Phenomenology of the Impersonal. Historical, systematic and intercultural perspectives

• Applicant: Dr. Robert Lehmann
• Subject Area: Theoretical Philosophy ; Practical Philosophy
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 500077124

Wherever there is talk of the personal, the impersonal is not far away. In view of the ongoing debate on the concept and phenomenon of the personal, which is one of the most multi-faceted discussions in contemporary philosophy, it must therefore be surprising that a definition of the relationship between the two concepts is still outstanding. The aim of the project is to transform this desideratum into a fruitful discussion. The need to reframe this discussion from the ground up and thus to be able to continue it in an innovative way is already evident in the nomenclature: this contrasts the personal as the logical and ontological guarantor of identity and individuality, reason, autonomy and dignity with a negation figure mediated by the privative prefix and fixes the content of the impersonal from the outset to the mere opposition of the personal. A concept of the impersonal thus appears merely as a derivative, sometimes threatening expression of a philosophy centred on personhood.In contrast, the overall design of the present project is committed to the development of a phenomenology of human existence in which impersonality stands as a methodological and systematic basic concept.If this succeeds, it would not only address a hitherto neglected desideratum in the debate on personhood. A phenomenology of this kind would also make it possible to understand the existential implications of the impersonal from and in their life-world contexts and thus ultimately make them fruitful for questions of ethical orientation in a new way. To this end, methodological considerations are indispensable that both enrich and radicalize the phenomenological approach in an intercultural perspective and reflect it on a linguistic-philosophical program.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants