Postfoundational Phenomenology : Penn State University Press : 9780271020471 : 0271020474 : 01 Nov 2000 : This book offers a fresh look at Edmund Husserl&;s philosophy as a nonfoundational approach to understanding the self as an embodied presence. Contrary to the conventional view of Husserl as carrying on the Cartesian tradition of seeking a trustworthy foundation for knowledge in the "pure" observations of a disembodied ego, James Mensch introduces us to the Husserl who, anticipating the later investigations of Merleau-Ponty, explored how the body functions to determine our self-presence, our freedom, and our sense of time. The result is a concept of selfhood that allows us to see how consciousness&;s arising from sensuous experiences follows from the temporal features of embodiment. From this understanding of what is crucial to Husserl&;s phenomenology, the book draws the implications for language and ethics, comparing Husserl&;s ideas with those of Derrida on language and with t