The Temporalizations of the Absolute Flow of Time-Consciousness

Abstract

One of the most problematic issues with regard to Husserl’s phenomenology of time concerns the definition of the relationship between the time of the intentional acts and the absolute pre-phenomenal flow of time constituting consciousness. In this regard, Brough distinguishes between the intentional acts (such as perception and recollection) and the specific dimension of the absolute flow of time-consciousness in terms of a distinction between two different levels. In the book Self-awareness and Alterity, Zahavi questions the validity of this distinction: the inner time-consciousness should not be regarded as an additional flow aware of the intentional act, but it is nothing but the pre-reflective self-awareness of the act. Despite essential differences, a common presupposition characterizes both of the above mentioned interpretations of the absolute time-constituting flow: the absolute flow is indifferent to the acts; it always flows in the same way, automatically; the form of the absolute flow is unchangeable. In my essay I will challenge the validity of this thesis from two different angles: (1) I will show the essential ambiguity of Husserl’s configuration of the absolute flow not only in the context of the Zeitvorlesungen 1905, but also in relation to the Bernauer Manuskripte. (2) I will take into consideration Husserl’s analyses of specific temporal experiences: the time of the unclear Phantasia and the experience of the radically new.

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