The metaphor of sedimentation and the entanglement of metaphors in Husserl’s phenomenology of time-consciousness
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This paper examines the different ways in which the metaphor and concept of sedimentation play a decisive function in Husserl’s phenomenology of time-consciousness. Through an examination of the different layers and implications of meaning in Husserl’s image of sedimentation, the entangled significance of this crucial metaphor is connected to other metaphors in Husserl’s thinking, including, most significantly, the master-metaphor of “stream.” The argument of this paper consists in developing the claim that sedimentation and other cognate senses in which the pastness of consciousness abides in the living present contributes to a phenomenological understanding of having a life rather than merely being alive. The life of consciousness, on this argument, is impossible without the constitutive sense in which consciousness possesses a life of its own becoming.
Source: Continental Philosophy Review
Author: Nicolas de Warren
Institution: Pennsylvania State University
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,090
OpenAlex ID: W7160098079