Issues in Phenomenology: Life

The theme of this year’s “Issues in Phenomenology” seminar will be ‘life’. As a concept, life figures prominently in the most basic tenets of phenomenological thought (lived experience; lifeworld; etc.). Yet it is itself rarely thematized as a key phenomenological concept. This course will examine this theme–the meaning of life (in phenomenology)--  drawing especially on the works of Renaud Barbaras, Jacques Derrida, and Michel Henry. The goal will be to uncover how to talk about what lies at the very basis of our experiencing of the world, and ultimately to put that into conversation with related themes from Reformational thought like spirituality, ground motives, and world view. 

Note: This course does not require any prior familiarity with phenomenology.

Dr. Neal DeRoo

ICS 223001 W26

Online Synchronous

Wednesdays, 2pm - 5pm ET

(MA, PhD)

Syllabus

Required Books:

Each participant is expected to have a copy of the following texts:

1. Jacques Derrida, Voice and Phenomenon: Introduction to the Problem of the Sign in Husserl’s Phenomenology trans. Leonard Lawlor (Northwestern University Press, 2011)

 

2. Renaud Barbaras, Introduction to a Phenomenology of Life trans. Leonard Lawlor (Indiana

University Press, 2021)

It is strongly recommended that you also get a copy of the following text. We will only read one chapter of it as required reading, but reading it alongside the relevant sections of Derrida’s Voice and

Phenomenon will make reading VP much easier for you.

3. Vernon Cisney, Derrida’s Voice and Phenomenon:

Enrolment Notes:

To register for this course, email academic-registrar@icscanada.edu. Last date to register January 9, 2026. ICS reserves the right to decline registrations.

*Attention TST students: if you are interested in taking this course for credit, you must petition your college of registration to count the course credit toward your degree program.