Thursday, December 12, 2013

Philosophies in the 1850's - Dominik and Sophia


German Idealism – German philosophers like Kant and other dudes like Schopenhauer theorized about idealism and said that things had no inherent meaning but instead have the meaning we give them. A philosophical movement post-Kant.
Absolute idealism (see G. W. F. Hegel) includes the following principles: (1) the everyday world of things and persons is not the world as it really is but merely as it appears in terms of uncriticized categories; (2) the best reflection of the world is in terms of a self-conscious mind; (3) thought is the relation of each particular experience with the infinite whole of which it is an expression; and (4) truth consists in relationships of coherence between thoughts, rather than in a correspondence between thoughts and external realities – Merriam-Webster

Utilitarianism – Merriam-Webster states that utilitarianism is “the belief that a morally good action is one that helps the greatest number of people. Ethical principle according to which an action is right if it tends to maximize happiness, not only that of the agent but also of everyone affected. Thus, utilitarians focus on the consequences of an act rather than on its intrinsic nature or the motives of the agent.” Utilitarianism is all about what is best for the whole, and good actions that improve the whole are ethically right.

Marxism – “duh bro its like economic instinct and the destruction of like societal institutions because they create power imbalance and oppression yo down with the system b*tches” – dominik booth. Sophia I told you not to put that in there why did you do this to me. “The political, economic, and social theories of Karl Marx including the belief that the struggle between social classes is a major force in history and that there should eventually be a society in which there are no classes.” – Merriam-Webster

Existentialism – “Philosophical movement oriented toward two major themes, the analysis of human existence and the centrality of human choice. Existentialism's chief theoretical energies are thus devoted to questions about ontology and decision. It traces its roots to the writings of Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche. A chiefly 20th century philosophical movement embracing diverse doctrines but centering on analysis of individual existence in an unfathomable universe and the plight of the individual who must assume ultimate responsibility for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or good or bad” – Merriam-Webster. Philosophical thought begins not with the rational but the sensational, and all people start their philosophical journey and self identity in a state of confusion and disorder in an absurd and meaningless world.

Positivism – science bro its all science. “A theory that theology and metaphysics are earlier imperfect modes of knowledge and that positive knowledge is based on natural phenomena and their properties and relations as verified by the empirical sciences.” - Merriam-Webster. Positive doesn't mean the opposite as negative, like in "a positive mood", it means like a "positive statement", a statement that defines the way things are - a statement of fact. Positivism is a philosophy of reality.

Pragmatism - a rejection of the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror reality. Instead, pragmatists develop their philosophy around the idea that the function of thought is as an instrument or tool for prediction, action, and problem solving. “An American movement in philosophy founded by C. S. Peirce and William James and marked by the doctrines that the meaning of conceptions is to be sought in their practical bearings, that the function of thought is to guide action, and that truth is preeminently to be tested by the practical consequences of belief.” – Merriam-Webster. Think pragmatic. It's useful philosophy, thinks that thought and ideas are intended to solve problems and run society.

British Idealism – “British idealists helped popularize the work of Immanuel Kant and G. W. F. Hegel in the Anglophone world, but they also sought to use insights from the philosophies of Kant and Hegel to help create a new idealism to address the many pressing issues of the Victorian period in Britain and its aftermath. These contributions related to theories of freedom, the common good, political obligation, the state, and punishment.” – Oxford Bibliographies

Transcendentalism – “A philosophy which says that thought and spiritual things are more real than ordinary human experience and material things.” – Merriam Webster. Sort of the opposite of "common sense philosophy" which says that what we experience physically is real, instead the spiritual world and abstract thought are "more real." Can be considered the opposite of something like nihilism or solipsism (but don't quote me on that.)

Joseph Conrad was influenced by positivism and Schopenhauer (German idealism). - The Cambridge Introduction to Joseph Conrad (review)
Amar Acheraïou

Hardy was also influenced by [British] idealism.

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