JBSP Online: Thomas Byrne on Husserl’s Theory of Signitive and Empty Intentions

journal update

Thomas Byrne’s essay for the Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology, published online in advance of the paper edition.

Thomas Byrne – ‘Husserl’s Theory of Signitive and Empty Intentions in Logical Investigations and its Revisions: Meaning Intentions and Perceptions’: JBSP (Originally published online: 17 March 2020).

Abstract: This paper examines the evolution of Husserl’s philosophy of non-intuitive intentions. The analysis has two stages. First, I expose a mistake in Husserl’s account of non-intuitive acts from his 1901 Logical Investigations. I demonstrate that Husserl employs the term “signitive” too broadly, as he concludes that all non-intuitive acts are signitive. He states that not only meaning acts, but also the contiguity intentions of perception are signitive acts. Second, I show how Husserl, in his 1913/14 Revisions to the Sixth Logical Investigation, amends his 1901 theory of non-intuitive acts, which he now calls “empty” intentions. He there accurately distinguishes empty meaning acts from the empty intentions of perception. In the conclusion, I reveal how Husserl’s alterations to his theory of non-intuitive intentions can inform our understanding of a larger shift in his philosophy.

Full article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00071773.2020.1743953

Thomas Byrne, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Macau, Macau, China

Accessing the JBSP Online: The online version of the Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology publishes articles in advance of the paper edition. Articles can be accessed via our publisher’s website: JBSP at Taylor & Francis Online. Access to the JBSP is free to all members of the society, who also receive the quarterly paper copy of the journal as part of their subscription. You can find out more about becoming a member and supporting the BSP on the membership webpage. If you are not a member of the BSP, you can purchase articles from the site, or log in using institutional or personal access via Shibboleth and OpenAthens.

Reminder: The call for papers is now open for the British Society for Phenomenology’s 2020 Annual Conference: ‘Engaged Phenomenology’, co-sponsored with Egenis at the University of Exeter and the Wellcome Centre for Cultures and Environments of Health. The conference is to be held in Exeter, UK, from Thursday 3 – Saturday 5 September 2020.  For more details – including keynote speakers – see the BSP 2020 annual conference homepage. Also see our events and coronavirus updates.