The Community of Solitude

Abstract

This paper re-examines the egos of Edmund Husserl and Max Scheler with reference to Friedrich Nietzsche and the psychologist, James Hillman, and in the process also confronts the ego in other of its many manifestations, misappropriations, and mystifications.

The ego is a multi-headed enigma which defies phenomenological description, and only reaches the status of concept by virtue of the gropings of an epistemology which is not up to the task. The goal of this paper is twofold: firstly, to come to terms with what is commonly spoken of as ego, and secondly, to devise a scheme which does justice to it as phenomenon.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christopher Pulte

Christopher Pulte is a long-time resident of Japan who received his BA in Phenomenological Psychology from the University of Dallas, and his Master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He is currently employed as a Research Associate at Yokohama Soei University in Yokohama, Japan.

A lifelong Nietzsche enthusiast, his interests range from ancient Chinese and Greek philosophy to Alexis de Tocqueville and Ortega y Gasset.