Phenomenological Reviews

Series | Book | Chapter

230613

Nae Ionescu and the origins of phenomenology in Romania

Viorel Cernica

pp. 127-144

Abstract

The author attempts to describe and explain the original situation regarding the phenomenology, in Romanian philosophy in the first decades of twentieth century. Nae Ionescu introduced a method of philosophizing using some techniques belonging to phenomenology, especially to Husserl's works (Logical Investigations, Ideas I and II, Cartesian Meditations etc.). In fact, he used some phenomenological concepts—intentionality, phenomenological method, intuition, etc.—in a "technical" kind, in order to approach certain themes from the history of metaphysics: essence of the world and ego, God existence, knowledge constituting, thing and object, things and essences, subject and object of knowledge, relationships between contemplation, imagination, and reason, etc. In this paper, all such themes are interpreted from a perspective that allow to emphasize, on the one hand, their similarities with certain phenomenological concepts, and on the other hand, the phenomenological technics used by Ionescu in order to approach them. So, the intentionality, in Husserl's concept, is applied to certain topics; also, the neutrality modification, epoché, eidetic intuition, non-actionality modification, etc. are also applied to different topics in many contexts of his works (in fact, his courses at University of Bucharest published by his students). Also, in the problem of relation between being and nothingness that is possible on the basis of the "passional act" Ionescu conceives this latter concept in analogy with Heidegger's concept of state-of-mind (Befindlichkeit). All such connections are described and interpreted in such a way that the unity of Ionescu's conception to be illustrated. At the end of article, along with some original contributions in phenomenology belonging to some Romanian thinkers from the same period (interwar), some direct Ionescu's influences to certain Romanian philosophers are mentioned.

Publication details

Published in:

Płotka Witold, Eldridge Patrick (2020) Early phenomenology in Central and Eastern Europe: main figures, ideas, and problems. Dordrecht, Springer.

Pages: 127-144

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-39623-7_8

Full citation:

Cernica Viorel (2020) „Nae Ionescu and the origins of phenomenology in Romania“, In: W. Płotka & P. Eldridge (eds.), Early phenomenology in Central and Eastern Europe, Dordrecht, Springer, 127–144.