Hegel, Husserl and the Phenomenology of Historical Worlds is a profound treatment of the genesis of life-worlds in their cultural and historical dimensions. Starting with a highly perceptive comparison of Hegel and Husserl as contrasting phenomenologists, Tanja Staehler shows brilliantly how the two thinkers, despite certain affinities, diverge on matters of time and history, the nature of knowledge and the place of others. Derrida and Irigaray emerge as contemporary figures who offer essential correctives to their two German predecessors. The book ends with pellucid reflections on such basic issues as morality, death, and mood. This is a beautifully written text that opens up genuinely new directions of thought for understanding today’s troubled world.

Edward S. Casey, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, SUNY at Stony Brook; author of The Fate of Place and The World at a Glance.

This is an important study of Hegel’s philosophy and Husserl’s phenomenology in relation to each other. Staehler convincingly demonstrates how both Hegel and Husserl approach philosophy through historical and cultural worlds and how their methodologies ultimately relate to Heidegger’s concept of Being-in-the-world. While Staehler explains the parallels between Hegel and Husserl, she is also sensitive to their differences. The book is well-written, clear and displays a critical sensitivity to methodology.

Ferit Güven, Professor of Philosophy, Earlham College

Staehler’s book is important for bringing bring German Idealism and Phenomenology into dialogue in a way that is illuminating for both traditions. Even more important, however, is the book’s central question regarding the possibility of philosophical reflection and the centrality of historical embeddedness for its emergence. Her exploration of the issue is lucid and thought-provoking and invites the reader - in the way that philosophy at its best can do - to revisit those aspects of our experience which are fundamental yet mostly unthematized.

James McGuirk, VID Specialized University and Nord University

Staehler’s book is an impressive achievement and merits close attention from readers interested in both the Hegel-Husserl relationship and the prospects of phenomenology in engaging with an increasingly fractured social world.

Husserl Studies