Mental contents, transparency, realism

news from the phenomenological camp

Sonja Rinofner-Kreidl

Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz

pp. 33-50

in: Husserl Studies 29 (1), 2013.

Abstract

In his recent book, Walter Hopp deals with two topics that are of primary philosophical importance: perception and knowledge. At the outset the author characterizes his approach as “largely phenomenological”, thereby following Charles Siewert’s broad though workable notion of “plain phenomenology” (cf. pp. 3f). Hopp’s main topic is how a theory of perception and knowledge, seen especially with reference to their interrelation, may benefit from a phenomenologically informed theory of intentionality. Throughout, the book is written in a clear and precise style. It offers much analytic work as well as an impressive amount of argument and reflection. It is worth noting that the author, who strongly recommends picking up the thread of Husserl’s phenomenology, never does so himself in rigid scholastic terms. References to Husserl’s work are employed in a free and emphatically critical way, highlighting what the author deems important.

Cited authors

Husserl Edmund