Philosophical Developments

Philosophical Developments

September 2016                                                                                       Presenter: Laldanmawia

…………………….………………………………………………………………………………

Introduction

Many writers categorized philosophy on the basis of the historical periods called ancient, medieval and modern. It can also be categorized by its branches like metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of religion, philosophy of science, etc. To cover all these categories in one attempt would be impossible. That is why this paper brings only the gist of philosophy and philosophers of modern time. And this paper emerges out of a method that assembles number of philosophers (not all) of different Centuries of the Modern Period.

1. Philosophical Developments in the West during the Modern Period

1.1. The 17^th Century Age of Reason

The 17^th Century Age of Reason is generally regarded as the beginning of modern philosophy. The Age of Reason saw a continuation of the move away from theology and faith-based arguments, and marks the shaking off of medieval approaches to philosophy in preference for more unified philosophical systems like Rationalism and Empiricism.

1.1.1. Thomas Hobbes (1588 - 1679) was deeply influenced by science, mathematics and geometry to construct a complete mechanical model of universe. After visiting Galileo, he was convinced that the entire physical world could be explained by a science of motion. And, the working of mind and the emotions could be explained in terms of the movements of blood to and from heart.[1] His philosophy was often regarded as materialistic, because he conceives the entire universe with bodies and motion; even God is a body and is moving. On that basis of motion, he defines good and evil. If the motion is successful it generates pleasure, if not, pain. And that please human is good, that cause pain is evil, but depending on the individual.[2]

            1.1.2. René Descartes (1596 - 1650) was a French philosopher, mathematician, scientist and writer of the Age of Reason. He is called the "Father of Modern Philosophy", and many Western philosophies can be seen as respondents to his writings. His famous quotation "I think, therefore I am" was the well-known in philosophy. To him, all bodies in the universe are substance, which exist by itself and independently of anything else.[3] He is referred to as a dualist, who accepts two kinds of substance-mind and body. What about the interaction of these two substances? Why does the body follow the mind? He sometimes suggests that the two substances infiltrate one another as copper and zinc combine to form brass. But he never concluded in solving the problem of their interaction.[4]

1.1.3. Baruch (Benedict) Spinoza (1623 - 1677) opposed dualism of Descartes i.e. universe is made up of two kinds of substances-mind and body, for him, there is one substance what he called God, who constitutes the entire universe. He called mind and body as the attributes of the one substance, God.[5] The same substance does not need to interact. To the good and evil controversy, he stands that error is lack of knowledge. One’s striving principle is to preserve oneself. This striving is good, and anything that blocks striving is bad.[6]

1.1.4. John Locke (1632 - 1704) published two treatises on government. The first treaty argues that there is no divine right for monarchs to rule because God don’t put some humans above others. In the second treaty, he attacks Hobbes and brings the idea Man is free and in his condition all men are equal.[7] He agrees with Hobbes’ idea of good and evil, he adds three laws exist, such as Divine laws, civil laws and laws of opinion and reputation; they are to determine the problem of good and evil.[8]

1.1.5. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646 - 1716) stands on the idea that the whole Universe, all bodies and nature (he called them monads) are built out of units of force or force atom (he called them monads). He is an individualist and he presents each monad as something like an individual mind. To him, there are no physical substances, but only appear as. And they appear only to be interacting, but not in reality.[9] To the problem of good and evil, he proposes that God limited himself when he expressed in finite beings, these limit result in suffering and sin.[10]

1.2. The 18^th Century Age of Enlightenment

The Enlightenment of the 18^th Century was generally an intellectual movement, developed mainly in France, Britain and Germany, which advocated freedom, democracy and reason as the primary values of society. It continued the philosophical ideas of the Age of Reason of the 17th Century, but some as a reaction against them.

1.2.1. Voltaire (1694 - 1778) was a radical, a liberal and strongly anti-Christian. He became the exponent of the philosophy and politics of John Locke. His main contribution was in the realm of natural religion, with that he meant nature is the work of God and human was the product of nature. He tried to set free human from the orthodox view of Christianity. And he wanted the philosophy to be useful in changing the behaviour of the people, if not, the philosophy was useless.[11]

1.2.2. David Hume (1711 - 1776) was one of the outstanding British philosophers. He was an empiricist in accepting John Locke’s principle “all knowledge comes from experience”. In the search for truth, he insists on proof of them like Descartes. He asks the question whether our belief in the existence of external world could be proven or not by experience. There are two kinds of truth- truth of reason (a priori) and matter of fact (empirical). He accepts the second one and argues that we learn entirely from experience, not on the basis of reason. For example, the first human being could not have idea that the fire would burn him, unless he/she had experience it.[12]

1.2.3. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 – 1778) believes that man is basically good when in the state of nature, but is corrupted by the artificial restraints of society. He advocates a return to nature so that human could resume his/her role as noble savage and complete individualist.[13] What about fate and free will? Rousseau affirms that the true characteristic of human is not the scientific mind but the feeling heart. For him human is free soul striving to live according to the dictate of the freedom. He is famous for his ideal education for a boy. In his book Emile, he explains- From age 1-4, boys need a physical development; from 5-12, sense development through the world of nature; from 13, education through books; from 15-20, moral training like sympathy, goodness, and service to humankind, even religion would come here.[14] However, in his education, he doesn’t include girls. This educational system is followed by many institutions in his time or even later.

1.2.4. Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804) was a German philosopher, who is regarded as one of the most important thinkers of modern Europe. His works on Epistemology, Metaphysics and Ethics achieved a paradigm shift and moved philosophy beyond the debate between the Rationalists and Empiricists. To him, human can know only our sense experiences. With this, one can’t know about the universe because it’s beyond human experience. But through reason, one can form idea about the universe.[15] Everyone is capable of making decision to what is right or wrong by his/her own, by using the faculty of reason, without help from external authority. The source and justification of moral principle is ultimately in oneself, what he called autonomy.[16]

The development of philosophical thinking in the age of reason and age of enlightenment gives rise to Theological Liberalism, which attempts to incorporate modern thinking into the Christian faith and emphasizes on human freedom in his/her responding to God. Liberal Theology gives birth to theologies like the Social Gospel, theological Feminism, Liberation theology, Process theology, etc. And different theological trends in reaction to it by attempting to reaffirm the traditional Christian orthodoxy, like Neo-Orthodoxy, Evangelicalism, Fundamentalism, Pentecostalism, Post-Liberalism, etc.

1.3. The 19^th and 20^th Century Modern

The 19^th and 20^th Century Modern period of philosophy gives rise to different philosophical ideas and thinking.

1.3.1. George W.F. Hegel (1770 - 1831) was a German idealist who had a great impact in Philosophy. Many of the 19^th Century philosophers became Hegelians. Many philosophers of the 20^th Century studied him closely, and some of them formulated their systems as reactions to Hegelian view. His logical idealism proceeded from the Absolute Idea. To him, nature, mind and reason are one. And Philosophy has the task there to comprehend the development of those principles. He used a dialectical (thesis + antithesis = synthesis) form of reasoning to reach the achievement.[17] His major works included “The Phenomenology of Mind”, “The Science of Logic” and “The Philosophy of Right.”[18]

1.3.2. John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873) was the best known and most influential of the English utilitarians. His moral philosophy was a modified version of the utilitarian theory he had learned from his father and teacher Bentham.[19] The difference of his version from Bentham’s utilitarianism is his recognition of qualitative difference between pleasures, as Bentham measures the quantitative. He argued, ‘it is better Socrates dissatisfied than the fool satisfied’; that indicates that the search for one’s own better self is not only a means to general happiness, but part of happiness itself.[20]

1.3.3. Soren Kierkegaard (1813 - 1855) was well known Danish philosopher in whose writing the origins of existentialism are found. His major target was Hegel. Then many of his conclusions were the result of a criticism of the Hegelian view of the world. He opposed Hegel’s idea of abstract, impersonal, objective truth, saying that it is not applicable to human situation because it ignores the existential subject. [21] Hegel attempted to capture all of reality in the net of his dialectic, but Kierkegaard argued that real existence slipped through the holes, because philosophy starts and finishes with the individual.[22]

1.3.4. Karl Marx (1818 - 1883) He made a close connection between economics and philosophy in his thought. To him human life was entirely determined by economic relationship. He combined philosophy with great social concern.[23] In line with Hegel, he advocates change as the road to better thing. The society may be good at one time, but would give way to another which would be seen to be better latter.[24] Karl Marx along with his philosophy Marxism is very much influential in shaping theologies of 20^th Century. It looks for the restoration of human dignity to the poor and oppressed.[25] That is why the modern Christian theology, particularly Latin American Liberation theology had got the insights from Marx’s ideas.

1.3.5. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), the 19^th Century German philosopher was well known for his statement “God is dead” in his challenge to the foundations of Christianity and traditional morality. This statement occurs in Nietzsche's works "The Gay Science" of 1882. He argued that modern science and the increasing secularization of European society had effectively "killed" the Christian God. Another concept important to an understanding of Nietzsche's thought is that of the "Übermensch" (superhuman), that is to correct what he thought were the limitations of Darwinian view.[26]

1.3.6. John Dewey (1859 - 1952) was American philosopher and educational reformer. The main contribution of America in philosophical realm during his day was Pragmatism. Dewey turned this into ethical and educational philosophy. He came up with the idea of Instrumentalism saying that the ultimate whether ideas are true or false is about the question of how useful they are. He believed that intelligence, knowledge and behavior could change through education; therefore education was crucial in shaping society.[27]

1.3.7. Jean-Paul Sartre (1905 - 1980) presents his famous Existentialism and Humanism of their inter-connection, demonstrating existentialism as an optimistic account of the human condition, in the sense that every individual has the possibility of living a life worth living.[28] He reversed the prevailing classical understanding of philosophy from the time of Plato, which is “essence precedes existence,” by saying existence precedes and determines essence. For example, beauty is in the mind of the beholder, not an absolute essence established somewhere. And goodness is not an external standard, but a quality of life achieved through free decision.[29]

2. Philosophical Developments in Third World in Modern Period

2.1. African Philosophy

African Philosophy is produced by preliterate cultures of Africa, which is in the beginning developed through unwritten forms. The central themes includes supernaturalism- ideas about God and other spiritual entities, personhood and communitarianism- social and humanistic ethics, notions for the community and the common good, political ideas- chiefship and traditional political authority, tradition and modernity- the notion of culture, ethnicity and nationhood,[30]

2.2. Latin American Philosophy

Latin American Philosophy is said to be European in origin. The history of Philosophy in latin America can be divided into four periods- Colonial Period (1550-1750) was dominated by the type of scholasticism. The main centre of philosophy was Mexico. In Independentist Period (1750-1850), some leading intellectuals started losing interest in scholasticism. They looked towards social and political questions. In Positivist Period (1850-1910), positivism was important philosophy. It became the official philosophy in some countries. Contemporary Period (1910-present) began with the end of Positivism. Thinkers rebelled against it because they were not satisfied with its dogmatic, mechanistic and pragmatic determinism. From that moment, Latin American thinkers opted different kinds of European philosophies.[31]

2.3. Asian Philosophy

            2.3.1. Chinese Philosophy: According to Oliver Leaman, there are three main schools in Chinese traditional Philosophy- Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism. Confucianism is a set of moral, ethical and political teachings founded by Confucius, which includes an effective concern for all living things of how they relate to oneself. Daoism (Taoism) is a highly mystical flavour which deals with the notion of the way which structure the life and operations of the universe. Chinese Buddhist School advocates a positive notion of the practical world.[32]

The modern Chinese philosophy is integrated with and very much influenced by the concepts of Western philosophy. Some prominent philosophers are Sun Yat-Sen (1866 - 1925) who attempted to incorporate elements of democracy, republicanism and industrialism at the beginning of the 20th century; Mao Zedong (1893 - 1976) who advocates Marxism, Stalinism and other communist thought.[33]

            2.3.2. Japanese Philosophy: Japanese Philosophy begins with Buddhist thought, but proceeds to academic philosophy during the Meiji Restoration period in 1868. But the 20^th Century Philosophy centers around the critical reaction against the thought of Nishida Kitaro (1870-1945), who elaborates the theory of “pure existence” as an immediate awareness in the stream, of consciousness emerging prior to subject-object dualism.[34]

            2.3.3. Korean Philosophy: Korean Philosophy is very much influenced by Confucianism and Buddhism as they were under the control of China and occasionally invaded by Japan. One of the most important Korean philosophers Chinul stresses the reconciliation of enlightenment with the appropriate religious text, Buddhist text.[35] Under Japanese rule, from 1910, Shintoism became the state religion, although Western philosophy, particularly the German Idealist philosophers are yet influential. After partition in 1945, North Korea accepted Marxism and imported communist Maoism from China.[36]

2.4. Indian Philosophy

2.4.1. Astika and Nastika School of Thought: Classical Indian Philosophy is widely divided into two schools. Astika schools are Hindu orthodox schools of Indian philosophy which are systematized during the medieval period of Brahmanic-Sanskritic scholasticism. They take the ancient Vedas as their source and scriptural authority. Under Astika schools, there are some thoughts like Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Purva Mimamsa and Vedanta. On the other hand, Nastika schools are the heterodox, which do not accept the authority of the Vedas like: Carvaka, Buddhist philosophy, Jain philosophy, Indian Political Philosophy.[37]

2.4.2. Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902): His philosophy is very much shaped by his contemporary problems of Indian like backwardness, political ignorance, low status of women, child marriage, restriction of inter-caste marriage, low status of low classes, poverty, etc. His central idea of philosophy is Brahman, the sacchidanand, saying that in the Advaita philosophy the whole universe is one in the self which is called Brahman. He believes that the world is the march of the Absolute. In his social philosophy, he believes love and sacrifice to be the basis of society. Society is a divine creation, and it is aggregate of numerous individuals whose self sacrifice is needed for its welfare.[38]

2.4.3. Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948): His moral philosophy includes Swadeshi and Swarajya, Sarvodaya. The attainment of God means self-realisation or Swarajya. Swadeshi is the spirit of our immediate surroundings. And Sarvodaya means all round development of every individual. In the social philosophy, Gandhi calls for social reconstruction through Satyagraha and he expects everyone to be Satyagrahi. To be Satyagrahi, he prescribes seven cows- truth, non-violence, brahmacharya, control of palate, fearlessness, bread-Labour and  non-possession.[39]

2.4.4. Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950): His philosophy can be called idealistic in broad sense because it conceives reality as spiritual, and it fixes up an ideal for mankind towards which all our efforts have to be directed. Materialism and Spiritualism ate the two prevalent and rival theories, in which he conceives reality as supremely spiritual, at the same time he manages to assign to matter a place in it. In his view of metaphysics, he enumerates four theories of existence- the Super Cosmic which asserts the Absolute alone is real; the Cosmic or Terrestrial considers cosmic existence as real; the Supraterrestrial or Other-Worldly believes both in the reality of the world and of something higher; the Integral or Synthetic maintains that both reality has to be maintained. He formulates his Integral Yoga with three processes- psychicisation, spiritualization and supramentalisation.[40] His concept of Integral Yoga is very much important for Chenchiah’s formulation of his New Creation.

2.4.5. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888-1975)): He was an idealist philosopher. To him, the main function of philosophical enquiry is to find an explanation of the universe. He leans on Vedanta in conceiving the nature of the ultimate reality, which conceives the ultimate as the Brahman. He sees the necessity of beginning with faith in religious experience, that can make human realize spirituality. This experience is a sort of an inner satisfaction. It is through this religious experience, human can attain salvation.[41]

All these modern Indian philosophers are idealist thinkers who search for the realization of Brahman, who is the fullest expression of spirit of which the self and God are manifestations. They are neo-vedantins although they claim ancient Vedanta philosophy as the basis of their philosophical ideas.[42] They are influential thinkers for the coming Indian theologians who try to incorporate Indian Christian Theology with Hindu philosophy. However A.P. Nirmal, in his development of Dalit Theology criticizes Brahminic dominance of Indian Theology.

Conclusion

There was a time when questions about metaphysics like the human existence, the Earth, the Universe, God, Creation, etc were asked, and later a concern about epistemological questions based on knowledge and ideas have been given. At the other time, and the other persons would love an ethical philosophy. Moreover, political thinkers would come and argue with their concern about the life situation of the people in a state. From the time of Thales till today, human seeks answers to the questions about human in relation to all other matters, including non matters. Answers have been given by philosophers of all time for better understanding. And we can learn that many of philosophers have great impact to different situations, because if philosophy ends only in the field of arguments among philosophers, the finding for meaning that they claimed would be meaningless!

Bibliography:

Audi, Robert. Ed. The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press, 1995.

Baldwin, Thomas. “Sartre, Existentialism and Humanism” Philosophers Ancient and Modern.

Edited by Godfrey Vesey. New York: Cambridge University press. 1986.

Delfgaauw, Bernard. A Concise History of Philosophy. Dublin: M.H. Gill and Son Ltd., 1968.

Frost. Jr., S.E. Basic Teachings of Great Philosophers. New York: Barnes and Noble Inc., 1942.

Hartman, James B. ed. Philosophy of Recent Times. Vol I. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1967.

Lal, Basant Kumar. Contemporary Indian Philosophy. Patna: Motilal Banarsidass, 1973.

Leaman, Oliver Key Concepts in Eastern Philosophy. London: Routledge, 2004.

McLaren, Robert Bruce. An Introduction: The World of Philosophy. Chicago: Nelson Hall, 1983.

Osbourne, Richard. Philosophy for Beginners. New York: Writers and Readers Publishing

Incorporated, 1992.

Ryan, Alan. “Mill’s Essay on Liberty” Philosophers Ancient and Modern. Edited by Godfrey

Vesey. New York: Cambridge University press. 1986.

Sharma, Ram Nath. Contemporary Indian Philosophy. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers and

Distributors, 1991.

Smullyan, Arthur. et al. Introduction to Philosophy. New Delhi: Prentice-Hall of India Private

Limited, 1967.

Solomon, Robert C.  The Big Questions: A Short Introduction to Philosophy. New York: Harcourt

Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1910.

Stephen, M. New Trends in Christian Theology. New Delhi: Serials Publications, 2009.

Webliography:

http://www.philosophybasics.com (accessed on 28 Sept 2016).

---

[1] Richard Osbourne, Philosophy for Beginners (New York: Writers and Readers Publishing Incorporated, 1992) , 69.

[2] S.E. Frost. Jr., Basic Teachings of Great Philosophers (New York: Barnes and Noble Inc., 1942), 30, 99.

[3] S.E. Frost. Jr., Basic Teachings of Great Philosophers, 32.

[4] Robert C. Solomon, The Big Questions: A Short Introduction to Philosophy (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1910), 98-99.

[5] Robert C. Solomon, The Big Questions: A Short Introduction to Philosophy, 102.

[6] S.E. Frost. Jr., Basic Teachings of Great Philosophers, 33, 100.

[7] Richard Osbourne, Philosophy for Beginners, 88.

[8] S.E. Frost. Jr., Basic Teachings of Great Philosophers, 101.

[9] Robert C. Solomon, The Big Questions: A Short Introduction to Philosophy, 103.

[10] S.E. Frost. Jr., Basic Teachings of Great Philosophers, 40, 102.

[11] Richard Osbourne, Philosophy for Beginners, 91.

[12] Robert C. Solomon, The Big Questions: A Short Introduction to Philosophy, 133-135.

[13] Robert Bruce McLaren, An Introduction: The World of Philosophy (Chicago: Nelson Hall, 1983), 147.

[14] S.E. Frost. Jr., Basic Teachings of Great Philosophers, 247-248.

[15] S.E. Frost. Jr., Basic Teachings of Great Philosophers, 41.

[16] Robert C. Solomon, The Big Questions: A Short Introduction to Philosophy…, 227.

[17] James B. Hartman, ed., Philosophy of Recent Times. Vol I, 53.

[18] Richard Osbourne, Philosophy for Beginners, 108.

[19] Arthur Smullyan, et al., Introduction to Philosophy (New Delhi: Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited, 1967), 278.

[20] Alan Ryan, “Mill’s Essay on Liberty” Philosophers Ancient and Modern. Edited by Godfrey Vesey (New York: Cambridge University press. 1986), 171-173.

[21] James B. Hartman, ed., Philosophy of Recent Times. Vol I, 226.

[22] Richard Osbourne, Philosophy for Beginners, 115.

[23] Bernard Delfgaauw, A Concise History of Philosophy, 185-187.

[24] S.E. Frost. Jr., Basic Teachings of Great Philosophers, 223.

[25] M. Stephen, New Trends in Christian Theology (New Delhi: Serials Publications, 2009), 4.

[26] James B. Hartman, ed., Philosophy of Recent Times. Vol I, 287.

[27] Richard Osbourne, Philosophy for Beginners, 140-141.

[28] Thomas Baldwin, “Sartre, Existentialism and Humanism” Philosophers Ancient and Modern. Edited by Godfrey Vesey (New York: Cambridge University press. 1986), 227-288.

[29] Robert Bruce McLaren, An Introduction: The World of Philosophy, 226-227.

[30] Robert Audi, ed., The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 12.

[31] Robert Audi, ed., The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, 418-420.

[32] Oliver Leaman, Key Concepts in Eastern Philosophy (London: Routledge, 2004), 68-70.

[33] http://www.philosophybasics.com/general_eastern_chinese.html (accessed on 28 Sept 2016).

[34] Robert Audi, ed., The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, 338.

[35] Oliver Leaman, Key Concepts in Eastern Philosophy, 169.

[36] http://www.philosophybasics.com/general_eastern_chinese.html (accessed on 28 Sept 2016).

[37] http://www.philosophybasics.com/general_eastern_indian.html (accessed on 28 Sept 2016).

[38] Ram Nath Sharma, Contemporary Indian Philosophy (New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, 1991), 55-74.

[39] Ram Nath Sharma, Contemporary Indian Philosophy, 214-220.

[40] Basant Kumar Lal, Contemporary Indian Philosophy (Patna: Motilal Banarsidass, 1973), 159-220.

[41] Basant Kumar Lal, Contemporary Indian Philosophy, 260, 292

[42] Ram Nath Sharma, Contemporary Indian Philosophy, 10.