Alrighty then . . . So, Hong Kong. Hong Kong is very far away. My advisor/chair has highly recommended that I go to either the next APA convention in Toronto or the Science of Consciousness Conference (usually in Tucson) but in Hong Kong this year. Toronto is out of the picture because I’ve already made plans to be in Kauai at that time. Hong Kong is, frankly, a longshot in terms of funding but I registered and submitted an abstract anyway. I’m still working on opening energetic doorways if it turns out that I’m meant to be there. We’ll see. If I do go I will be presenting on whatever work I have completed on my dissertation by that time. Here’s the latest evolution of my abstract, which I just submitted yesterday:
PHENOMENOLOGY OF COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS: HUSSERL’S TRANSCENDENTAL INTERSUBJECTIVITY AND COLLECTIVE EMERGENT INTENTIONALITY
Abstract
What is the relationship between Husserl’s transcendental intersubjectivity and transpersonal theories of the collective, that is, collective trans-subjective experience “beyond the mask”? What are the ways in which transcendental phenomenology and social constructionism find congruence in theories of human transcendence inspired by the world’s wisdom traditions? Based upon these and other questions, I suggest ways that we can illuminate the complex relationship between self, other, and world in the context of the writings of Edmund Husserl and collective consciousness as emergent intentionality. My aim is to propose a preliminary framework for a more comprehensive and useful understanding of the relationship between Husserl’s transcendental intersubjectivity and the intersubjective aspects of transpersonal theory within the context of philosophical phenomenology, Habermas’ understanding of postmetaphysics, and consciousness studies, broadly construed. Such efforts aspire to clarify the tension between Husserl’s phenomenology and social constructionism (after Schütz) through theories of transcendence of the subjective self, e.g., the transpersonal. I pay particular attention to the exploration of the ways in which Husserl’s transcendental intersubjectivity can contribute to a greater understanding of how the collective interior evolves between human beings. From this, new avenues for consciousness research are explored.
copyright ©, Sean Saiter, 2009
