The Things Themselves: Phenomenology and the Return to the Everyday

By H. Peter Steeves

Essays on phenomenological encounters with the world.

Taking Edmund Husserl's dictum to heart yet finding in it a new direction, The Things Themselves is an attempt to return philosophy to the world and, in so doing, know ourselves and our place in that world anew. The book deals with the myriad ways in which a phenomenological approach to philosophy can inform commonplace experiences and understanding. From a trip to Disneyland to a morning spent watching television exercise shows, from the commitment to become a vegetarian to the choice to become a political revolutionary, this book breaks down the barrier between theory and praxis, demanding that we both investigate and hold ourselves accountable to this world. Written in an accessible yet philosophically rigorous style, H. Peter Steeves not only attempts to return philosophy to the world but also to return philosophy to the nonspecialist, to those simply interested in the simplest things, the things themselves that fill our lives but inevitably, and most wondrously, prove anything but simple.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0791468542
• ISBN13: 9780791468548
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Length: 266 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Greatest book ...EVER

What can I say? This is one of the greatest books of any genre that I've read. Peter Steeves is a brilliant writer as well as thinker, and this book exemplifies those qualities. Unlike many philosophers, he writes clearly and elegantly, and discusses phenomenology in a way that anyone can understand by using personal examples. Steeves realizes that the most important thing is to apply philosophy to everyday life, and one wishes more academics would take this to heart. Overall, an excellent book that is thoughtful and engagingly written. "Lost Dog" the "Mars" were my favorites. A must-read!!