Abstract

Antonio González, one of the most influential contemporary Spanish phenomenologists, is inspired by Husserl’s Ideas to search for a philosophy stripped of all presuppositions. He finds the grounds for such a first philosophy in acts themselves. Following Zubiri he conceives acts as the actualization of things in their radical alterity, identifying acts of action, actuation and activity. This article introduces González’s thought to an English speaking audience, proposing an important modification to his thesis so that it can account for the “natural” nature of acts. To conclude it outlines how González’s work contributes to the search for a universal foundation for ethics