ABSTRACT: In searching for the origin of Europe and the cultural region/continent that we call
“Europe”, at first glance we have to consider at least a double view: on the one hand the
geographical understanding which indicates a region or a continent; on the other a certain form
of identity and culture described and defined as European. Rodolphe Gasché taking hint from
Husserl’s passage ‘Europe is not to be construed simply as a geographical and political entity’
states that a rigorous eng…
Read moreABSTRACT: In searching for the origin of Europe and the cultural region/continent that we call
“Europe”, at first glance we have to consider at least a double view: on the one hand the
geographical understanding which indicates a region or a continent; on the other a certain form
of identity and culture described and defined as European. Rodolphe Gasché taking hint from
Husserl’s passage ‘Europe is not to be construed simply as a geographical and political entity’
states that a rigorous engagement with what we understand by “Europe” requires that we
acknowledge it as involving ‘something else as well’.
With regard to the many bequests of Europe, founded in ancient Greece, in this essay I will
attempt to elucidate some essential features of its cultural identity such as science and philosophy,
and reflect upon several specific aspects: on the origin of Europe, on its roots and heritage, on
the concept of culture, and especially on the foundation of sciences (Geometry), which contains
a large part of European spirit and civilization. In particular I will address some European
historical moments referring to Husserl, Heidegger, the concept of Thaumazein… In the second
part of the essay, I shift to Ancient Greece to access the value of the Esprit de géométrie as defined
in Proclus on the Commentary on the First Book of Euclid’s.
