Comprehension check

1. Answer the following questions.

1. What was the leading philosophical school in Germany in 19^th c.?

2. What philosophical ideas were promoted in England?

3. Who were the first representatives of existentialism?

4. What are the main features of existentialism?

5. What is Comte’s contribution into philosophy?

2. Agree or disagree with the following:

1. Romanticism greatly influenced French idealists.

2. Experiences of economic discord and social unrest produced the philosophy of English utilitarianism and the revolutionary doctrines of Karl Marx.

3. Comte called his philosophy “positivism,” by which he meant a philosophy of science.

4. The Danish Christian thinker Søren Kierkegaard supported the logical pretensions of the Hegelian system.

5. Nietzsche viewed the task of the philosopher as destroying old values, creating new ideals, and through them erecting a new civilization.

3. Complete the following sentences:

1. Johann Gottlieb Fichte was a first philosopher who __________________________.

2. Schelling assimilated __________________________________________________.

3. Schopenhauer called for ____________________________________.

4. The utilitarianism promoted the idea _______________________________________.

5. Existentialism starts with ____________________________________.

6. Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche viewed the person _________________________________ .

7. Comte’s positivism was posited on ______________________________________ .

4. Speak on the following points:

1. Contribution of German philosophers into the development of 19^th century philosophy.

2. Independent and irrationalism movements of 19^th century philosophy.

3. Development of positivism and social theory.

4. Short overview of main philosophical schools and tendencies of 19th-century philosophy.

Task 9

Read and translate the text

20Th century philosophy

In the 20th century, the field of philosophy was undergoing some big changes. Science was playing a big role in the world and caused a big change in America and in England. Other countries were fiercely rejecting this scientific view dividing the field of philosophy down the middle. This division amongst philosophers led to a stylistic change in the way each sect decided to go about philosophy. Emerging from the 20th century were two terms, Analytic and Continental philosophy. At the same time some contemporary philosophers argue that this division is harmful to philosophy, and thus attempt a combined approach (e.g. Richard Rorty).

Analytic Philosophy refers to a method of philosophy relying heavily on the virtues of logic. It dominated most English speaking countries, especially England and America from 1900-1960. Philosophers in this field were all about argumentation and attempting to clarify their arguments as much as possible. Analytic philosophy found a comfortable seat next to more scientific fields such as Mathematics and Physics. They adopted the belief that Philosophy was more closely related to the sciences than any other field. Most safely say that it all started with the ideas of Bertrand Russell. In his book The Problems of Philosophy, he sets out to explain and analyze issues within the field of philosophy. By doing so he turns to an idea that hadn’t been brought about for some time. Empiricism (the idea that all knowledge is discovered via experience) found a major part within Analytic philosophy and from then on was the staple of the Analytic style — of course later on this was subject to change.

Analytic philosophy also spawned other movements within itself: logical positivism, logical empiricism, logical atomism, logicism and ordinary language philosophy..

Here is a short list of notable analytic philosophers: Bertrand Russell, A.J. Ayre, Ludwig Wittgentein, G.E. Moore, The Vienna Circle, W.V.O. Quine.

Continental philosophy was taking shape outside of the analytic movement with an emphasis on such fields as Existentialism, Phenomenology, German Idealism, and Structuralism. Continental philosophy roots back to Immanuel Kant who contributed to what many call the beginning of continental philosophy, German Idealism.

There are a few things that differ from that of continental philosophy as opposed to analytic. First of all, most continental philosophers reject the scientism that the analytic philosophers heavily rely on. They also rely on historicism in their work. This means that unlike analytic philosophers who look at a problem as an individual problem separate from time and those who posed the question, continental philosophers believe all philosophy should be done with a strong emphasis on where it came from.

Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, Martin Heidegger, Soren Kierkegaard, Jacques Derrida, Hegal are considered to be among the most notable continental philosophers.