Husserl: For a Definition of the Transcendental and its Ontological Implications

Abstract

According to Husserl essences are a priori. Nevertheless, this does not mean that essences are “innate ideas”: we become aware of essences through a highly complex process of apprehension. As is well known, Husserl introduces in his Logical Investigations the notion of «ideation», strictly con- nected to the problem of the apprehension of essences.With this respect, categorical intuition develops a specific aspect of ideation. For instance, the visual perception of a tree implies a pre-verbal apprehension of its essence. Regardless of any contingent definition of the “tree”, the point of our pre-verbal grasp of the tree’s essence is that we can immediately recognize its resemblances and differences, in order to recall it hereafter.