Koltsov Alexander

“Religious experience” as a subject of philosophy of religion in Adolf Reinach’s project

Abstract

This article focuses on a project of application of phenomenological approach to philosophy of religion which survives in Adolf Reinach’s (1883‒1917) notes. The study shows how the methodology of Reinach’s programme determines a specific character of the project both in terms of realistic phenomenology and positive evidence of religious experience. As a result, the notion of “experience” (Erlebnis) becomes a key term of the project. The article examines three main connotations of this notion, i.e. 1) apology of a phenomenon as something irreducible and particular, 2) hermeneutical interpretation of essence as a meaning, 3) application of the term Erlebnis, produced by philosophy of life, in order to stress immediate character of religious experience. The article discovers the origin of these theses in Reinach’s earlier works. After this, two directions of their development in the notes are reconstructed. The first direction deals with cognitive signifi cance of experience as intentional acts. The second direction describes inner dynamics of correlation between noesis and noema and is in this way “psychological”. In connection with the fi rst direction, religious experience is analysed in the context of discussion about “knowledge” and “feeling”; afterwards, its specifi city is identifi ed as intentionality of a unique character. The second direction makes it possible to diff erentiate the religious act from other types of experience being a foundation of positive sciences; it also revises subjectobject scheme of describing religious relationship. Besides, some new aspects of philosophical application of the notion of experience are pointed out. The result of the study is the conclusion that the “Fragments” off er a specifi c strategy of combining philosophical and theological discourses which should be understood in the context of multiple projects of philosophical theology as a unique religious and philosophical synthesis.

Keywords

Erlebnis, religious experience, realistic phenomenology, Reinach, philosophical theology

References

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Information about the author

Koltsov Alexander

Student status: Graduate student;
Place of study: St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University for Humanities; 6/1 Likhov pereulok, Moscow 127051, Russian Federation;
Post: lecturer;
ORCID: 0000-0003-0791-2371;
Email: avk-23@yandex.ru.