Epoche und Reduktion. Formen und Praxis der Reduktion

The primary aim of the volume in hand is to announce the international discussion on the phenomenological reduction and its problematical status within the german-speaking world. Thus, not only the classical phenomenological positions (Husserl and Heidegger, up to Fink and Patocka) are discussed but also the current radicalizations performed by the leading authors (Marion, Henry, Janicaud). All contributions are written by accepted phenomenologists, thereby illustrating the different modes of reception in their own right. By raising the decisive question about the phenomenological reduction as an access to experience and reality, the volume wants to enter into a discussion on the state of phenomenology and philosophy as such. The respective attempt to let german-speaking phenomenology participate in the international dialogue in a substantial way thereby means to continue phenomenological tradition in the sense of its founder Husserl: To reflect on the status of the reduction is tantamount to clarify the state of phenomena and of the self and, as Husserl showed, this always involves to exercise not only local but nowadays global responsibility, which does not stop short at interpreting the phenomena of crisis as statistical facts but tries to understand them in the genesis of their sense. In this perspective, the volume forms an unrenounceable instrument for acquiring an idependent position of german-speaking phenomenology, for deepening the scientific critism and also for introducing students into this field of research. The division into four thematic fields reflects this state of affairs and is a prerequisite for any adequate discussion. Consequently, the introduction of the editors elaborates the range of the whole thematic field within a historical and systematical perspective. Part I (Basic Positions) starts with a presentation of Husserl`s general development of the concept of reduction and Heidegger`s critique of this concept in the context of his program concerning a "destruction of metaphysics" (Luft, Cristin). These presentations are followed by analyses of new developments within french phenomenology: The respective positions radicalize the reduction by a "counter-reduction" (Henry) in order to free phenomenology from all methodical presuppositions and to "liberate" pure appearance qua phenomenality. This discussion (see the contributions by Marion and Janicaud), being hardly realized in the german-speaking world, expresses the objectives of the whole volume clearly: To gather original contributions which introduce a fundamental problematic of phenomenology into the discussion and try to lead up to its possible solution. From this point of view, the volume must not be classified as an omnibus in the usual sense since most of the approaches and discussions elaborated in it have not been presented or formulated elsewhere in German. Consequently, this volume rather represents an original work concerning phenomenology and phenomenological research. By focusing on the most important guiding-threads of historical phenomenology the further organization of the volume (II.-III) also meets the requests of scientific research: The relationships between world and man (life- world) (Brisart), between "givenness" and the a priori in the sense of an empirical and transcendental fact (Marion) and between origin and difference in the sense of a rhetorical problem of foundation in the history of metaphysics der Metaphysikgeschichte (see van Kerckhoven, Novotn and Leghissa introducing Fink, Patocka and Derrida, moreover Janicaud from a systematical point of view), are not only made a theme of, but they are also used to elaborate the possibilities harboured in the concept of phenomenological reduction. In addition to this, an innovative aspect is also developed by this volume for the first time. Psychologists, cognitive scientists and philosophers like Varela, Vermesch, Depraz, Titze and Sepp have been won in order to reflect on the practical performance of the reduction and its cognitive, psychological and therapeutic effects, which will help to open a broad field for forthcoming research not only in phenomenology and philosophy, but also in psychiatry and the cognitive sciences e.g. Finally, a comprehensive documentary part sheds light on pieces of work on the problem of reduction which are known hardly and therefore have not been admitted in the european discussions (Hart, Huang, Leghissa). Together with carefully edited indices and a supplied bibliography the volume in hand will serve as a valuable guiding- thread for every study of the theme of reduction and finally of phenomenology itself.