“An Ocean of Difficult Problems” Husserl and Jean Hering’s Dissertation on the A Priori in R. H. Lotze

The present paper provides the first presentation of Jean Hering’s dissertation Lotzes Lehre vom Apriori in light of Husserl’s assessment of Lotze’s theory of knowledge in the Logik. After a preliminary discussion of some of the main aspects of Husserl’s dismissal of both the metaphysical presuppositions and the absurd consequence of Lotze’s stance on knowledge, the case will be made for considering Hering’s critical approach to Lotze’s view on the a priori as a further development of Husserl’s position. In the conclusion, some remarks will be offered on how Hering elaborates on what he calls the “philosophical concept of the a priori.”