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Without doubt phenomenology is the contemporary philosophy which has remained most truly atuned to the tradition which comes to us from the Greeks and through medieval philosophers. Although this philosophy was certainly not untouched by the events and philosophies of the Renaissance, it was not uncritically taken over by this thought, as witness Husserl's Crisis and its evaluation of Galileo's work.¹ An important reason for the balance and critical reserve manifested by Edmund Husserl as well as by many other European philosophers in the face of Renaissance thought and the consequent advance of the sciences is their closeness to the liberal arts tradition. For after all, the liberal arts developed out of Greek philosophy and came, as it might be said, to self-awareness in late Roman and Medieval times where they were conceived not only as the arts of the mind in general but more specifically as preparation for philosophy.² They permeated thought and education in Europe. A thoroughly trained philosopher and mathematician such as Husserl could not possibly have escaped their influence, whether or not he was accustomed to refer to them by their ancient names. I believe it possible and useful to see that his Ideas embodies the liberal arts structure.³

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-009-2368-3_14

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