Phenomenology of the Inapparent and Michel Henry’s Criticism of the Noematic Presentation of Alterity

Abstract

Husserl's explorations on intersubjectivity inspired many turns in contemporary philosophy. Among them, Michel Henry tries to show in what sense intentionality and constitution are to good phenomenological ways to explain the universal a priori of the experience of alterity. Indeed, his approach not only queries the noematic presentations of alterity but requires the adoption of a self-affective perspective. However, we will suggest in this work that this theoretical option is compatible with Husserl's phenomenological views. We will examine Henry's criticism of the Husserlian approach in order to provide an interpretation that indicates the relevance of the phenomenology of the inapparent as a legitimate phenomenological field consistent with the original programme.