Editors Foreword

Fe w p h ilo s o p h e rs h a v e h a d a s b roa d a nd de e p a n im p a c t on c o m ing generations of philosophers as Edmund Husserl. Most notably, he was the founder and a major practitioner of phenom enology, which has left an indelible mark on European, American and world philosophy over the past century. He was also among those thinkers who turned inherited philosophy upside down as he rethought many ideas that were generally accepted and replaced them with others which have since become generally accepted by many, and fiercely rejected by others, both healthy things in the world of philosophy. Coming from mathematics, which is not that common among philosophers, he added a bit of rigor, which was sometimes lacking, and his ideas grad ually impacted other fields, including psychology, ethics and aesthetics. Alas, while his significance can hardly be denied, H usserl is not the easiest philosopher for laymen and even scholars to understand, and his vocabulary and concepts can do with some explanation. Thisalong with his significance is a good reason for a handy guide like this Historical Dictionary of Husserls Philosophy . It does not package Husserl for the reader, who can then attempt to master its contents; rather, it helps readers to sort out what they have seen in Husserls own works or books on him by others. T he brief chronology already offers insight into an often difficult trajectory, with many ups and down, the most serious of these being driven out of G ermany by the N azis. H is c a re e r is traced again in the introduction, this time focusing on his major activities, writings, and thoughts, a summary which should be referred to periodically. But the most important section is the dictionary, with hundreds of entries on his major publications, other philosophers he interacted with, and above all the key concepts many of them new to Husserlwhich are necessary to gain more from reading him. Perhaps the second most important section is the bibliography, which leads those interested to a broad range of related works, his own and commentaries on his philosophy. Few have dealt with Husserl and his philosophy as long or as extensively as the autho r o f this vo lum e, John J. D rummond . Alread y in 1 9 7 5 , his dissertation dealt with Husserls phenomenology of perception. Since then he has taught at several colleges and universities and is presently professor of philosophy at Fordham University. Alongside courses and lectures, he has written a large num b e r o f a rtic le s an d a b o o k o f h is o wn, H usse rlian

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