Studies in Phenomenology



ISSN 2311-6986 (Online)
ISSN 2226-5260 (Print)

HORIZON

Studies in phenomenology

The journal “Horizon. Studies in Phenomenology” is published in Publishing house of St. Petersburg State University. It has been published as a peer-reviewed scholarly periodical since 2012. The journal is published biannually; all the submitted articles are subject to peer-review and selection by experts.

The discontinuous and disparate development of the phenomenological movement in the USSR and then in Russia has more than once given rise to different editorial projects aimed at promoting phenomenological research and creating a common ground for phenomenological debates. The journal “Horizon. Studies in phenomenology” is designed to become a guide to the world of phenomenological philosophy and related branches of research. Intensifying communication between contemporary phenomenologists, creating a field of relevant discussions and exchange of new ideas are among our main goals.

The periodical is intended for specialists in phenomenology and philosophical hermeneutics as well as for all the readers interested in current philosophical discussions.

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Questioning on the essence of phenomenology and its significance as a method of philosophy construed as a strict science, on the meaning of its primary maxim “Back to the things themselves!”, on its “practical turn” and the claim of phenomenology to be “the first philosophy” is still pertinent today. However, certain negative tendencies can be observed in the phenomenological community such as an inclination to formalism, dogmatism, simplification of phenomenological tasks, the very community of phenomenologists risking to turn into a self-enclosed corporation pursuing at best archival and scholastic goals.

In what registers does the phenomenological tradition develop in today’s philosophical space? On the one hand, key problems of phenomenology are deeply studied, such as those of time, relation between temporality and subjectivity, genetic phenomenology, phenomenological justification of metaphysics, regional ontologies and the theological turn in phenomenology. On the other hand, we can witness attempts to apply the phenomenological method proper to the analysis of topics which are not central to traditional phenomenology as such.

Much interest is manifested in post-phenomenological research (first of all, in France) and critique of phenomenology, the comparative analysis of particular problems of philosophical hermeneutics and Anglo-Saxon analytical philosophy. There is also a tendency to integrate phenomenology with other humanistic and scientific disciplines such as cognitive psychology, psychoanalysis, narrative philosophy etc., which entails the appearance of a new academic space for discussions. In the English-speaking phenomenology a new current has appeared, largely under Merleau-Ponty’s influence, with phenomenology gaining new opportunities for dialog with psychology and neurosciences. All these topics and branches of research undoubtedly broaden the field of phenomenological work, renewing and actualizing the multifaceted nature of phenomenology itself. Contemporary science is increasingly interdisciplinary and phenomenology is uniquely placed to help overcome the fragmentary character of scientific discourses, so that particular sciences do not lose sight of the whole, of the entire horizon. If phenomenology is still faced with the challenge of grounding the sciences, it cannot respond to it except in dialog with them.

Correspondingly, the Editorial Board of “Horizon. Studies in phenomenology” seeks, on the one hand, to support research in the history of phenomenology and hermeneutics which largely determined the landscape of the past century and on the other — to familiarize the audience with materials related to discussions on the actual situation of the phenomenological and hermeneutical traditions and on their relation with analytical philosophy, cognitive sciences, neurosciences, linguistics, semiotics etc. Certainly, we also cannot set aside the history of pre-phenomenological philosophy in so far as it has influenced the formation of the phenomenological movement. A special role is given to papers presenting the results of applied research as examples of applying the phenomenological and hermeneutical methods to describing and analyzing particular works of arts, scientific achievements, social tendencies etc.

 

Topics of studies and discussions:
  • Current ways of development of phenomenological and hermeneutical research in contemporary philosophical landscape.
  • Models of intensifying phenomenological communication.
  • Phenomenology as an exercise in seeking opportunities for the original phenomenological knowledge to develop in today’s practical experience.
  • Phenomenology in an interdisciplinary space; transcending phenomenology towards adjacent branches of research, working on the borders of phenomenology.
  • Rethinking the place of phenomenology in current human experience and humanistic knowledge.
The goals of the journal correspond to the range of topics supported by the editorial policy of the editorial council and editorial board. They are the following:
  • Studying the background history of phenomenology:
    — In ancient philosophy.
    — In modern philosophy.
    — In German idealism and neokantianism.
    — In Austrian philosophy and above all in F. Brentano’s school.
  • Presenting various aspects of the philosophy of classical phenomenological authors such as E. Husserl, M. Scheler, M. Heidegger, J.-P. Sartre and others with a special focus on the latest studies devoted to their heritage, with their results still unknown to the wide range of readers.
  • Drawing the attention phenomenologists whose works are not yet largely known or called-for in the Russian-language philosophical context. (O. Becker, M. Geiger, R. Ingarden, L. Landgrebe, A. Pfender, A. Reinach, E. Fink, E. Stein and others).
  • Acquainting readers with the findings of the most outstanding living phenomenologists (B. Waldenfels, J.-L. Marion, L. Tengelyi, M. Richir, K. Held and others). Besides that, the editorial board seeks to inform the reader about the most interesting events in the world of today’s phenomenological philosophy such as the activity of phenomenological associations, conferences and colloquia, publications of monographs (in announces and reviews). The editorial board also sees the need of sustaining ongoing discussions between specialists within the phenomenological current.
  • Publishing the results of original studies concerning the basic phenomenological problems such as correcting phenomenological methodology, problems of subjectivity, consciousness, constitution, intentionality, horizontal structure, intuition, language, space and time, embodiment etc.
  • Presenting the outcomes of regional philosophical research done by means of phenomenological methods.
    The priority domains are here the following:
    — Logics and philosophy of language
    — Philosophical psychology
    — Philosophy of nature
    — Philosophy of mathematics
    — Philosophy of science
    — Social philosophy and philosophy of history
    — Philosophical anthropology
    — Practical philosophy
    — Philosophy of art
    — Religious philosophy
  • Delineating a common field of discussion between contemporary phenomenologists and representatives of other important currents of contemporary philosophical thought (hermeneutics, pragmatism, analytic philosophy, structuralism and poststructuralism, critical theory etc.), some of them solidarizing with phenomenology, others subjecting it to criticism. Ultimately, achieving this goal should make it possible to discuss problems common for philosophy in the whole by appealing to various schools of contemporary thought. In case of success such a dialog could help to form an interdisciplinary approach to solving these problems embracing both philosophical and scientific contributions.

The structure of the journal:

The first section — “Research” — contains original articles. When submitting a manuscript, the author conveys the exclusive copyright thereof to the journal. All the materials are published provided that the author agrees with this condition. The journal only publishes original studies and articles. This section includes papers written in Russian, English, German and French (without translation). Authors submitting their texts in languages other than Russian (unless they are native speakers) are asked to have them corrected by a native-speaker.

The second section — “Translations and Commentaries” — presents extracts from classical texts translated into Russian as well as translations of texts written by contemporary scholars in phenomenology and related fields. Publication of translations is conditional on having completed the necessary copyright formalities; consent of copyright holders is required. Translations are published in “Horizon. Studies in Phenomenology” only if copyright holders’ permission is obtained. Texts are usually followed by exegetic comments. The goal of this section is to discuss archival documents unfamiliar to most readers and present studies and essays by renowned philosophers and scientists.

The third section — “Discussions” — is composed of reports on recent events related to phenomenology which took place in Russia or abroad. It also includes polemics, interviews and reports on conferences. These reviews are meant to be not only purely informational, but analytical as well. The objective of this section is to intensify communication between contemporary phenomenologists and provide a space for discussions on relevant topics.

The fourth section — “Book reviews” — comprises comments or critical opinions on books and monographs on phenomenological themes published within the last 15 years. This section is intended to present noteworthy books, in accordance with the general goal of the journal, which is to cooperate on creating a unified field of thought, communication and exchange of new ideas.

The fifth section — “Events” — contains announcements of forthcoming events such as conferences, seminars, monographs, thesis defenses etc. and reference to web sources and reference materials.

The Editorial Board of the journal “Horizon. Studies in Phenomenology” invites all those interested to submit their texts in the afore-mentioned languages. Both Russian and foreign researchers are invited to collaborate.

The authors are invited to send their texts addressed to the Editor-in-chief Natalia Artemenko to the e-mail address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

All the texts submitted for publishing in the first section (“Research”) are reviewed by the members of the Editorial Board. In particular cases special experts can be invited. The publication of translations is conditional on having completed the necessary copyright formalities; consent of copyright holders is required. The Editorial Board assumes making all the editorial corrections of translations. All major changes are agreed with authors; however editors reserve the right to publish texts with minor changes without informing the author.

The Editorial Board of the journal brings to the attention of the authors that the submission of their manuscripts implies transferring exclusive copyrights for their publications to the journal. All the texts are published provided that the author accepts this condition. The journal only publishes original articles and studies.

All the relevant materials should be attached to your e-mail. The attachment should contain two separate files:

  1. information on the author, including:
    — scientific affiliation (degree; academic title, if any)
    — institutional affiliation or place of work
    — scientific interests
    — recent publications
    — e-mail address
  2. the manuscript proper

All the materials should be sent in the MS-Word format.

The following materials are accepted for submission: original articles (up to 80 000 printed characters), reviews (up to 20 000 characters), translations (with copyrights), book-reviews on publications which appeared within the last 15 years, reports on scientific events, announces. Articles should be provided with an abstract in English, with the author’s name, the title and 7-9 key words. The rules for formatting papers to be published in “Horizon. Studies in phenomenology” may be found in the section Author Guide.