Conversation with Husserl and Fink, 11/9/31

pp. 31-32

in: Dorion Cairns, Conversations with Husserl and Fink, The Hague, Nijhoff, 1976

Abstract

Husserl started expounding the nature of the lebendige Gegenwart 〈living present〉, and asked Fink to bring him around the manuscript on this subject. All being except the lebendige Gegenwart is relative to the latter, which is absolute, even metaphysically absolute, and one has, proceeding from the lebendige Gegenwart, various levels of Ontifizierung 〈"ontifying"〉. For example, one has the constitution of the oculomotor identical objects. These objects then are relativized as appearances when the other kinaesthesia are brought into consideration. On each higher level the objects of the lower level are thus relativized. Eventually one reaches the ultimate level of constituted being. In the Ideen certain constitutional problems are still spoken of as if they belonged to the primordial sphere, whereas they are really problems of the intersubjective sphere. The ego itself is ultimately constituted in the intersubjective sphere, so that it can truly be said that each monad implies and presupposes all the other monads.