Table Of ContentContributions To Phenomenology 72
Jeffrey Bloechl
Nicolas de Warren Editors
Phenomenology
in a New Key:
Between Analysis
and History
Essays in Honor of Richard Cobb-Stevens
Contributions to Phenomenology
In Cooperation with The Center for Advanced
Research in Phenomenology
Volume 72
Series Editors
Nicolas de Warren, KU Leuven, Belgium
Dermot Moran, University College Dublin, Ireland
Editorial Board
Lilian Alweiss, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Elizabeth Behnke, Ferndale, WA, USA
Michael Barber, St. Louis University, MO, USA
Rudolf Bernet, Husserl-Archief, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
David Carr, Emory University, GA, USA
Chan-Fai Cheung, Chinese University Hong Kong, China
James Dodd, New School University, NY, USA
Lester Embree, Florida Atlantic University, FL, USA
Alfredo Ferrarin, Universita` di Pisa, Italy
Burt Hopkins, Seattle University, WA, USA
Jose´ Huertas-Jourda, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada
Kwok-Ying Lau, Chinese University Hong Kong, China
Nam-In Lee, Seoul National University, Korea
Dieter Lohmar, Universita¨t zu Ko¨ln, Germany
William R. McKenna, Miami University, OH, USA
Algis Mickunas, Ohio University, OH, USA
J.N. Mohanty, Temple University, PA, USA
Junichi Murata, University of Tokyo, Japan
Thomas Nenon, The University of Memphis, TN, USA
Thomas M. Seebohm, Johannes Gutenberg-Universita¨t, Germany
Gail Soffer, Rome, Italy
Anthony Steinbock, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, IL, USA
Shigeru Taguchi, Yamagata University, Japan
Dan Zahavi, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Richard M. Zaner, Vanderbilt University, TN, USA
Scope
Thepurposeoftheseriesistoserveasavehicleforthepursuitofphenomenological
research across a broad spectrum, including cross-over developments with other
fields of inquiry such as the social sciences and cognitive science. Since its estab-
lishment in 1987, Contributions to Phenomenology has published nearly 80 titles
on diverse themes of phenomenological philosophy. In addition to welcoming
monographsandcollectionsofpapersinestablishedareasofscholarship,theseries
encourages original work inphenomenology. Thebreadthand depth ofthe Series
reflectstherichandvariedsignificanceofphenomenologicalthinkingforseminal
questions of human inquiry as well as the increasingly international reach of phe-
nomenological research.
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/5811
Jeffrey Bloechl (cid:129) Nicolas de Warren
Editors
Phenomenology in a New
Key: Between Analysis
and History
Essays in Honor of Richard Cobb-Stevens
Editors
JeffreyBloechl NicolasdeWarren
DepartmentofPhilosophy HigherInstituteofPhilosophy
BostonCollege KULeuven,Belgium
ChestnutHill,MA,USA
ISSN0923-9545
ContributionstoPhenomenology
ISBN978-3-319-02017-4 ISBN978-3-319-02018-1 (eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-02018-1
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2014957147
SpringerChamHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon
©SpringerInternationalPublishingSwitzerland2015
Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation,broadcasting,reproductiononmicrofilmsorinanyotherphysicalway,andtransmissionor
informationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar
methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexempt
fromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse.
Thepublisher,theauthorsandtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformationinthisbook
arebelievedtobetrueandaccurateatthedateofpublication.Neitherthepublishernortheauthorsorthe
editorsgiveawarranty,expressorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinorforanyerrors
oromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.
Printedonacid-freepaper
Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland is part of Springer Science+Business Media
(www.springer.com)
’
Editors Introduction
Thecloserelationshipbetweenfriendshipandelevatedconversationisknowntous
fromtheninthbookofAristotle’sNicomacheanEthics.Withagoodfriend,oneis
comfortably oneself, enjoys kinship in love of what is best, and feels called to an
improvementofallthevirtues.1ThosewhoknowRichardCobb-Stevensarelikely
tothinkfirstofhismannerofbefriendingothersmuchinthisspirit.Ofcourse,heis
a natural story-teller who digs deeply into a delightful wealth of experiences. But
the stories never stray far or long from a point in need of a flourish, and so the
conversation advances, even if the work of a philosophy department, this or that
committee meeting, or even a town assembly require that good friends suspend it
until a later date. We sometimes have the impression that this is also Richard’s
relation to the many great figures of the tradition who are his friends and conver-
sation partners, fellows in the love of what is best. Among them are to be found
Aristotle,aswehavealreadynoted,aswellasMachiavelli,DescartesandHobbes,
butithasbeenthemostrecentcenturythathasheldhisattentionmostconsistently:
there is an early and steady interest in William James, a respectful dialogue with
some of the Analytic philosophers, and above all, as the present volume testifies,
longandimportantworkonHusserlandsomeofhisinterpreters.Indeed,wenote
thatthisworkonHusserlhas includednotonlyaprofounddialoguewith asingle
great master, but also the promotion of another sort of dialogue between the
master’sworkandtheAnglophoneworkthatitsometimesmeetsinastrikingand
fruitfulmanner.
Richard Cobb-Stevens joined the philosophy department at Boston College in
1971.HearrivedasamemberoftheSocietyofJesus,andwiththerichandvaried
education for which the Jesuits are well known. After study of Greek, Latin and
German he had spent 3 years teaching at the College of the Holy Cross, and
1NicomacheanEthics1169b5–1170b20.Richardknowsthepassagewell.Hiscommentarycan
be found in the second chapter of G. Mansini and J. Hart (eds.), Ethics and Theological
Disclosures:TheThoughtofRobertSokolowski(seethebibliographyattheendofthisvolume).
v
vi Editors’Introduction
undertaken summercoursesin philosophy first at Georgetown University—where
heencounteredHusserlforthefirsttime,inlecturesbyLouisDupre—andlaterat
ColumbiaUniversity.From1962through1967,hestudiedtheologyinBelgiumat
thealmostlegendaryCollegeSt.Albert,otherwiseknownsimplyas“Egenhoven,”
afterthevillagewhereitwassituated.AtEgenhoven,Richard’sthesisconcentrated
on Paul Ricoeur’s Symbolism of Evil, though he would not meet Ricoeur himself
until late 1967. It was Ricoeur who directed Richard’s doctoral dissertation on
HusserlandJames,whichhedefendedattheSorbonnein1971,beforeajurythat
alsoincludedSuzanneBachelard,MikkelDufrenne,andEmmanuelLevinas.
Richard’scareeratBostonCollegespansnearlyfourdecades.Hisimpactonthe
department of philosophy has been powerful and enduring. In 1975, he was
promotedtoassociateprofessorafteronly4yearsonthefaculty;in1988hebecame
full professor. He was chair of the philosophy department for 9 years of active
developmentandexpansion.For31years,healsoledthedepartment’sseminarin
college teaching, in the process forming and inspiring many dozens of people on
their way to careers in which they in turn taught hundreds of their own students.
Richard’sown teachingwas pursuedat every level available tohim,andincludes
supervisionofaremarkable29 doctoral dissertations bystudentsfrom around the
world.
The same warmth, great steadiness and enthusiasm that marked his teaching
were also evident in his commitment to a wide range of tasks that many might
consideraboveandbeyondthedutiesoftheuniversityeducator–thoughRichard
himself never seemed to share that view. His deep commitment to reflection and
writingthusneverstoodinthewayofthelonghoursrequiredforcommitteework,
andforhimapersonalinterestinthemorespecializedphilosophyofthetwentieth
century was of a single piece with gladly teaching in the university’s core curric-
ulum for many years. And in fact, the matter of undergraduate education is a
hallmark concern of his career. In 1992, Richard was appointed the first Director
oftheUniversityCoreCurriculumatBostonCollege,andwhenheretired18years
laterhewasatthetimetheonlypersontohaveheldthatpost.Hisapproachtothis
kindofwork,andtoworkonmanyothercommittees,focusgroupsandteams,had
ledmanyofustothinkofhimastheverymodeloftruecitizenshipattheuniversity.
By Richard’s own estimation, he has been strongly influenced especially by
threepeopleinparticular.WehavenotedthathemetPaulRicoeurashenearedthe
endofhis theologicalstudiesinEgenhoven.Ricoeurwasatonce anearly mentor
and later a respected friend with a wide range of common interests. The circum-
stancesofRichard’sdecisiontoundertakedoctoralstudiesunderRicoeurarewell
known to his friends and colleagues. Finding Richard somewhat undecided about
where to seek the Ph.D., Ricoeur invited him to consider the Sorbonne. After
Richardexpressed aninterest inbringing the thoughtofHusserlinto contact with
that of William James, Ricoeur offered him something of a received promissory
noteofadmission,jottedonanapkinpressedintoservicepostehaste.Thiswasthe
beginning of what became Richard’s book on James and Husserl, and more
generally his lifelong attempt to build bridges between phenomenology and
Anglo-American philosophy. Ricoeur, of course, contributed to this same work,
Editors’Introduction vii
and over the years mentor and student became friends and colleagues. For over
three decades, Ricoeur was a frequent visitor to Boston College, generally at the
invitationofRichard,oftenjoinedbyDavidRasmussenandRichardKearney.
RichardlefttheSocietyofJesus,veryamicably,intheearly1970s.In1979,he
marriedVedaCobb,whereuponbothofthemtookonthelastnameCobb-Stevens.
Veda was an accomplished philosopher in her own right, becoming tenured pro-
fessor at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, not far from their home in
Carlisle. Their time together was short, as Veda succumbed to cancer barely a
decade later, but Richard has always spoken of her as important influence on his
mindnolessthanonhisheartandsoul.Amongotherthings,VedasharedRichard’s
interestinthephilosophyoflanguage,andherintellectualculturewasasrichand
variedashisown.
In 1989, Jacques Taminiaux became full professor and member of the Boston
Collegedepartmentofphilosophy(hehadvisitedannuallysincethelate1960s).By
special arrangement, he thenceforth undertook his teaching on blocks of several
weeks each year. During those visits, he lived with Richard in Carlisle. In
Taminiaux, Richard thus had a houseguest with not only a similar philosophical
background and orientation, but also native experience with the European culture
that has remained a part of him even after returning home from his long years of
studyinBelgiumandFrance.LikeRichard,Taminaiuxisaphenomenologistwitha
deepunderstandingofthehistoryofphilosophy,aloveofartandliterature,anda
keensenseofthepoliticaldimensionofintellectuallife.
Taminiaux retired from Boston College a few years before Richard, but this
hardlyleftRichardwithoutclosefriendsamonghiscolleagues.Butthisreturnsus
tothe matter with which we began. And perhaps that is a fitting way tounderline
Richard’slegacyatBostonCollege.Thelifeofthemindandthepursuitoftruthand
goodnessrequirecompanionship,awillingnesstopauselongoverprofoundques-
tions,andacapacitytoavoiddistractionfromthethingsthemselvesastheycallfor
properunderstanding.Itisourpleasure,then,tohaveassembledessaysverymuch
on this spirit, and to have been able to offer them to Richard Cobb-Stevens as a
collectiveexpressionofthegratitude hisfriendsintheHusserlworldfeel forhim
andhiswork.
(cid:1)
WewouldliketoexpressourgratitudetoStephanieRumpzaforherassistancein
the preparation of the manuscript and to the Department of Philosophy at Boston
Collegefortheirsupportofthisproject.
About the Editors
JeffreyBloechlisAssociateProfessorofPhilosophyatBostonCollege.
NicolasdeWarrenisProfessorofPhilosophyattheHusserlArchives–Instituteof
Philosophy,KULeuven,Belgium.
ix
