Husserl’s Timaeus: Plato’s creation myth and the phenomenological concept of metaphysics as the teleological science of the world

Trizio, Emiliano

Abstract

According to Husserl, Plato played a fundamental role in the development of the notion of teleology, so much so that Husserl viewed the myth narrated in the Timaeus as a fundamental stage in the long history that he hoped would eventually lead to a teleological science of the world grounded in transcendental phenomenology. This article explores this interpretation of Plato’s legacy in light of Husserl’s thesis that Plato was the initiator of the ideal of genuine science. It also outlines how Husserl sought conceptual resources within transcendental phenomenology to turn the key elements of Plato’s creation myth into rigorous scientific ideas.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 1, 2020
• Publication Date: 2020
• Deposit Date: Jun 26, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 1, 2021
• Print ISSN: 1582-5647
• Publisher: Philosophy Documentation Center
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 20
• Pages: 77-100
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5840/studphaen2020204
• Keywords: Husserl, Plato, Timaeus, Teleology, Metaphysics, creation, God.
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/6025485
• Publisher URL: https://www.pdcnet.org/studphaen/Studia-Phaenomenologica