Phenomenology and History in Edmund Husserl and Paul Ricœur

Abstract

We present Paul Ricœur’s reading of Edmund Husserl’s turn towards a philosophy of history during the late stage of the German philosopher’s work. First, the paper reconstructs the husserlian argument concerning the privileged position one should assume about greek culture and, consequently, the West in general, meaning that properly speaking history only takes place from Hellenic culture onwards. Concomitantly, the paper follows the Ricœur’s critical presentation by presenting the limits of the husserlian schema of history.