Abstract
This introduction offers an overview of Else Voigtländer’s (1882–1946) life and thought and places her work within the early phenomenological tradition. It is argued that she should be regarded as a fully-fledged member of the Munich Circle. Voigtländer developed central concepts and themes that occupied other phenomenologists of that time and, though working outside of the academy, with her writings she helped to forge a particular view of self-consciousness, affectivity, and the social self. The perception and reception of her philosophical work are examined. After a first period of collegial exclusion, and a second period of historical oblivion, Voigtländer’s works have been object of recent interest. It is high time that we acknowledge her as a philosopher of the twentieth century. By so doing, a new and more inclusive view on the genealogy of the phenomenological movement will emerge.
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Notes
- 1.
This information can be found in Voigtländer’s own autobiographical note written—as was usual at that time—at the end of her doctoral dissertation (Voigtländer 1910).
- 2.
For an analysis of Voigtländer within the Munich Circle of early phenomenology using Dieter Heinrich’s idea of philosophical constellation, see Vendrell Ferran (forthcoming).
- 3.
See Universitätsarchiv München (UAM), O-I-90p: Promotionsakte Else Voigtländer.
- 4.
See Universitätsarchiv München (UAM), O-I-90p: Promotionsakte Else Voigtländer.
- 5.
For this source, see “Belegblätter Else Voigtländer,” Universitätsarchiv München (UAM), STUD-BB-237 WS 1905/06; STUD-BB-272 SS 1907; STUD-BB-284 WS 1907/08; STUD-BB-298 SS 1908; STUD-BB-310 WS 1908/09; and STUD-BB-341 WS 1909/10.
- 6.
See Universitätsarchiv München (UAM), O-I-90p: Promotionsakte Else Voigtländer.
- 7.
See Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München, Daubertiana B.I. Johannes Daubert an Else Voigtländer, 30. XII.1913, 13.5.1914, 3.8.1930, 20.8.1930 and 17.9.1930. Transcribed by Rodney Parker and Thomas Vongehr.
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Archival Documents
“Belegblätter Else Voigtländer,” Universitätsarchiv München (UAM), STUD-BB-237 WS 1905/06; STUD-BB-272 SS 1907; STUD-BB-284 WS 1907/08; STUD-BB-298 SS 1908; STUD-BB-310 WS 1908/09; and STUD-BB-341 WS 1909/10.
“Promotionsakte Else Voigtländer,” Universitätsarchiv der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Bestand O-I-90p. (Voigtländer’s doctoral proceedings, 1909).
“Correspondence Daubert–Voigtländer,” Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München, 30.XII.1913, 13.5.1914, 3.8.1930, 20.8.1930 and 17.9.1930. Transcribed by Rodney Parker and Thomas Vongehr.
“Correspondence Voigtländer – Kippenberg,” Klassik Stiftung Weimar, GSA 50 / 3576. 9.IX.1946, and 17.IX.1946.
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Acknowledgements
I am grateful to Ruth Hagengruber, Mary Ellen Waithe, and Gianni Paganini as the editors of the Springer book series “Women in the History of Philosophy and Sciences” for their support in the preparation of this volume. In particular, Ruth Hagengruber has offered enthusiastic support for the project since its inception.
This book has benefited from conversations about the Munich Circle that I have had with Wolfhart Henckmann (Munich) and Matthias Schloßberger (Frankfurt/Oder). I am also indebted to Nino Nodia from the “Bayerische Staatsbibliothek” in Munich for her help.
I would like to thank all the contributors of this volume for having embarked on reading and studying such an unknown author as Else Voigtländer and for having written original, inspiring, and highly instructive pieces about her during the difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic.
I am grateful to Simon Mussell for his English language editing support that has helped to improve the proposal for this book, the introduction, as well as some of the chapters, and to Amudha Vijayarangan from the Springer editorial team for her help and patience in preparing this publication.
Work on this volume was supported in part by the German Research Foundation (DFG) as part of my Heisenberg position at the Universities of Frankfurt and Marburg.
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Vendrell Ferran, Í. (2023). Introduction: Toward a New Genealogy of the Phenomenological Movement. In: Vendrell Ferran, Í. (eds) Else Voigtländer: Self, Emotion, and Sociality. Women in the History of Philosophy and Sciences, vol 17. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18761-2_1
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