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RECENT PHILOSOPHY |
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Select: Alfred North Whitehead - Bertrand Russell |
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Introduction In opposition to Idealism as well as to Intuitionism and Pragmatism, a decided realistic movement arose in England and America. According to the Neo-Realists, the idealistic principle which states that consciousness constitutes reality is false; so, also, the statement of Pragmatism which makes man the measure of things. Reality of its own nature is extra-mental, having no relation to any subject. The Neo-Realistic thinkers understand reality as a being made up of a plurality of simple and unchangeable entities. Such entities can have a relationship with each other, but any relationship is an added reality which does not change the entities that happen to be brought into contact. Thus, for instance, a man remains the same man, even though he becomes an uncle (exteriority of relationship). Knowledge is nothing other than an external relationship; its nature consists in making an object present to a subject. But in this relationship both object and subject remain what they were. The most important exponents of Neo-Realism to be discussed here are Alfred North Whitehead, Bertrand Russell and George Santayana. Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) Alfred North Whitehead (picture) was a professor at Harvard and collaborator of Bertrand Russell in the publication of the three volumes of Principia Mathematica. His major works include Concept of Nature, Science and the Modern World, and Process and Reality. Whitehead greatly influenced American philosophy. His speculation may be summarized in the notions of:
Event is every being considered not as inert and indifferent to movement but in the categories of space and time, in the sense that the present event tells us its past and its future. The categories of space and time are not sufficient to show the event in its true meaning; it must be considered as connected with the "totality of events" in the universe, in so far as the present event is enclosed in all the others and encompasses them. In other words, the present event has to be considered "organically," as an integral part of the universe. For Whitehead there is no absolute space or absolute time; both space and time are relationships. Space and time express relationships among events. Thus space does not have to be conceived of as a recipient common to all events, but as the order of the events themselves; and time is nothing else than the actual passage of matter from one condition to another. Even the subject is an event. Perception is an event among events. In this organic vision of the universe events are related to one another so that each influences the other and at the same time is influenced by it. As is evident, Whitehead reduces metaphysics to the physics of the universe. In this conception, the consciousness of the percipient subject becomes a mystery. Indeed, if the whole of reality is nothing other than the organic connection of events and if consciousness is the knowledge of this organic connection, consciousness cannot be confused with the object of knowledge (the whole reality), but is something distinct from it. Whitehead is aware of this deficiency and introduces into the theory of the organic connection of nature a new notion: Consciousness "emerges" from the events of nature, but "emerges" is merely a word which does not explain anything. Whitehead's religious thought is a form of pantheistic Platonism. The existence of God cannot be demonstrated, but God exists as a postulate for the explanation of natural phenomena. God has two aspects: primordial nature -- and under this aspect He is immutable and Pure Act; and consequent nature; thus God is limited and in the state of becoming; that is, He is identified with nature in its development. In The Radical Academy
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The philosophical thought of Bertrand Russell (picture) is more complex. He is the author of many philosophical works, such as: The Problem of Philosophy; Our Knowledge of the External World; Analysis of Mind. The speculation of Russell is complicated by the fact he changes his ideas from time to time, but his philosophy (if it can be called that) seems to be a mixture of Empiricism, of Leibnizian metaphysics, and of fancy. According to Russell, reality is a complex of entities which exist objectively and independently of any act of knowledge. For instance, the reality of the pen with which I write does not depend on my perception of it. The sensible world is a system of possible "prospectives," and the knowledge which the subject has of reality is merely one of an infinite number of possible prospectives. Knowledge is a relationship of subject and object; the objects exist in themselves and are located where the subject perceives them, for in the act of perception no error or illusion is possible. But the real existence of subjects (the perceiver excepted) is a mere hypothesis. We believe in the existence of subjects because we are naturally inclined to admit it. On such flimsy metaphysical principles Russell establishes his ethics of "desires." To say "This thing is good," is the same as saying "I like it"; and to say "This thing is evil," indicates opposition in the subject. Consequently, ethical affirmations do not demonstrate that things are true or false, but merely express personal desires. The ultimate design of ethics consists in promoting positive desires, i.e., those that produce happiness, and in eliminating those that produce unhappiness. In regard to the logical sciences, Russell demonstrated that mathematics is the logic of scientific knowledge. But in this matter Russell presumed to identify logic and mathematics, and to reduce all knowledge to the level of physical science. In The Radical Academy
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Also see: George Santayana in the American Philosophy section.
Positive contributions of the Neo-Realists to the Perennial Philosophy. None. It can be seriously questioned whether the above philosophers are genuine realists at all. The general criticisms of their thought are within the descriptions above. Enrich Your Life With a Philosophy Book...
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