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MODERN PHILOSOPHY |
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Select: Johann Gottlieb Fichte - Friedrich Wilhelm von Schelling - Friedrich Scheiermacher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel - Johann Friedrich Herbart - Arthur Schopenhauer Rudolph Hermann Lotze - Friedrich Albert Lange - Wilhelm Windelband |
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The three "Critiques" of Kant pointed to the organizing activity of the "thinking-ego." After Kant, thinkers logically developed the function of the thinking-ego, and came to the conclusion that its activity is not limited to the organization of phenomena, but implies the production of phenomena. Thus the ego is conceived of as a creative power. This concept of the creativity of the spirit gave origin in Germany to two movements -- the first, a cultural movement called Romanticism; the second, a philosophical one called Idealism. The Transition From Criticism To Romanticism and The Transition From Criticism To Transcendental Idealism Elsewhere On the Internet I. THE GERMAN IDEALISTS
Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762-1814) Johann G. Fichte (picture) was born at Rammenau in Upper Lusatia in 1762. He studied theology at the University of Jena, where, some years later, he occupied the chair of philosophy. Dismissed from Jena as a result of a violent controversy, he lectured at Berlin, where he became identified with the Romantic Movement. In 1807 and 1808 he delivered in Berlin his famous "Addresses to the German Nation," which were aimed at stirring up the patriotic spirit of his countrymen and enlightening them on the foundations for national prosperity. Fichte died of typhus in 1814. His masterpiece is Foundation of General Science. Doctrine Fichte abolished the distinction between the thinking-ego and the "thing in itself." Primordial reality is one, Pure Ego, which is the root of all realities. The moments of the Pure Ego are two: (1) production; (2) reflection. First, by an unconscious obligation, the Universal Spirit (Pure Ego) is impelled to produce, that is, to put forth limited objects. This is the world of nature. By reflecting upon these limited objects, the Spirit becomes conscious of itself as a limited object. The consciousness of the spirit in the limited object gives origin to the empirical-ego (the individual ego), in which sensitive and intellective knowledge are possible. But the task of the Spirit cannot be fulfilled in limited objects; hence it is forever impelled to produce new objects. According to Fichte's theory, Germany, conscious of its superiority, was to become the leaders of all nations by fulfilling the destiny of the Universal Spirit. In The Radical Academy
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Friedrich Wilhelm von Schelling (1775-1854) F.W. von Schelling (picture) was born at Leonberg, a small town of Wurttemberg. At the age of sixteen he entered the theological seminary at Tubingen, where he studied theology, philosophy and philology. A schoolmate, disciple and friend of Hegel, he later broke with him and became one of his most severe opponents. Called to lecture at Jena in 1798, Schelling had Fichte and Hegel as colleagues there, and came into close contact with the Romanticists. From 1803 to 1806 Schelling lectured at Wurzburg. Between 1806 and 1820 he was a member of the Academy of Sciences, with residence in Munich. Next he went to Erlangen and lectured there for about six years before returning to Munich to teach philosophy. Finally he accepted an invitation to lecture in Berlin, where he succeeded to the chair Hegel had held. Schelling's most systematic philosophical works are: System of Transcendental Idealism and Exposition of My System. Doctrine The primordial reality is the Absolute, which is conceived of by Schelling as "perfect identity of Spirit and nature"; this is a Romantic concept. This perfect identity consists in the fact that neither one can be separated from the other, but one can prevail over the other. Thus the prevalence of nature over the Spirit makes possible the manifestation of the world of nature. The Spirit, wandering unconsciously in the world of nature, becomes conscious and appears as an empirical ago. Then it is able to reflect on what was unconsciously produced by itself. Art in its two moments of inspiration and production gives us the "model of activity" of the Absolute. In The Radical Academy
Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834) Friedrich Schleiermacher (picture), a German Protestant theologian and philosopher, was born at Breslau. He was a lecturer and professor at Halle and Berlin. His most representative works are Sermons on Religion and The Christian Faith. Doctrine The Absolute is actual reality, the source of the life of our spirit. In the act of sentiment we feel ourselves submerged in the Infinite Being and rooted in Him. Thus we understand the dependence of the finite upon the infinite; this dependence is the source of religion. Only religion leads us to the notion of the infinite as the origin of the life of the finite. Schleiermacher fuses Spinozism and idealism in an attempt to combine pantheism with dualism. God and the world are one; things and the world have a relative independence. Yet God and the world are inseparable. God has never been without a world nor the world without a God. God is a spaceless and timeless unity; the world is a spatial-temporal plurality. The religious feeling illuminates one's entire life and brings unity into it. In The Radical Academy
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Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831) Georg W.F. Hegel (picture) was born in Stuttgart. He studied theology and philosophy, and at first gave his sympathies to the philosophy of the Enlightenment and to Kantian Criticism, only to turn to Romantic historicism and become attached to Fichte and Schelling. He lectured in various German universities, and ultimately at the University of Berlin, where he exercised great influence. Hegel's most representative philosophical works are Phenomenology of Spirit, Logic, and Encyclopedia of Philosophical Sciences. German Idealism and modern thought, generally speaking, reach the greatest heights of immanentism in the compact dialectic system of Hegel. Doctrine The primordial reality is conceived by Hegel as the "pure indetermined," as "non-being." However, its perennial activity consists in developing explicitly what it contains implicitly. The characteristic principle of this primordial reality in its development is the "coincidence of opposites," in the sense that any passage is a result of some already acquired determination as related to its opposite. Hence the triad which is fundamental to Hegel's philosophy:
Another characteristic of Hegel's idealism is rationality: primordial being is essentially thought, idea. Hence the process of development is essentially rational. Logic of the Concrete: The principle of the coincidence of opposites carries within itself the negation of Aristotelian logic. For Hegel, the logic of Aristotle takes into consideration abstract ideas, which as such are immutable. Hence Aristotle could establish his logic on the principle of contradiction. But this logic misinterprets reality; reality is never immutable; it is always new, and what makes the new reality is the coincidence of opposites. By means of this principle, reality nullifies in itself both extremes of contradiction, being and non-being. Hegel calls this new logic "The logic of the concrete." That of Aristotle he calls formal logic. Dialectical Process of Being: The Universal Spirit objectivates itself with the intention of gaining consciousness of self. At the basis of this process is rationality, i.e., a system of pure concepts according to which the development will be made. The Spirit objectivates itself first in "nature," whose pinnacle is the human organism and individual consciousness. But the spirit is not satisfied with the limits of individual consciousness, and is impelled to other super-individual forms:
As the whole process is supposed to be rational, in the state all opposites are reconciled. Although the state is the supreme manifestation of the spirit, there is another triad regarding the Absolute Spirit: art, religion and philosophy. Conclusion For a decade after Hegel's death, Hegelianism was the outstanding philosophy of Germany. It enjoyed patronage of the Prussian State and the universities. Its logical method was popular. Hegelianism divides into two groups:
Hegel's genius in the history of philosophy and in the history of religion produced a school of great historians of philosophy including Trendelenburg, Erdman, Zeller, Kuno Fischer, Windelband, and Pfleiderer. Hegel's work influenced the study of history, jurisprudence, politics, and all the mental sciences. In The Radical Academy
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The positive contributions of the German Idealists to the Perennial Philosophy None. Virtually all of German Idealism is antithetical to Commonsense Philosophical Realism. Some of the ideas are truly dangerous. For instance, the Hegelian concept, in which the state is the living God and individuals are but passing shadows, and in which, moreover, conflict and war are affirmations of the vitality of the state, has been put to the test in the German nation. The course which Germany followed -- with disastrous results -- in two world wars is rightly judged the consequence of such a concept. Ideas do have consequences! Needless to say Hegel's concept of reality is immanentist, pantheistic, and atheistic.
II. THE CRITICAL REVISION OF IDEALISM The Hegelian identification of reality with rationality influenced the entire German culture of the first half of the nineteenth century, with the result that facts were distorted so as to fit into the system. A critical revision was necessary, and it was undertaken in the name of Kant. The most important representatives of this critical movement were Herbert and Schopenhauer. Every phase of Hegelian philosophy was subjected to attack: its idealism, its pantheism, its rationalism, and its a priori methods attracted criticism. Some thinkers insisted on the refinement of scientific methods; their approaches resulted in realism and pluralism. Others insisted that the irrational elements in reality would have to be taken into account. Devotees of mysticism, religion, and intuition sought to expand the functions of the mind. Reason was not enough. Johann Friedrich Herbart (1776-1841) Johann Friedrich Herbart (picture) was born in Oldenburg. He studied at the University of Jena and was a disciple of Fichte. He then went to Berne as a private tutor. From 1802 to 1809 he lectured at Gottingen, and then went to Konigsberg, where he occupied the chair formerly held by Kant. In 1833 he returned to Gottingen as professor of philosophy, dying there in 1841. The most representative works of Herbart are: Introduction to Philosophy, Manual of Psychology, and General Metaphysics. Doctrine Herbart started with experience and tried to restore the Kantian concept of the thing in itself. For him, experience shows an irreducible contradiction between the one and the many. Indeed,
To overcome these contradictions, we must suppose that reality is not uniform, but broken up into a multitude of parts. These parts have a relationship to one another, and these relationships make a plurality of realities. The human soul is one of many simple and immutable realities. Its relationship to the others is called representation. These relationships or representations obey mechanical laws. The ego as a person is a solidified group of perceptions. The moral value of human operations is due to the existence in man of some "model ideas," such as: interior freedom; perfection; benevolence; right and equity. Influence on Education: Herbart had his greatest influence on education. Pedagogy is applied psychology and its ends are determined by ethics. Herbart's mechanical conception of the mental life places emphasis on
Herbart's aim in education is found in the five great elements which enter into character: proper instruction, full knowledge, clear ideas, right action, personal character. In The Radical Academy Elsewhere On the Internet
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) Arthur Schopenhauer (picture) was born in Danzig, the son of a wealthy merchant. He had been educated for the business world by his father, but as soon as his father died Schopenhauer turned to the study of philosophy. He traveled extensively in Holland, England, France, Switzerland, and Italy. He obtained his doctor's degree at Jena in 1813. A few years later he began to lecture at Berlin, but his attempts to stem the tide of Hegel's popularity there were unsuccessful. He left the University and traveled again in Italy. In 1833 he retired to Frankfort on the Main, where he spent the remainder of his life writing his books in learned retirement. Always hostile to Idealism and particularly toward Hegelianism, he died in 1860, when Hegel's philosophy was already in its decline. Schopenhauer's masterpiece of philosophical writing is The World as Will and Idea. He also published Two Fundamental Problems of Ethics. Doctrine The World as Will and Idea. The primordial reality is blind will, whose unconscious desire is self-preservation. Hence the primordial reality is a blind will to live. This desire accounts for the fact that the will unconsciously manifests itself in a multiplicity of natural beings. When the brain of man is constructed, the will becomes conscious and knowledge is possible. Pessimism. The "desire to live" on the part of the primordial reality is present everywhere: love, egoism, the progress of civilization are means for perpetuating the desire to live. But this desire is caused by blind will; hence the whole universe is miserable. Applications of Schopenhauer's Doctrine to Man. The only remedy against evil is to suppress the will to live. This can be done by:
Schopenhauer is of the later German school in his doctrine of all embracing will, but he is alone among German philosophers in ascribing to the efforts of universal will no goal, no good, no improvement. In The Radical Academy
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The positive contributions of Herbart and Schopenhauer to the Perennial Philosophy In a word, none.
The New Idealism in German Philosophy With the decline of Hegelianism, natural science progressed. Philosophy seems to be threatened with permanent silence. From the natural sciences some great thinkers appeared who restored philosophic prestige. Prominent among this group were Lotze, Fechner, Hartmann, Wundt, and Paulsen. They generally regarded it futile to construct a metraphysics by means of rationalistic methods slone, independent of natural science. They all hold, with Kant, that there can be no knowledge without experience. The most outstanding of this group to do justice to idealism was Lotze (1817-1881). Rudolph Hermann Lotze (1817-1881) Lotze (picture) dealt with the principal problems of his philosophy three times and each time somewhat differently. At the age of 24, he published his first Metaphysics, and two years later, in 1843, his first Logic. He developed his views on metaphysics, logic, ethics, and other topics in his Microcosmos (1856-1864), and wrote a third Logic (1874) and a third Metaphysics (1879). Death prevented him from revising his Ethics and other disquisitions. Although his Microcosmos was not meant as his last word, his name remains connected with this work which is regarded as one of the most important documents of modern German philosophy, and has influenced many great thinkers in foreign countries, not least of all America. Before the publication of Microcosmos, Lotze was regarded as a physiologist rather than a philosopher. He had studied and taught medicine and physiology, and had become known by his theory of "local signs," an attempt to establish relations between sensory affections and areas of the brain, and even more by his rigorous criticism of the concept of "vital force," by demonstrating that physiological processes can and must be explained by strictly mechanistic terms. In his first Logic, he protested against any blending of logic with metaphysics. In his first Metaphysics he severely criticized German idealism. Lotze's Microcosmos is of anthropocentric character, and in this work the effort to reconcile philosophy and religion, philosophy and science, knowledge and the needs of human nature is conspicuous. Maintaining his conviction of the mutual affection of mind and body, Lotze proceeds to a monism which he characterizes as ideological idealism, sometimes as panpsychism. The mechanistic interpretation of nature is considered unavoidable, but Lotze insists that there are ideal interests, values and duties which are not to be rejected as phantoms because they cannot be proved mechanistically, and that psychic life cannot be compared with external, natural occurrences. All concepts of the cosmic order are reduced to a consciousness of truth, facts and values. Evidently inspired by Malebranche, Lotze assumes God as the ultimate cause of all events, all becoming, and the condition of the possible. In his third stage, Lotze tried to formulate his ideas more precisely. He abandoned panpsychism. Always devoted to modern humanism, Lotze abhorred the idea of revolution, and did not like democracy. In The Radical Academy
Friedrich Albert Lange (1828-1875) Germany has produced very few philosophers who are as lucid, judicious and sincere as Lange (picture), whose History of Materialism (1866) has maintained its value as a standard work and an example of philosophical historiography despite the change of time and the increase of knowledge. Lange, a leader of Neo-Kantianism, demonstrated materialism but, on the other hand, he taught us to appreciate the materialistic philosophers whose independence of idealistic traditions has often obtained sound results and has been directed by true critical insight. Above all, Lange destroyed the not uncommon prejudice that the adoption of idealistic views on metaphysics would guarantee higher moral standards than could be achieved by the conduct of life of those who professed materialism in metaphysics. Before lange published his history of materialism, his book Die Arbeiterfrage (The Workers' Question, 1865) created quite a stir in German social politics. Lange, a professor at the University of Marburg, energetically defended the interests of the workers and their political and economic demands, and he was eager to improve their educational and cultural conditions. He often debated with the earliest leaders of German socialism, and quite as often supported them, speaking at meetings arranged by them. Lange honestly tried to ally German democrats and socialists. His premature death was mourned by intellectuals and workers alike. In The Radical Academy Elsewhere On The Internet
Wilhelm Windelband (1848-1915) As a historian of philosophy and as the founder of the "South-West-German school of philosophy," Windelband (picture) exercised considerable influence. In both activities, he emphasized that philosophy must reflect on civilization and its historical evolution. Windelband belongs to those German philosophers who proceed from Kant's criticism, but he protested against other neo-Kantians who mainly confined their thinking to a renewal of Kant's epistemology, and he stressed the importance of his inquiries into ethics, aesthetics, and philosophy of law and religion. Windelband's program, however, maintained that "to understand Kant rightly means to go beyond him." While Kant considered only mathematics and natural sciences, founded upon mathematics, as real sciences, Windelband held that history in the broadest sense of the word, comprising views on all kinds of human activities, must be acknowledged as a true science. He distinguished between the natural sciences, which are concerned with the establishment of laws, and the historical sciences, which try to grasp, to describe and explain individual facts. The methods of the natural sciences are characterized as being of a generalizing, nomothetic character, those of the historical sciences as "idiographic." From this distinction, Windelband proceeded to a sharp opposition to epistemological naturalism, and broached the question, of whether the nomothetic or the idiographic sciences are of more essential importance to philosophy. He decided in favor of the historical sciences, because, according to him philosophy must interpret spiritual life and explain values, and the sense of values is rooted in the sense of the individual. In his efforts to "go beyond Kant," Windelband relied on Hegel, Herbart and Lotze. Closely associated with Windelband was Heinrich Rickert. Among Windelband's disciples were not only noted philosophers but sociologists like Max Weber and theologians like Ernst Troeltsch. In The Radical Academy
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