Wartość obcości. Fenomenologia obcego i motywy etyki przednormatywnej

Abstract

The Value of the Strange. Waldenfels’ Phenomenology of the Alien and the Motifs of a Pre-normative Ethic

This article provides a phenomenological analysis of Bernhard Waldenfels’ understanding of the other. His new concept of the “phenomenology of the alien” focuses on an intersubjective experience, which can transgress borders of understanding and the given order. Waldenfels overcomes the classic dualisms for the benefit of an extraordinary experience of the strange by emphasising on the pre-reflective dimension of humans, the corporeal self and the peculiar dialogic relation with the other. This relation is given in a pre-intentional feeling, but not in a theoretical consideration. But how can the value of the strange be understood? In this context, we refer to the phenomenological value. The strange appears and addresses an invocation, which is the basis of an ethical rapport. As a consequence, Waldenfels postulates a responsive form of phenomenology.

Keywords: Bernhard Waldenfels, phenomenology of the strange, corporeality, intersubjectivity, ethic, responsive form of phenomenology.