Letter from Edmund Husserl written 26.05.1929

Author Edmund Husserl

Category foreign researchers, incoming correspondence

Archive The Library of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences

Date of creation 26.05.1929

Reference code in archive Biblioteka PAU

Resource type letter

Subject matter academic issues, personal issues, publication issues

Field phenomenology, philosophy

Tags #academic carrier, #academic publications, #academic work, #Alexandre Koyré, #Cartesian Meditations, #commemorative publication, #Edmund Husserl, #Formal Transcendental Logic, #future, #Husserl's lectures, #idealism of phenomenology, #intersubjectivity, #lectures, #Max Niemeyer, #meeting, #monadology, #new Cartesian Meditations, #phenomenological group, #phenomenological meetings, #philosophical existence, #Professor Emeritus, #theory of the experience of someone else, #Yearbook

Tremezzo, Sunday, May 26, 1929

Dear Friend,

Your letters, which have been forwarded to us, have brought us great joy. There is no reason for you to thank us; the fact that you and some of our more recent friends from our time in Göttingen came on the 8th of April made the celebration even more special. I am sorry to hear that you are still obligated to [teach at] the school and cannot quite dedicate your life to science. Stay positive, you will conquer your future, and it will be all the more beautiful that you owe everything to your own work and your unwavering courage to face life. Enjoy every free hour that you can dedicate to philosophy. Despite the few weeks and hours you have available, you have always been more advanced than the others, who have the entire day at their disposal.

I have completed a lot of hard work since your departure, i.e. for about one week I was busy with miscellaneous things, letters, etc. and quite tired, since I had to work overtime up to April 7 to complete the materials for the Paris lectures. Unfortunately, I later found that this accomplishment was unsatisfactory, since, in order to avoid difficult portrayals and not exceed the summary (the “Sommaire”) of the Paris lectures too much, I had left some gaps in my line of arguments concerning the theory of intersubjectivity (or monadology and tr[anscendental] idealism of phenom[enology]). I decided to go all out and provide a complete construction of the transc[endental] theory of the experience of someone else, etc. Therefore, it has become a complete explanation of the new “Cartes[ian] Meditations” (the current title): about 7-7.5 printed pages. I view this as my main writing and will soon have it published by Niemeyer.41 Initially, I sent the type[d] manuscript to Koyré concerning translation issues and to ask if the Bulletin would want to include it, etc. I just finished it about 10 days ago when I finally left with my wife to recover since my work had completely drained me. Under these circumstances, you must understand the grotesque confession that I have only opened the commemorative publication once, and I have not even memorized the titles of all the commemorative contributions. Yes, it is truly a peculiar philos[ophical] existence, if one is celebrated as an emeritus at 70 while still dealing with such publication issues! Here in Tremezzo, I had to first begin editing the “Form[al] Transc[endental] Logic” (240 pages!) and that takes up most of my days. The first revised version has to be mailed to N[iemeyer ] in about 3-4 days; otherwise, the next Yearbook (volume X) would have to be postponed until the fall! But I think these two essays will please you and speak to you in particular.

I would not have been able to write these 10 years ago. My wife and I are sending our warmest regards. How is your d[ear] wife doing? Best wishes from us.

Cordially yours,

E. Husserl

It is beautiful over here and the hotel is excellent.