treat belief in God and its instantiations on the personal level. In the first part of the text that follows I fix my attention primarily on two modalities, namely, the philosophical and religious ones. In fact, a reading of Husserl’s writings on these arguments compels us to examine his very own personality. Being a philosopher, how did he confront the question of God from a purely theoretical perspective? Secondly, being a believer reflecting on his faith and the object of his faith, how did he view his personal relationship with God? Furthermore, within the context of the religious dimension, what is the value of the two attitudes that seem so opposed to one another, namely, that of mystical experience and that of rational inquiry of a theological nature? Also, other questions can be asked that stem from his research: being inter- ested in cultural problems, how does he interpret Christianity to which he xi xii INTRODUCTION finds himself bound, as well as other religions? Ultimately, we must ask: what is religion for Husserl? In the present study, the above-mentioned problems are all grouped under two headings. The first concentrates on various philosophical perspectives while the other focuses on religious perspectives. Thinking and believing, understood as human possibilities, are distinguishable dimensions that are at the same time strictly interwoven with one another. They are not opposed to one another as is sometimes maintained insofar as the former is related to rationality while the latter is viewed as completely irrational. Belief has its own reasons, even if it configures itself within its own peculiarity. Thought proceeds with arguments, whereas belief is characterized by its openness and faith. But, faith is not blind; it always has a motivation and it involves all of the human being, including reason. One or the other may prevail, but the two are always present, at least at the level of potential. Moving from these two preliminary distinctions, the aim here is to establish their connections within the analyses of Husserl. Also, I wish to understand in a more comprehensive way, especially through Husserl, their characteristics. I will treat two perspectives that illumine the dimension of human existence, demonstrating therein the complexity that manifests itself in a plurality of derivative expressions stemming from one sole root. Edmund Husserl’s research methodology is very peculiar; his analyses are carried out with acuity and seriousness, but they require great patience on the part of the reader for two reasons. First, they are “difficult”, as Husserl himself admits, insofar as they are developed in an original way with respect to the history of Western philosophy and, therefore, require a shift in perspective that one does not wish to undertake or is unable to undertake. This shift requires one to put to one side the entirety of what one knows in order to begin anew. Second, these analyses are also “slow”. In fact, results are reached after a long and torturous path—a path that belongs to the person that does not wish to explore quickly and immediately his or her own opinions or personal ideas. Rather, this kind of path belongs to the person that wishes to follow paths that are, in fact, navigable by the human being through theoretical and practical research, always with the hope of disclosing the meaning of reality. Husserl seeks to navigate such pathways in the most objective of manners. He is very much like an explorer, and more will be said about this later, who has difficulties orienting himself because the real is complex. The ways in which he expresses his conclusions, even from a linguistic perspective, are very “technical” and they require effort in order to be understood. In the course of the pages that follow I also seek to make a great effort, a INTRODUCTION xiii great effort of “mediation”, in the attempt to render more comprehensible the content of Husserl’s analyses. It will be necessary to use technical terms, but I will try and explain their meanings through the use of other words and expressions. Making clear Husserl’s trajectory of thought is an operation that requires dedication, but it can be realized. I am comforted in this task by the example of Edith Stein, a disciple of Husserl, who knew in many cases how to demonstrate her teacher’s method and the results of his analyses in a form that is more easily accessible, even for those unfamiliar with the language of phenomenology.