Five Decades of Phenomenology and Dialectics

Exploring Generativity, History, and the Essence of Labour

Abstract

In 1970, Enzo Paci delivered a series of lectures in Buffalo and Brock, Canada, which were later compiled into the volume Phenomenology and Dialectics. The second lecture, The New Phenomenology, emphasised the significance of Husserl’s contributions and explored the potential to revitalise phenomenology through a Marxist lens. According to Paci, central to Husserl’s concept of the life-world is the notion of praxis and the actions that enable bodies, through their interactions, to pursue specific endeavours… Indeed, Lebens- welt also encompasses societal opportunities for change, which Paci refers to as intersocialism. For him, intersocialism depends on the ongoing relationships between individuals, represented by an initial pair or Paarung. From these foundational connections, increasingly complex constituent groups emerge with new and supervenient capabilities. While these groups are parts of a larger whole, they also possess the capacity to create a new society and forge entirely new relationships among subjects, groups, and nuclei capable of self-governance. Fifty-one years after the publication of Phenomenology and Dialectics, this talk aims to illuminate key aspects of Paci’s political interpretation concerning Husserl and his philosophical legacy.