J. N. Mohanty is one of America's leading interpreters of Husserl's phenomenology and the phenomenological movement for which Husserl's work was the impetus. This collection of essays traces the themes of essentialism and transcendentalism as they have appeared in the development of phenomenology from Husserl to Derrida. Beginning with Husserl's major phenomenological themes--essence, meaning, transcendental subjectivity, and life-world--Mohanty examines the tensions within phenomenology in general and within Husserl's phenomenology in particular. The accessibility of these essays, coupled with Mohanty's consideration of lesser-known phenomenologists (Ingarden, Scheler, Hartmann, et. al.) mark this as a major updating of phenomenology for a contemporary audience.