A Phenomenological Interpretation of "Veen's Time"

Abstract

Abstract: To establish The Texture of Time as a notable philosophical achievement, this essay puts it in the context of transcendental phenomenology and elucidates "Veen's Time" by way of comparison to Husserl's theory of time-consciousness. Despite Nabokov's apparent disinterest in phenomenology, the monist stance, descriptive method and de facto epoché in The Texture of Time all point to it being a piece of phenomenological analysis. Veen's conception of the Present as a hollow is analogous to Husserl's notion of the absolute flow of time-constituting consciousness; by emphasizing the stillness of the Present, Veen even irons out a couple of rough edges in Husserl's account. The Past is not a mere extension of the Present, but an equally important panel of "Veen's Time" with its own structure that centers on the subject and the object as two identity poles. Finally, drawing on the concept of "protention," the future-facing element of the Present, Veen's dismissal of the Future as "a quack at the court of Chronos" is interpreted as attacking the conventional tripartite image of Time instead of the Future per se.