HUSSERL'S PHENOMENOLOGY AND EXISTENTIALISM.

An offprint, reprinted from "The Journal of Philosophy, Vol. LVII, No. 2, January 21, 1960".

Inscribed on the front cover by the American philosopher Herbert Spiegelberg to his colleague Clemens Benda, the authority on Down syndrome. Dated "4.VII.62" by the author and signed "H. Spiegelberg". Spiegelberg has additionally crossed out the conclusion of John Wild's essay on the first page and a half, which precedes his own article.

Born in Strasbourg, the American philosopher Herbert Spiegelberg (1904-1990) played a significant role in advancing phenomenological philosophy in the U.S. He met Edmund Husserl and other pioneers in the European phenomenological movement while studying at the University of Munich. After spending a year in England in 1937, Spiegelberg emigrated to the U.S. where he taught at Swarthmore College and subsequently Lawrence University. He published his landmark work "The Phenomenological Movement: A Historical Introduction" with assistance from grants he received from the Rockefeller Foundation in 1953 through 1956.

Considered the authority on Down syndrome, which was then referred to as "Mongolism", Dr. Clemens E. Benda (1898-1975) was recognized as an internationally known expert on "mental deficiency". Benda argued for an end to "artificial distinctions between mental defect and mental illness" and believed that "so-called mentally deficient children are often the victims of unfair and unjust discrimination". Born in Berlin where he received his medical degree, Benda worked as a psychiatrist at the Binswanger Sanitarium in Switzerland. He moved to the U.S. as a research fellow at Harvard Medical School, eventually teaching at both Harvard and the University of Munich. Benda was also director of research and psychiatry for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Walter E. Fernald School, and the Wrentham State School in Massachusetts.