Christopher Macann guides the student through the major texts of the four most prominent figures of the phenomenological tradition. Each chapter is devoted to one of these four thinkers:
* Edmund Husserl, the founder of phenomenology, whose constantly-evolving ideas are presented by reviewing the three crucial periods of his work.
* Martin Heidegger, who broke decisively and controversially with his teacher, Husserl.
* Jean-Paul Sartre, who transplanted the tradition from its origins in Germany to the streets of Paris. In Being and Nothingness, he set forth his own version of phenomenology.
* Maurice Merleau-Ponty, a contemporary of Sartre, whose career was cut short by his early death. The Phenomenology of Perception was his best and most representative work.
Four Phenomenological Philosophers, by presenting each thinker in the light of his most important texts, is the ideal introduction to this important philosophical tradition.

Chapter 1 Edmund Husserl; Chapter 2 Martin Heidegger; Chapter 3 Jean-Paul Sartre; Chapter 4 Maurice Merleau-Ponty;