A Look Back at 26 Centuries of Thought
Philosophy. Then and Now.
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
PART I: HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY
The Writing of the History of Philosophy
Ways of Ordering the History
Factors in Writing the History of Philosophy
Shifts in the Focus and Concern of Philosophy
Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy
The Pre-Socratic Philosophers
Cosmology and the Metaphysic of Matter
Monistic Cosmologies
Pluralistic Cosmologies
Epistemology of Appearance
Metaphysic of Number
Anthropology and Relativism
The Seminal Thinkers of Greek Philosophy
Socrates
Plato
Life
Philosophy
Aristotle
Philosophy
Disciples and Commentators
Hellenistic and Roman Philosophy
Stoics
Epicureans
Sceptics
Neo-Pythagoreans and Neoplatonists
Medieval Philosophy
Early Medieval Philosophy
Augustine
Boethius
Greek Fathers of the Church and Erigena
Anselm
Bernard of Clairvaux and Abelard
Transition to Scholasticism
Arabic Thought
Jewish Thought
The Age of the Schoolmen
Robert Grosseteste and Roger Bacon
William of Auvergne
Bonaventure
Albertus Magnus
Thomas Aquinas
Averroists
Philosophy in the Late Middle Ages
Duns Scotus
William of Ockham
Meister Eckhart
Nicholas of Cusa
Modern Philosophy
The Renaissance and Early Modern Period
Dominant Strands of Renaissance Philosophy
Political Theory
Humanism
Philosophy of Nature
Rise of Empiricism and Rationalism
The Empiricism of Francis Bacon
The Materialism of Thomas Hobbes
Rationalism of Descartes
Rationalism of Spinoza and Leibniz
Literary Forms and Sociological Conditions
The Enlightenment
Classical British Empiricism and Its Basic Tasks
Origin and Nature of Reason in Locke and Berkeley
Basic Science of Man in Hume
Nonepistemological Movements in the Enlightenment
Materialism and Scientific Discovery
Social and Political Philosophy
Professionalization of Philosophy
Critical Examination of Reason in Kant
Literary Forms
The 19th Century
German Idealism of Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel
Positivism and Social Theory in Comte, Mill, and Marx
Independent and Irrationalist Movements
The 20th Century
Individual Philosophies of Bergson, Dewey, and Whitehead
Marxist Thought1
Analytic Philosophy
Logical Positivism1
Linguistic Analysis
Continental Philosophy
Phenomenology of Husserl and Others
Existentialism of Jaspers and Sartre
Conclusion
Bibliography
PART II: WESTERN PHILOSOPHICAL SCHOOLS
Introduction
Ancient and Medieval Schools
Aristotelianism
The Hellenistic Age and Neoplatonism
Aristotelianism in Arabic Philosophy
Aristotelianism in Jewish Philosophy
The Christian East
The Christian West
Conclusion
Atomism
The Basic Nature of Atomism
Various Senses of Atomism
Two Basic Types of Atomism
Philosophical Atomism
Modern Atomic Theory
Extensions to Other Fields
Diverse Philosophical Characterizations of Atomism
The Intrinsic Nature of the Atoms
Atoms as Lumpish Corpuscles
Atoms as Sheer Extension
Atoms as Centres of Force: Dynamic Particles
Atoms as Psychophysical Monads
The Immutability of Atoms
Other Differences
Number of Atoms
Atoms in External Aggregation versus in Internal Relationship
History and Major Representatives of the Various Atomisms
Philosophical Atomism
Ancient Greek Atomism
The Elachista of the Early Aristotelian Commentators
The Minima Naturalia of the Averroists
Modern Scientific Atomism: Early Pioneering Work
The 17th century
Founding of Modern Atomism
Recent and Contemporary Scientific Atomism
Atomism in the Thought of India
Foundational Issues Posed By Atomism
Atomism as a Metaphysical System
Ancient Greek versus Contemporary Scientific Atomism
Evaluation of Atomism
Eleaticism
The Eleatic School Vis-À-Vis Rival Movements
The Rigorous Ontologism of Parmenides and Melissus
Logical and Linguistic Approach
Monistic Theory of Being
The Paradoxes of Zeno
The Decline of Eleaticism
Epicureanism
The Nature of Epicureanism
History of Epicureanism
Epicurus’ Own Life and Teachings
Doctrine of Epicurus
The Epicurean School
Epicureanism and Egoism in Modern Philosophy
Epicureanism in Contemporary Philosophy
Criticism and Evaluation
Platonism
Aristotle’s Account of Platonism
The Academy after Plato: The Rise of Neoplatonism
Influence of Platonism on Christian Thought
Pythagoreanism
General Features of Pythagoreanism
Major Concerns and Teachings
Religion and Ethics
Metaphysics and Number Theory
The Harmony of the Cosmos
The Doctrine of Opposites
Mathematics and Science
Arithmetic
Geometry
Music
Astronomy
History of Pythagoreanism
Early Pythagoreanism
Background
Pythagorean Communities
Two Pythagorean Sects
4th-Century Pythagoreanism
The Hellenistic Age
Neo-Pythagoreanism
Medieval and Modern Trends
Evaluation
Realism
Nature and Scope of Realism
Realism and the Problem of Knowledge
Philosophical Senses of Realism
Basic Kinds of Realism
Distinctions Among the Realisms
History of Western Realism
Ancient Realism
Medieval Realism
Modern Realism
Major Issues and Evaluation of Realism
Scholasticism
Nature and Significance
History and Issues
Roots of Scholasticism
Early Scholastic Period
Maturity of Scholasticism
Late Scholastic Period
Enduring Features
Thomism
William of Ockham
Scepticism
Various Senses and Applications
Ancient Scepticism
Medieval Scepticism
Modern Scepticism
In the Reformation
In the 17th Century
In the 18th Century
In Recent and Contemporary Philosophy
Criticism and Evaluation
Sophists
History of the Name
The 5th-Century Sophists
Nature of Sophistic Thought
Writings
Particular Doctrines
Theoretical Issues
Humanistic Issues
The Second Sophistic Movement
Stoicism
Nature and Scope of Stoicism
Ancient Stoicism
Early Greek Stoicism
Later Roman Stoicism
Stoic Elements in Pauline and Patristic Thought
Stoicism in Medieval and Modern Philosophy
Stoic Undercurrents in Medieval Thought
Renascence of Stoicism in Modern Times
Modern Schools
Analytic and Linguistic Philosophy
General Viewpoint of Analytic Philosophy
Nature, Role, and Method of Analysis
Status of Philosophy in the Empiricist Tradition
Conceptual, Linguistic, and Scientific Analysis
Therapeutic Function of Analysis
Formal versus Ordinary Language
Development of Mathematical Logic
Divergence of Ordinary Language from Formal Logic
Interpretations of the Relation of Logic to Language
Early History of Analytic Philosophy
Reaction Against Idealism
Founding Fathers: Moore and Russell
G.E. Moore
Bertrand Russell
Logical Atomism: Russell and the Early Wittgenstein
Logical Positivism: Carnap and Schlick
Later History of the Movement
Philosophical Investigations: the Later Wittgenstein
Language and Following Rules
Relation Between Mental and Physical Events
Recent Trends in England
Wittgensteinians
Oxford Philosophers
Recent Trends in the United States
Analytic Philosophy Today
Empiricism
Various Meanings of Empiricism
Broader Senses
Stricter Senses
Fundamental Distinctions
Degrees of Empiricism
History of Empiricism
In Ancient Philosophy
In Medieval Philosophy
In Modern Philosophy
In Contemporary Philosophy
Criticism and Evaluation
Existentialism
Nature of Existentialist Thought and Manner
Historical Survey of Existentialism
Precursors of Existentialism
The Immediate Background and Founding Fathers
Emergence as a Movement
Methodological Issues in Existentialism
Substantive Issues in Existentialism
Fundamental Concepts and Contrasts
Ontic Structure of Human Existence
Manner and Style of Human Existence
Problems of Existentialist Philosophy
Man and Human Relationships
The Human Situation in the World
Significance of Being and Transcendence
Problems of Existentialist Theology
Social and Historical Projections of Existentialism
Idealism
Approaches to Understanding Idealism
Basic Doctrines and Principles
Basic Questions and Answers
Ultimate Reality
The Given
Change
Basic Arguments
The Reciprocity Argument
The Mystical Argument
The Ontological Argument
Types of Philosophical Idealism
Types Classed by Culture
Western Types
Eastern Types
Types Classed by Branches of Philosophy21
Criticism and Appraisal
Materialism
Types of Materialist Theory
Types Distinguished by Departures from the Paradigm
Types Distinguished by Its View of History
Types Distinguished by Their Account of Mind
History of Materialism
Greek and Roman Materialism
Modern Materialism
Contemporary Materialism
Translation Central-State Theories
Disappearance Central-State Theories
Eastern Materialism
Substantive Issues in Materialism
Reductionism, Consciousness, and Brain
Logic, Intentionality, and Psychical Research
Phenomenology
Characteristics of Phenomenology
Essential Features and Variations
Contrasts with Related Movements
Origin and Development of Husserl’s Phenomenology
Basic Principles
Basic Method
Basic Concepts
Later Developments
Phenomenology of Essences
Heidegger’s Hermeneutic Phenomenology
Other Developments
Dissemination of Phenomenology
Phenomenology in Various Countries
In France
In Germany
In Other European Countries
In the United States
Phenomenology in Other Disciplines
Conclusion
Positivism and Logical Empiricism
The Social Positivism of Comte and Mill
The Critical Positivism of Mach and Avenarius
Logical Positivism and Logical Empiricism7
The Earlier Positivism of Viennese Heritage
Language and the Clarification of Meaning
The Verifiability Criterion of Meaning and Its Offshoots
Other Issues
The Later Positivism of Logical Empiricism
The Status of the Formal and A Priori
Developments in Linguistic Analysis and Their Offshoots
Current Criticisms and Controversies
Pragmatism
Major Theses of Philosophic Pragmatism
History of Pragmatism
Antecedents in Modern Philosophy
The Metaphysical Club
The Classical Pragmatists
Other American Pragmatists
Pragmatism in Europe
Later Tendencies
Evaluation of Pragmatism
Rationalism
Types and Expressions of Rationalism
History of Rationalism
Epistemological Rationalism in Ancient Philosophies
Epistemological Rationalism in Modern Philosophies
Ethical Rationalism
Religious Rationalism
Expansion of Religious Rationalism
Four Waves of Religious Rationalism
Status of Rationalism
Religious
Ethical
Metaphysical
Challenges to Epistemological Rationalism
Utilitarianism
The Nature of Utilitarianism
Basic Concepts
Methodologies
Criticisms
Historical Survey
Antecedents of Utilitarianism Among the Ancients
Growth of Classical English Utilitarianism
Late 19th- and 20th-century Utilitarianism
Effects of Utilitarianism in Other Fields
Summary and Evaluation
Bibliography
PART III: PHILOSOPHICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Introduction
The Concept of Human Nature
Ancient Greece
Medieval Period
Renaissance
The 16th and 17th Centuries: The Rise of Scientific Thought
Rationalism versus Scepticism
Work of Descartes
Work of Locke
Development of Anthropological Studies
Work of Tyson
Emergence of Cultural Anthropology
The 18th-Century Enlightenment
The Natural History of Man
Man the Rational Subject
The 19th Century
The 20th Century: Emergence of Philosophical Anthropology
Frege and Empiricist Anthropology
Husserl and Philosophical Anthropology
Work of Heidegger
Work of Sartre and Other Existentialists
Philosophical Anthropology and Theology3
Saussure, Freud, and Antihumanism
Humanism
Introduction
Origin and Meaning of the Term Humanism
The Ideal of Humanitas
Other Uses
Basic Principles and Attitudes
Classicism
Realism
Critical Scrutiny and Concern with Detail
The Emergence of the Individual and the Idea of the
Dignity of Man
Active Virtue
Early History
The 15th Century
Leon Battista Alberti
The Medici and Federico da Montefeltro
Later Italian Humanism
Things and Words
Idealism and the Platonic Academy of Florence
Machiavelli’s Realism
The Achievement of Castiglione
Tasso’s Aristotelianism
Northern Humanism
Desiderius Erasmus
The French Humanists
François Rabelais
Michel de Montaigne
The English Humanists
Sidney and Spenser
Chapman, Jonson, and Shakespeare
Humanism and the Visual Arts
Realism
Classicism
Anthropocentricity and Individualism
Art as Philosophy
Humanism, Art, and Science
Humanism and Christianity
Later Fortunes of Humanism
Conclusion
Marxism
The Thought of Karl Marx
Historical Materialism
Analysis of Society
Analysis of the Economy
Class Struggle
The Contributions of Engels
German Marxism After Engels
The Work of Kautsky and Bernstein
The Radicals
The Austrians
Russian and Soviet Marxism
Lenin
The Dictatorship of the Proletariat
Stalin
Trotskyism
Variants of Marxism
Maoism
Marxism in Cuba
Marxism in the Third World
Marxism in the West
Bibliography
PART IV: BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
Aesthetics
Introduction
The Nature and Scope of Aesthetics
Three Approaches to Aesthetics
The Aesthetic Recipient
The Aesthetic Object
The Aesthetic Experience
Relationship Between Form and Content
The Role of Imagination
Emotion, Response, and Enjoyment
The Work of Art
Understanding Art
Representation and Expression in Art
Symbolism in Art
Form
The Ontology of Art
The Value of Art
Taste, Criticism, and Judgment
Concepts Used in Aesthetic Evaluation
The Development of Western Aesthetics
The Contributions of the Ancient Greeks
Medieval Aesthetics
The Origins of Modern Aesthetics
The Significance of Baumgarten’s Work
Major Concerns of 18th-Century Aesthetics
Kant, Schiller, and Hegel
Post-Hegelian Aesthetics
Expressionism
Marxist Aesthetics
Eastern Aesthetics
India
China
Japan11
Epistemology
Introduction
Issues of Epistemology
Epistemology as a Discipline
Two Epistemological Problems
Our Knowledge of the External World
The ‘Other-Minds’ Problems
Implications
Relation of Epistemology to Other Branches of Philosophy
The Nature of Knowledge
Six Distinctions of Knowledge
Occurrent versus Dispositional Conceptions of Knowledge
A Priori versus A Posteriori Knowledge
Necessary versus Contingent Propositions
Analytic versus Synthetic Propositions
Tautological versus Significant Propositions
Logical versus Factual Propositions
Knowledge by Acquaintance and Knowledge by Description
Description versus Justification
Knowledge and Certainty
Origins of Knowledge
Innate versus Learned
Rationalism versus Empiricism
Scepticism
The History of Epistemology
Ancient Philosophy
Pre-Socratics
Plato
Aristotle
Ancient Scepticism
St. Augustine
Medieval Philosophy
St. Anselm of Canterbury
St. Thomas Aquinas
John Duns Scotus
William of Ockham
From Scientific Theology to Secular Science
Modern Philosophy
Faith and Reason
Impact of Modern Science on Epistemology
René Descartes
John Locke
George Berkeley
David Hume
Kinds of Perceptions
Cause and Effect
Substance
Relations of Ideas and Matters of Fact
Scepticism
Immanuel Kant
G.F.W. Hegel
Contemporary Philosophy
Continental Philosophy
Analytic Philosophy
Commonsense Philosophy, Logical Positivism, and Naturalized Epistemology
Perception and Knowledge
Phenomenalism
Philosophy of Mind and Epistemology
Philosophy of Mind
Introduction
Philosophy of Mind as a Discipline
The Search for a Criterion of the Mental
Purposeful Behavior
Intentionality
The Scope of Application of Intentionality
Subjective Experience
Adequacy as a Criterion of the Mental
Core Characteristics of Subjectivity
Privileged Status of Subjectivity
The Existence and Status of the Mind
The Mind as Material
Eliminative Materialism
Behaviorism
Central-State Theory
The Mind as Immaterial
Dualism
Immaterialism
Neutral Theories
The Analysis of Mental Phenomena
The Cognitive
The Affective
The Volitional
Some Metaphysical and Epistemological Issues
Personal Identity Through Time
Personal Immortality
Knowledge of Other Minds
Artificial Intelligence
Ethics
Introduction
The Origins of Ethics
Mythical Accounts
Introduction of Moral Codes
Problems of Divine Origin
Prehuman Ethics
Nonhuman Behavior
Kinship and Reciprocity
Anthropology and Ethics
Ancient Ethics
The Middle East
India
China
Ancient Greece
Western Ethics from Socrates to the 20th Century
The Classical Period of Greek Ethics
Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
Later Greek and Roman Ethics
The Stoics
The Epicureans
Christian Ethics from the New Testament to the Scholastics
Ethics in the New Testament
Augustine
Aquinas and the Moral Philosophy of the Scholastics
Renaissance and Reformation
Machiavelli
The First Protestants
The British Tradition: from Hobbes to the Utilitarians
Hobbes
Early Intuitionists: Cudworth, More, and Clarke
Shaftesbury and the Moral Sense School
Butler on Self-Interest and Conscience
The Climax of Moral Sense Theory: Hutcheson and Hume
The Intuitionist Response: Price and Reid
Utilitarianism
Paley
Bentham
Mill
Sidgwick
The Continental Tradition: from Spinoza to Nietzsche
Spinoza
Leibniz
Rousseau
Kant
Hegel
Marx
Nietzsche
20th-Century Western Ethics
Metaethics
Moore and the Naturalistic Fallacy
Modern Intuitionism
Emotivism
Existentialism
Universal Prescriptivism
Modern Naturalism
Recent Developments in Metaethics
Normative Ethics
The Debate Over Consequentialism
Varieties of Consequentialism
An Ethic of Prima Facie Duties
Rawls’s Theory of Justice
Rights Theories
Natural Law Ethics
Ethical Egoism
Applied Ethics
Applications of Equality
Environmental Ethics
War and Peace
Abortion, Euthanasia, and the Value of Human Life
Bioethics
Bibliography
