Development of Husserl’s Thought about Time and Emergence of First Signs of Passing through Metaphysics of Presence

Husserl transformed Brentano's inadequate account of perceiving temporal things into a layered theory of time-consciousness. He first examined consciousness of temporal objects, then the temporal consciousness of that consciousness, and finally the absolute stream of consciousness. By introducing concepts such as primary memory, primary expectation, retention, and protection, Husserl moved away from the centrality of the actual present now and the metaphysics of presence. Although he challenged the dominance of presence, he stopped short of bypassing absolutely present consciousness entirely.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Brentano attempts to resolve the problems of perception of temporal things by postulating the “original association, but Husserl considers Brentano's thoughts inadequate and, with constant effort, tries to answer the problems of time in different stages of his thought. Before anything, he transforms the problem of time into the problem of time-consciousness, then tries to discover the deeper levels of time along with the development of his thought. First, he investigates our consciousness of temporal objects, then studies the temporal consciousness of this consciousness, and finally investigates the absolute stream of consciousness. Although he had not taken this path consciously, the process of Husserl’s thought about time moved toward the direction that challenges the dominance of the actual present now in the consciousness of time. Postulating concepts like "primary memory" and "primary expectation" and later "retention" and "protection," Husserl gets away from the centrality of “presence” and “now,” which are the basic elements of the metaphysics of presence. Despite taking a significant step towards passing through the metaphysics of presence, Husserl did not take the last step, namely bypassing absolutely present consciousness.