The Book On The Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are is a book about the latest societal taboo. Sexuality and religion were the previous taboos. The biggest danger today is self-knowledge – a state of wonder at who we are and where we came from. Watts admits that there are subversive secrets in the Bible … Read more
A History of Western Philosophy is an excellent book, and one that will teach you not only about philosophy, but about history and politics. And Bertrand Russell is not an impartial commentator, but one of the most respected philosophers in history – which makes this introduction to the best philosophers of the last two millennia … Read more
John Dewey is another proponent of American Pragmatism. He had a profound influence on education and political theory. Russell agrees with much that he has to say. Like William James, Dewey was a New Englander, and he carries on the tradition of New England liberalism. Dewey was influenced positively by his visit to China, and … Read more
William James was a psychologist who made important contributions to philosophy. He invented “radical empiricism” and was one of the three protagonists of the theory called “pragmatism” or “instrumentalism.” He came to be known as the leader of American philosophy. In The Will to Believe, James argues that we are compelled to make decisions even … Read more
The intellectual life of the 19th century was more complex than that of previous centuries. The world grew larger, and more countries contributed to culture. Science moved forward with new discoveries. Technology changed the social structure and imbued man with new powers over his environment. Political and philosophical movements challenged the beliefs and institutions that … Read more
Before discussing Kant’s philosophy, Russell gives an overview of 18th century philosophy. British empiricists like Hume and Berkeley dominated philosophy in that century. But there was a conflict in these men, between their temper of mind and the tendency of their doctrines. They were socially minded, urbane and friendly. But their theoretical philosophy led to … Read more
The romantic movement had a taste for scenery and gothic architecture, they liked what was strange, ghosts, pirates, the occult sciences, mesmerism. The realists reacted against Romanticism. But the extreme emotions that are embraced by the Romantics are destructive, they include: anger, hatred, despair, outraged pride, jealousy. The kind of man that is a model for … Read more
David Hume wrote that faint images in thinking are ideas. Impressions are less faint but simpler and are from experience. Complex ideas need not resemble impressions such as abstractions . Among ideas, those that contain the original vivacity of impressions are memory and imagination. Cause and Effect We can only know cause and effect from experience, not … Read more
There are two errors when it comes to perceiving philosophical thinkers – the first is that theorists shape political movements, this is believed by people who are more influenced by books then events. The second error is when others seem to think that philosophies are nothing but direct manifestations of the doctrines of the leaders of … Read more
Lebinitz thought, like Voltaire’s Pangloss, that we live in the best of all possible worlds. He argued for God’s existence by using the ontological argument, which shows that the idea of a perfect being is possible. He wrote out a proof for this, including the quality of existence itself. Kant refuted it. The cosmological argument … Read more