Gerda Walther (1897-1977) was a phenomenologist whose work draws on social theory and socialist thought to investigate phenomenological questions and concerns. Walther’s major works include her dissertation on social ontology “A Contribution to the Ontology of Social Communities” (1922), her study on mystical experience The Phenomenology of Mysticism (1923), and her autobiography On the Other Bank: From Marxism and Atheism to Christianity (1960).
Walther’s writings offer an illuminating analysis of the history of phenomenology and the phenomenological method. Walther’s dissertation offers an ontological analysis of social community. She argues that social communities are based on the feeling of “unity” that members individually experience. Her phenomenological analysis of the lived mystical experience distinguishes mystical experience from other similar experiences and investigates the limits of phenomenology in relation to mysticism. As such, her writings are significant sources for understanding not only the history of the phenomenological movement, but also its systematic range and potential.