Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka
Encyclopedia
Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka (born February 28, 1923 in Marianowo
, Republic of Poland
) is a Polish
-born American
philosopher, one of the most important and continuously active contemporary phenomenologists, founder and president of The World Phenomenology Institute
, and editor (since its inception in the late 1960s) of the book series Analecta Husserliana, presently published by Springer
.
-French
family. Her acquaintance with philosophy
started at an early age with reading of the fundamental work of Kazimierz Twardowski
, the founder of the Lvov-Warsaw Philosophical School, Zur Lehre vom Inhalt und Gegenstand des Vorstellungen (On the content and object of presentations), as well as works by Plato
and Bergson. To the philosophy of the latter she was introduced by her mother, Maria-Ludwika de Lanval Tymieniecka.
After the end of World War II
she began systematic studies of philosophy at the Jagiellonian University
in Kraków
under the guidance of Roman Ingarden
, student of the famous teachers Kazimierz Twardowski
and Edmund Husserl
. Simultaneously she studied at the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts
.
After completing the entire university course within two years she moved to Switzerland
to continue studies under another important Polish
philosopher and logician, Józef Maria Bocheński
, at the University of Fribourg
. Her doctoral study, dedicated to explorations of the fundamentals of phenomenology in Nicolai Hartmann
and Roman Ingarden's philosophies, was later published as "Essence and Existence" (1957). She obtained her second Ph.D., this time in French philosophy and literature, at the Sorbonne
in 1951.
In the years 1952-1953 she did postdoctoral researches in the field of social and political sciences at the College d'Europe
in Brugge
, Belgium
. From that moment on Tymieniecka started her own way in philosophy by developing a special phenomenological attitude that was neither entirely Husserlian, nor entirely Ingardenian.
In 1956 she married Hendrik S. Houthakker
, Professor of Economy at Stanford University
(1954-1960) and Harvard University
(from 1960) and member of President Nixon's Council of Economic Advisers
from 1969 to 1971.
She served as Assistant Professor in Mathematics at the Oregon State College (1955-1956) and Assistant Professor at the Pennsylvania State University
(from 1957). She spent the years 1961-1966 at the Institute for Independent Study at Radcliffe College
. In 1972-1973 she was Professor of Philosophy at St. John's University.
, Emmanuel Levinas
, Paul Ricoeur
and Hans-Georg Gadamer
as well as by the Director of the Husserl-Archives in Leuven
, (Belgium
) Herman Leo Van Breda
. Since its foundation and up to now Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka has remained its permanent President.
As the president of the World Phenomenology Institute Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka continually organizes numerous international and world phenomenological congresses, conferences and symposia.
's ideas and phenomenological approach. The series was created as a continuation of Jahrbuch für Philosophie und Phänomenologische Forschung edited by Husserl
himself. The main themes of this edition, therefore, are the human being and the human life condition. Not incidentally, these are also the main topics of interest for Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka herself.
In addition to Analecta Husserliana, The World Phenomenology Institute publishes the journal Phenomenological Inquiry, and Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka acts also as Editor of the Springer (formerly Kluwer Academic Publishers) book series: Islamic Philosophy and Occidental Phenomenology in Dialogue, with co-Editors Gholamreza Aavani and Nader El-Bizri
.
Marianowo
Marianowo may refer to the following places:*Marianowo, Rypin County in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship *Marianowo, Gmina Strzegowo in Masovian Voivodeship *Marianowo, Podlaskie Voivodeship...
, Republic of Poland
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
) is a Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
philosopher, one of the most important and continuously active contemporary phenomenologists, founder and president of The World Phenomenology Institute
World Phenomenology Institute
World Phenomenology Institute is an academic organization founded in 1976 to promote scholarship in the area of phenomenology. The organization was founded by Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka.- See also :* Emmanuel Levinas* Paul Ricoeur* Hans-Georg Gadamer* Stephan Strasser...
, and editor (since its inception in the late 1960s) of the book series Analecta Husserliana, presently published by Springer
Axel Springer AG
Axel Springer AG is one of the largest multimedia companies in Europe, with more than 11,500 employees and with annual revenues of about €2.9 billion. The Company is active in a total of 36 countries, including Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Russia and Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland...
.
Education and teaching career
Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka was born into an aristocratic PolishPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
-French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
family. Her acquaintance with philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
started at an early age with reading of the fundamental work of Kazimierz Twardowski
Kazimierz Twardowski
Kazimierz Jerzy Skrzypna-Twardowski was a Polish philosopher and logician.-Life:Twardowski's family belonged to the Ogończyk coat-of-arms.Twardowski studied philosophy in Vienna with Franz Brentano and Robert Zimmermann...
, the founder of the Lvov-Warsaw Philosophical School, Zur Lehre vom Inhalt und Gegenstand des Vorstellungen (On the content and object of presentations), as well as works by Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
and Bergson. To the philosophy of the latter she was introduced by her mother, Maria-Ludwika de Lanval Tymieniecka.
After the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
she began systematic studies of philosophy at the Jagiellonian University
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
under the guidance of Roman Ingarden
Roman Ingarden
Roman Witold Ingarden was a Polish philosopher who worked in phenomenology, ontology and aesthetics.Before World War II, Ingarden published his works mainly in the German language...
, student of the famous teachers Kazimierz Twardowski
Kazimierz Twardowski
Kazimierz Jerzy Skrzypna-Twardowski was a Polish philosopher and logician.-Life:Twardowski's family belonged to the Ogończyk coat-of-arms.Twardowski studied philosophy in Vienna with Franz Brentano and Robert Zimmermann...
and Edmund Husserl
Edmund Husserl
Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl was a philosopher and mathematician and the founder of the 20th century philosophical school of phenomenology. He broke with the positivist orientation of the science and philosophy of his day, yet he elaborated critiques of historicism and of psychologism in logic...
. Simultaneously she studied at the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts
Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts
The Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts, or Kraków Academy of Fine Arts , located in Kraków, Poland, is the oldest Polish fine-arts academy, established in 1818.It is a state-run university that offers 5- and 6-year Master's degree programs...
.
After completing the entire university course within two years she moved to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
to continue studies under another important Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
philosopher and logician, Józef Maria Bocheński
Józef Maria Bochenski
Józef Maria Bocheński was a Polish Dominican, logician and philosopher.-Life:...
, at the University of Fribourg
University of Fribourg
The University of Fribourg is a university in the city of Fribourg, Switzerland.The roots of the University can be traced back to 1582, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisius founded the Collège Saint-Michel in the City of Fribourg. In 1763, an Academy of law was founded by the state of Frobourg...
. Her doctoral study, dedicated to explorations of the fundamentals of phenomenology in Nicolai Hartmann
Nicolai Hartmann
-Biography:Hartmann was born of German descent in Riga, which was then the capital of the Russian province of Livonia, and which is now in Latvia. He studied Medicine at the University of Tartu , then Philosophy in St. Petersburg and at the University of Marburg in Germany, where he took his Ph.D....
and Roman Ingarden's philosophies, was later published as "Essence and Existence" (1957). She obtained her second Ph.D., this time in French philosophy and literature, at the Sorbonne
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
in 1951.
In the years 1952-1953 she did postdoctoral researches in the field of social and political sciences at the College d'Europe
College of Europe
The College of Europe is an independent university institute of postgraduate European studies with the main campus in Bruges, Belgium...
in Brugge
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. From that moment on Tymieniecka started her own way in philosophy by developing a special phenomenological attitude that was neither entirely Husserlian, nor entirely Ingardenian.
In 1956 she married Hendrik S. Houthakker
Hendrik S. Houthakker
Hendrik Samuel "Hank" Houthakker was a Dutch Jewish-born American economist.-Life and career:Houthakker was born in Amsterdam. His father was a prominent art dealer...
, Professor of Economy at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
(1954-1960) and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
(from 1960) and member of President Nixon's Council of Economic Advisers
Council of Economic Advisers
The Council of Economic Advisers is an agency within the Executive Office of the President that advises the President of the United States on economic policy...
from 1969 to 1971.
She served as Assistant Professor in Mathematics at the Oregon State College (1955-1956) and Assistant Professor at the Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
(from 1957). She spent the years 1961-1966 at the Institute for Independent Study at Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...
. In 1972-1973 she was Professor of Philosophy at St. John's University.
Foundation of phenomenological societies and the World Phenomenology Institute
In 1969 Tymieniecka founded the International Husserl and Phenomenological Research Society, in 1974 the International Society for Phenomenology and Literature, and then the International Society for Phenomenology and the Human Sciences (1976), International Society of Phenomenology, Aesthetics, and Fine Arts (1993) and the Sociedad Ibero-Americana de Fenomenologia (1995). The first three societies comprised the foundation for creation of the World Institute for Advanced Phenomenological Research and Learning in 1976, reorganized later into The World Phenomenology Institute. The initiative to establish this institute was supported, among others, by Roman IngardenRoman Ingarden
Roman Witold Ingarden was a Polish philosopher who worked in phenomenology, ontology and aesthetics.Before World War II, Ingarden published his works mainly in the German language...
, Emmanuel Levinas
Emmanuel Lévinas
Emmanuel Levinas was a Lithuanian-born French Jewish philosopher and Talmudic commentator.-Life:Emanuelis Levinas received a traditional Jewish education in Lithuania...
, Paul Ricoeur
Paul Ricoeur
Paul Ricœur was a French philosopher best known for combining phenomenological description with hermeneutic interpretation...
and Hans-Georg Gadamer
Hans-Georg Gadamer
Hans-Georg Gadamer was a German philosopher of the continental tradition, best known for his 1960 magnum opus, Truth and Method .-Life:...
as well as by the Director of the Husserl-Archives in Leuven
Leuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
, (Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
) Herman Leo Van Breda
Herman Van Breda
Herman Leo Van Breda was a Franciscan, philosopher and founder of the Husserl archives at the Higher Institute of Philosophy of the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium....
. Since its foundation and up to now Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka has remained its permanent President.
As the president of the World Phenomenology Institute Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka continually organizes numerous international and world phenomenological congresses, conferences and symposia.
Analecta Husserliana
Since its creation in 1968 (though the first book of the series seems to have formally appeared only in 1971), Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka has been the editor of the book series Analecta Husserliana: The Yearbook of Phenomenological Research, which aims to develop and disseminate Edmund HusserlEdmund Husserl
Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl was a philosopher and mathematician and the founder of the 20th century philosophical school of phenomenology. He broke with the positivist orientation of the science and philosophy of his day, yet he elaborated critiques of historicism and of psychologism in logic...
's ideas and phenomenological approach. The series was created as a continuation of Jahrbuch für Philosophie und Phänomenologische Forschung edited by Husserl
Edmund Husserl
Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl was a philosopher and mathematician and the founder of the 20th century philosophical school of phenomenology. He broke with the positivist orientation of the science and philosophy of his day, yet he elaborated critiques of historicism and of psychologism in logic...
himself. The main themes of this edition, therefore, are the human being and the human life condition. Not incidentally, these are also the main topics of interest for Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka herself.
In addition to Analecta Husserliana, The World Phenomenology Institute publishes the journal Phenomenological Inquiry, and Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka acts also as Editor of the Springer (formerly Kluwer Academic Publishers) book series: Islamic Philosophy and Occidental Phenomenology in Dialogue, with co-Editors Gholamreza Aavani and Nader El-Bizri
Nader El-Bizri
Nader El-Bizri is a Lebanese philosopher, historian of science, and architect living in Britain.-Intellectual Profile:...
.
Selected bibliography
- Tymieniecka, A.-T. Essence et existence: Etude à propos de la philosophie de Roman Ingarden et Nicolai Hartmann. (Paris: Aubier, Editions Montaigne, 1957).
- Tymieniecka, A.-T. For Roman Ingarden; nine essays in phenomenology. (’s-Gravenhage: M.Nijhoff, 1959), viii + 179 p.
- Tymieniecka, A.-T. Phenomenology and science in contemporary European thought. With a foreword by I. M. Bochenski. ([New York]: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, 1962), xxii + 198 p.
- Tymieniecka, A.-T. Leibniz’ cosmological synthesis. (Assen: Van Gorcum, 1964), 207 p.
- Tymieniecka, A.-T. Why is there something rather than nothing? Prolegomena to the phenomenology of cosmic creation. (Assen: Van Gorcum & Comp., 1966), 168 p.
- Tymieniecka, A.-T. Eros et Logos. (Paris: Beatrice-Nauwelaerts, 1972), 127 p.
- Tymieniecka, A.-T. Logos and Life. (Dordrecht; Boston: Kluwer Academic, 1987-2000, 4 vols.).
See also
- American philosophyAmerican philosophyAmerican philosophy is the philosophical activity or output of Americans, both within the United States and abroad. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy notes that while American philosophy lacks a "core of defining features, American Philosophy can nevertheless be seen as both reflecting and...
- Phenomenology
- Hendrik S. HouthakkerHendrik S. HouthakkerHendrik Samuel "Hank" Houthakker was a Dutch Jewish-born American economist.-Life and career:Houthakker was born in Amsterdam. His father was a prominent art dealer...
- List of American philosophers
External links
- The World Phenomenology Institute (formerly World Institute for Advanced Phenomenological Research and Learning)