ABSTRACT
The second part of the handbook discusses the adaptation of phenomenology in French existentialism, which was the crucial first stage in the explicit politicization of phenomenology. The existentialist appropriation of phenomenology and its steering toward political issues was facilitated by several factors. On the level of theory, the French intellectual landscape saw the simultaneous reception of Hegel, Husserl, and Heidegger. While from today’s perspective, Hegel’s dialectic of the spirit, Husserl’s transcendental phenomenology of consciousness, and Heidegger’s existential hermeneutics might be seen as competing methodological frameworks, the generation of French thinkers discussed in Part II brought them into productive dialogue to open new directions of thought. In terms of politics, this generation of French intellectuals became politicized through the résistance to the Nazi occupation and the struggle with French colonialism. The fight against different forms of domination and oppression, especially connected to class, gender and race, was another driving factor in their political engagement. In terms of theoretical innovations, clarifying the relation between phenomenology and Marxism became the key issue.
