Abstract

This contribution will explore a realist theme shared by the phenomenologists Edith Stein and Max Scheler concerning the experience of essences. I will argue that in both authors one finds an account of the experience of essences as a determining factor of the intentional objects experienced. That is, Stein and Scheler phenomenologically show how the experience of reality is dependent on—in some sense—observable, mind-independent features. I understand this to be one possible basis for a consistent program for phenomenological realism. The text will proceed in three steps. First, I will consider Scheler’s “phenomenological experience” as being one of the essential features of experience. Second, I will explore Stein’s notion of “objective sense” that is embedded in perception. Third, I will discuss why this is to be understood as a common concern.