Edmund Husserl, the founder of phenomenology, is arguably one of the most important philosophers in terms of the development of twentieth-century continental philosophy. Husserl develops phenomenology as a new rigorous eidetic science of consciousness (the study of essence) which subsequently inspires a generation of philosophers and social scientists in Germany, France, and Great Britain. First this paper will look at the background from which Husserl’s philosophy emerged. Secondly, Husserl’s main philosophical periods will be discussed. Thirdly, the essay will examine the phenomenological reduction in detail and explore subsequent criticism. Fourthly, the author’s own general criticism of the reduction and phenomenology will be considered. …show more content…
However, the two main traditions of philosophy developing during this time are, roughly termed, continental philosophy, of which Husserl is a key figure at the beginning of the twentieth century, and analytic philosophy where Frege plays a seminal role around that same time. However diverse these two traditions might seem, they nonetheless share two common ancestors, namely; Bolzano and Brentano. From Bolzano Frege and Husserl take the idea that thoughts are not subjective mental experiences, but that they contain objective content which one can analyse, and from Brentano they incorporate the thesis of intentionality; this non-subjective thought is directed towards objects in the …show more content…
However, Moritz Schlick argues, cited in Kusch, that logical structures and judgements result from psychological processes and that those who argue for the absoluteness of the logical cannot do so on the basis of claiming psychological laws to be vague for this amounts to a petitio principii. Husserl, however, wants to forge a middle path between extreme empiricism and extreme idealism which includes accepting Kant’s notion that humans actively engage the world through consciousness, but simultaneously rejecting Kant’s phenomena-noumena metaphysics in which actual objects remains unknowable. However, in Husserl’s Ideas 1: General Introduction to Pure Phenomenology (1913) an inclination towards phenomenological naïve realism starts to become
This essay will consider Russell’s reasons for believing that there exists a mind-independent world. The philosopher offers few arguments, two of which will be outlined, namely, the argument for simplicity and the argument for instinctive beliefs. Though, the essay will argue that only Russell’s simplicity argument is effective since it stands against criticism. In fact, the critical discussion will be mainly focused on the simplicity argument because it provides more room for debate. Therefore, after an outline of both the arguments, this essay will aim to a narrow focus and explain only briefly why the argument for instinctive beliefs is unsound, while giving a deeper explanation of why the simplicity argument is valid and sound.
Existentialism is a philosophical theory that was developed by Nietzsche and many other philosophers in the 19th century. In the first four chapters of the novel Grendel by John Gardner, the protagonist and the narrator, Grendel tells a story of his adolescence. Like any teenager, Grendel encounters multitude of events which molds him into what he is; an existentialist. Through the use of diction, personification, and simile in the narration of Grendel, John Gardner illustrates the cause of Grendel’s existential outlook.
This paper argues that the notion of Substance propounded by Baruch Spinoza can be studied and put forward to a panentheistic, expressive structure of Trinities, in which each triad of concepts is unified into a single idiosyncratic divine nature of God. By dissecting the expressionism in Spinoza’s writings, which is at variance with the philosophy of his predecessors (Descartes, Aquinas and Scotus), one can map out his thinking in analytic and synthetic logic to understand his revolutionary rationalist ontology in Ethics that impacted Europe in the seventeenth century. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. A solemn prayer always begins and ends with this invariably enthralling phrase which, incontrovertibly, reverberates
Scrutinizing the most fundamental blocks of Spinoza’s monism In this paper, I will outline Spinoza’s first five propositions which are essential for the legitimacy of his later arguments for monism. Then I will scrutinize his definitions of the most fundamental building blocks of his argument (substance, attributes, and modes) and various axioms he offers in order to further inspect these propositions and hence evaluate their validity. First, it is crucial to define these most fundamental building blocks according to Spinoza.
Metaphysics University of the People PHIL 1402: Introduction to Philisophy Instructor: Luis Teixeira 17 April 2023 Charles Simic's work is a testament to the power of poetry and language to explore the limits of our understanding of the world. As a Serbian-American poet, essayist, and translator, Simic draws on his experiences of war and trauma to explore universal themes of identity, culture, and language. At the heart of Simic's writing is his metaphysical challenge, which centers on the limitations of language and the role of poetry in communicating the ineffable.
The seventeenth-century French philosopher René Descartes is considered by many to be the founding father of modern philosophy. The seventeenth-century marked a turning point in history, Europeans began to explore the world by sea in search of new trade routes and moved away from the traditional Catholic Church to focus on scientific discoveries. One of Descartes most famous pieces of work was the Meditations on the First Philosophy, published in 1641. The Meditation on the First philosophy, which comprises of six meditations, is essentially summarizing a collection of thoughts Descartes had previously written about in his earlier text, the Discourse on Method.
Conclusion: The mind is substantively different from the body and indeed matter in general. Because in this conception the mind is substantively distinct from the body it becomes plausible for us to doubt the intuitive connection between mind and body. Indeed there are many aspects of the external world that do not appear to have minds and yet appear none the less real in spite of this for example mountains, sticks or lamps, given this we can begin to rationalize that perhaps minds can exist without bodies, and we only lack the capacity to perceive them.
They have said all of our views we have about our minds are wrong and false. The opposing philosophers that think otherwise made a new view called “Eliminative materialism”. It claims that understandings of the human mind are not accurate at all or in other words, it is known for a false view. For the people who believe in eliminative materialism, beliefs, desires and intentions are not accurate to them (Velazquez, 94). Some of the critics of eliminative materialism are not all favorable, this view relies on the mental states that do not
In 18th century Europe, a literary movement, romanticism and transcendentalism, came about which inspired many American writers. Although, the two are very similar in philosophy and ideology they are quite distinct to the extent of their beliefs. Both are firm believers in the sacredness of nature, but their views on religion remain indifferent. Many romantic and transcendental writers flourished during this time period. Like the romantic, Washington Irving, who wrote “The Devil and Tom Walker”, and the transcendental, Ralph Waldo Emerson who wrote “Nature”.
The subject matter of “A Dialogue between the Soul and Body” is an example of this evolution since it goes against what many poets wrote about in regards to God. This poem includes the use of metaphysical conceits common in the seventeenth century but is also a commentary on the nature of God’s control over bodies and souls being fallible (Poetry Foundation). Marvell expresses frustrations with God and questions God and his omniscience. While this poem does not align with traditional Christian values, it primarily addresses the form of standard seventeenth century poetry in a different way. Andrew Marvell’s “A Dialogue between the Soul and Body” contributes to the understanding of 17th century poetry by redefining the standard the conversational standard of poetry and opposing the standard that the normative voice is
In Nagel’s “What Is It Like To Be a Bat?” he attempts to refute reductionism by stating that in order to understand the relationship between mind and body, one must address consciousness and reductionism fails to do that. Nagel lays strong emphasis on what he calls ‘subjective character of experience’ which states that everything has its own interpretation of what it is like to be themselves. Fundamentally, each organism has a unique subjective perspective and conscious experience that is only understandable from the organism’s point of view.
Huxley accurately depicts how the later industrial revolution left many questioning the rules of modesty and privacy in a newly interconnected world. He portrays how an expansion of transportation and communication, a new sense of openness regarding sexualty, and an onset of socialism led to this moral revolution. The expansion of transportation and communication in the early 20th Century, made affordable through mass production, brought revolutionary changes as distances grew shorter and privacy rarer. Huxley narrates, “God isn’t compatible with machines and science and universal happiness.
The argument Jean-Paul Sartre, a French philosopher, presents on existentialism helps to prove the foundation which is “existence precedes essence”. Existentialism is normally understood as an ideology that involves evaluating existence itself and the way humans find themselves existing currently in the world. For the phrase existence precedes essence, existence’s etymology is exsistere or to stand out while the term Essence means “being” or “to be” therefore the fundamental of existentialism, literally means to stand out comes before being. This can be taken into many different ideas such as individuals having to take responsibility for their own actions and that in Sartre’s case the individual is the sole judge of his or her own actions. According to him, “men is condemned to be free,” therefore “the destiny of man is placed within himself.”
The approach to the basic question of our thesis will be interdisciplinary and hermeneutical. Insights from philosophy and phenomenological studies of religion, philosophy of emotion,
Wolff claims that Spinoza confuses attributes with essential determinations, modes with attributes and being from another, and finally confuses substance with being from itself.19Wolff argues that the Spinozistic concept of "mode" is vague precisely because he does not explicitly define what it meant to be conceived through another. This is especially true since beyond modes and attributes it is impossible to conceive of substance, additionally problematizing his notion of substance.20 Since Spinoza's terminology is so vague his concluding substance monism does not necessarily follow. Since substance monism does not legitimately follow, Wolff does not have to be subject to the view that human beings are subject to the same necessary causal relationship to this substance. By problematizing Spinoza's substance monism, Wolff is not subject to Lange's third criterion for