Философия. Учебное пособие (практикум) на английском языке

Philosophy ●

Descartes’ method of scientific cognition is called analytical, or rationalist.

Philosophical teachings of Benedict Spinoza. The Dutch philosopher B. Spinoza is a rationalist follower of the teachings of Descartes. Spinoza asserted that there exists a single substance outside consciousness, one that is the cause of itself (causa sui) and does not need any other causes. The God of Spinoza is inseparable from nature and entirely devoid of any properties of person. The single substance possesses two cognizable attributes or inalienable properties – extension and thought. Matter has extension, and matter, beginning with stone and ending with the human brain, is capable of thought, although in varying degrees: human thought is a particular case of thought in general.

By defining nature as the only basis or substance whose being follows from its essence, Spinoza put aside as irrelevant the question of the origin of nature and thus of God as the creator, challenging the pivotal dogma of Christianity concerning creation out of nothing. Spinoza’s only concession to the times was his use of words: he called nature God and God nature. Apart from Spinoza’s great achievement – demonstrating the substantial unity of the world, his views also contained certain elements of a dialectical world perception – of the unity of the finite and the infinite, of one and many, of necessity and freedom. It was Spinoza who produced this classical formula: “Freedom is a recognized necessity.”

SothesubjectofphilosophicalresearchB.Spinozaisconcentrated around following problems: substance, knowledge and ethics.

1. The doctrine of substance

•there is only one substance – God, which is understood as nature. That is Nature and God is one, God is within nature.

•the substance in itself (Nature-God) exists independently and apart from anyone.

•the substance has a variety of properties (attributes), the main of which are thinking and stretching.

2. The doctrine of knowledge

The philosopher distinguishes three stages of cognition:

•the highest level: “pure cognition”, which comes directly from the mind and is independent of external causes.

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•the second level, which is less true. Cognition obtained as a result of the activities of the mind (reflections, logical operations).

•the third level. Knowledge obtained as a result of the sensual re- flection of the surrounding reality. It is unreliable and does not play a big role in obtaining true knowledge.

3. Ethical problems

•the main ethical categories in Spinoza philosophy are freedom and necessity.

•in substance freedom and the necessity are combined into one.

•God has complete freedom, but he acts within the framework of necessity.

•a person constantly strives for freedom, but at the same time, being not free, must be within the boundaries of necessity.

Philosophical views of Gottfried Leibniz. The German philoso-

pher Gottfried Leibniz developed the ideas of objective idealism con- tained in Plato’s heritage. He expressed certain profound ideas of dialectical nature. He insisted, for instance, that the world consists of tiny elements or monads – spiritual elements of being possessing activeness and independence, continually changing and capable of suffering, perception and consciousness. Attributing to monads active force as their principal property, establishing the energy links between them, and,ontheotherhand,defendingtheideaofGodtheCreator,Leibniz through theology arrived at the principle of the inseparable (and universal, absolute) connection of matter and motion.

Rejecting the notion of space and time as self-contained princi- ples of being existing apart from matter and independently of it, he regarded space as the order of mutual arrangement of a multitude of individual bodies existing outside one another, and time, as the order in which phenomena or states of bodies succeed one another. One of the major achievements of Leibniz’s philosophy was his theory of an individual monad as a concentrated world, as a mirror of the one infinite universe.

For a short the main problems of Leibniz’s philosophy can be for- mulated in the following way:

1. The problem substance. In contrast to the theory of Descartes and Spinoza Leibniz substantiated the theory of monads (plurality of substances). His theory is called Monadology.

Philosophy ●

Basic principles of Monadology:

•the whole world consists of a huge number of substances that the philosopher called monads (translated from the Greek “single”, “unit”).

•monad is indivisible and possesses four qualities: aspiration, attraction, perception, representation;

•monad is constantly changing its state.

The philosopher distinguishes four classes of monads:

•so called “naked monads” – form the basis of inorganic nature (land, minerals, etc.);

•monads of animals;

•monads of a man;

•the highest monad is God.

The higher the monad’s class, the greater its reasonableness and degree of freedom.

2. The problem of cognition.

1. In the problem of cognition Leibniz tried to reconcile empiri- cism and rationalism.

•he divided all knowledge into two types: “truths of reason” and “ truths of fact»;

•“truths of reason” can be proved logically, have the necessary and universal character;

•“truths of fact” are truths that have been obtained experimentally. These knowledge only state the fact, but do not speak about its reasons. They have probabilistic nature.

So, according to Leibniz, cognition can be carried out not only by obtaining only one type of knowledge (rational or experienced), but both. Moreover, rational cognition is reliable, and experimental-prob- abilistic.

Prepared to the fourth question students should memorize that

the second half of the XVIII-th century was an epoch of acute aggra- vation of the conflict between the feudal and bourgeois worldviews, particularly in France. This conflict came to a head in the bourgeois revolution. Ideologically, it was prepared in the works of the XVIII-th century French philosophers: Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, Helvetius,

Holbach and others. They resolutely fought against religion and the socio-political order in contemporary France. French philosophers

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defended materialism in its mechanistic form, although some of their views contained elements of dialectics. According to that theory, nature, or matter, is the cause of everything; it exists by itself, and it will continue to exist and to act eternally; it is its own cause. All material bodies consist of atoms. In relation to man, matter is everything that acts in one way or another on the sense organs.

In the XVIII-th century French philosophers regarded religion as a spiritual weapon of enslaving the people, and a tool in the hands of the tyranny. The path of liberation of the people from religion and prejudice lay through enlightenment. At this point they were close to the principles of atheism, and to an understanding of the need for a revolutionary transformation of social life: man and the personal qualities of man depended on the environment, so his vices were also the result of the environment.

To remould man, to free him from shortcomings, and to develop his positive aspects, it was necessary to transform the environment, in the first place social environment. This doctrine played a great role in the philosophical substantiation of the ideas of Utopian socialists.

It is necessary to memorize the main features and approaches of the Philosophy of French Enlightenment.

The Central idea of Enlightenment is the scientific, technical, social and moral progress of the community of European States.

The philosophy of Enlightenment is optimistic and reflects the interests of the bourgeoisie.

Main features:

•The critics of feudalism, the justification of the possibility of transformation of society on a reasonable basis. Socio-political problems have become widespread.

•The fight against metaphysics and scholastics. Philosophers re- lied on natural science. The philosophy of the Enlightenment is a materialist in nature.

•The critics of religion, the perception of the Church as a hin- drance to progress. French philosophies offered natural religion and natural morality.

General approaches:

•Deistic. Representatives: Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Con-

dillac.

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Deism rejected the idea of a personal God and disagreed with the idea of identifying God with Nature.

The followers of this approach saw in God only the original of all things,sorejectedthepossibilityofGod’sinterventionintheprocesses of nature, history and people’s Affairs.

•Atheistic-materialistic. Representatives: Diderot, La Mettrie,

Holbach, Helvetius.

Atheists rejected the very idea of the existence of God, explained the origin of the world and man from materialistic and natural science positions. The problems of cognition were solved from the point of view of empiricism.

•Utopian socialist (Communist). Representatives: Babeuf, Owen,

Saint Simon.

The followers of this approach have become widespread during the great French revolution of 1789–1794. The main problem was connected with the building of an ideal society based on equality and social responsibility.

Test questions and tasks

1.What impact did the scientific revolution of the XVII century had on the problems of philosophy of Modern Times?

2.Reveal the essence of the doctrine of “idols” in F. Bacon’s philosophy.

3.Who is the author of the thesis ‘Knowledge is power”? What is the peculiarity of the philosophical orientation of a given period re- flect?

4.WhichoftheepistemologicalideasofJ.Lockewereperceivedby

J. Berkeley and D. Hume?

5.What is the meaning of the method problem in the philosophy of Modern Times? What new methods of cognition were proposed by Descartes and Bacon?

6.What do the congenital, acquired and created ideas mean? Who was the author of this teaching?

7.What is the dualism in R. Descartes philosophy?

8.Describe the essence of the pantheistic doctrine of Spinoza.

9.WhatkindsmonadsdidLeibnitzdistinguish?Whatisthenature

of the monads in the philosophy of Leibniz?

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10.How do you understand Leibniz’s statement: “there is nothing in the mind that does not exist before in the senses except the mind itself”?

11.Fill in the table

empirism

sensualism

rationalism

12.Why the epoch of Enlightenment is so called?

13.What conclusions did the French materialists draw from their doctrine of man?

Literature

Basic: 1–2.

Additional: 1–4.

Internet-resources: 1–5.

Philosophy ●

4. German Classical Philosophy

The aim: to characterize the main features of German classical Philosophy, to determine its uniqueness and place in the history of science, to consider the main problems of representatives of classical philosophy.

The formed competences: ОК-1,ОК-5.

Knowledge and skills which the students acquire as a result of mastering of the theme, the formed competences or a part of it.

As a result of mastering the theme, students acquire:

•knowledge of the main philosophical problems of German classical Philosophy;

•skills to present the contents of philosophical doctrines of the German classics;

•ability the critical analyses of the main philosophical doctrines of German classical Philosophy.

The actuality of the theme is conditioned by the importance of studying

the problems of classical philosophy for understanding the specifics of modern philosophical problems.

Plan

1.General characteristics of the German classical philosophy.

2.The philosophy of I. Kant.

3.Idealist Philosophy of G. W. F. Hegel.

4.Anthropological materialism of L. Feuerbach.

Theoretical part

As part of preparation for the first question it is important to analyze the socio – cultural situation in Germany of the XVIIIth – early XIXth centures, to show the peculiarities of its reflection in the philosophical systems of German classical philosophy. An important role in the formation of classical German philosophy was played by the achievements of natural science and the social sciences: chemistry and physics began to develop, and the study of organic nature made con-

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siderable advance. Mathematical discoveries which afforded an understanding and precise quantitative expression of natural processes;

Lamarck’stheoryoftheconditioningoftheorganism’sevolutionbythe environment; astronomical, geological, and embryological theories, as well as theories of human society – all this pushed into the foreground, resolutely and inevitably, the idea of development as a theory and as a method of cognition of reality.

The German classical philosophy is represented by the works of

I. Kant, I. G. Fichte, V. F. Schelling, G. F. Hegel, L. Feuerbach. Each of them has created its own original philosophical system.

The main features of this philosophy are:

1.Emphasis on human research, self-consciousness and activity, in the development of world culture.

2.A peculiar understanding of the role of philosophy in the history of mankind, they believed that philosophy is intended to be a critical conscience of culture.

3.Attitude to philosophy as a special system of philosophical disciplines, categories, ideas.

4.Development of a holistic concept of dialectics.

In the second question it is important to learn the main ideas of Kant’s philosophy. Immanuel Kant was one of the greatest minds mankind ever knew and the founder of classical German philosophy. There are two periods in the philosophical works of Kant: precritical and critical. During the first period the philosopher was engaged in the study of natural science. His theory of the origin of the solar system out of a giant gas nebula still remains one of the fundamental scientific ideas in astronomy. Kant’s natural scientific works broke down the wall of the metaphysical explanation of nature, as he made his attempt to apply the principles of contemporary natural science not only to the structure of the universe but also to the history of its origin and development. Apart from this, he put forward the idea of lining up animals in the order of their possible origin, and the idea of natural origin of the human races.

In critical period Kant moved to the analysis of the cognizing sub- ject,findsoutnotwhatpreventedcognition,andthecovesofthestruc- tureofthesubject,allowinghimtohaveatrueknowledgeoftheworld.

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The unity of the belief system of Kant in this period was defined by addressing the following questions: what do I know? What can I do? What can I hope for? What is man?

The problem of Knowledge is the main problem of Kant’ philosophy. He tried to analyze it in the work “Critics of pure reason”.

Kant believed that the solution of the problems of being, of morality and religion must be preceded by a study in the possibilities of human knowledge and the boundaries of human knowledge. According to Kant, the necessary conditions of knowledge are inherent in reason itself, forming the basis of knowledge. It is these conditions that lend knowledge the properties of necessity and universality. They are also the absolute boundaries of reliable knowledge.

Kant distinguished between the appearances of things as they are perceived by man and the things as they exist by themselves. We do not study the world as it is in reality but only as it appears to us. Only phenomena constituting the content of our experience are accessible to our knowledge. The impact of “things-in-themselves” on our sense organs results in a chaos of sensations, which is brought to unity and order by the power of reason. What we regard as the laws of nature are in actual fact the connection brought into the world of phenomena by reason; in other words, reason prescribes laws to nature. But corresponding to the world of phenomena is the essence of things independent of human consciousness, or “things-in-them- selves”. Absolute knowledge of these is impossible. To us, they are only noumena, that is to say, intelligible essences not given in experience. Kant did not share the boundless belief in the power of human reason, referring to this belief as dogmatism.

Kant identified three stages of cognition: sense, mind, reason.

Sensory cognition is cognition, where a person orders sensations with the help of a priori (pre – experimental) subjective forms-space and time.

The mind performs the function of summing up the diversity of the sensitive material under a single concept (category).

The reason has the ability to direct the activities of mind, setting before them certain goals. The reason, unlike the mind, gives rise to “transcendental” ideas that go beyond experience. They Express the

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aspiration of the mind to comprehend “things-in-themselves.” However, on the way the reason is faced with the antinomies (irreconcilable differences). Therefore, man deals only with the world of phenomena, the world of “things-in-them-selves” is unrecognizable.

Ethical problems in Kant’s philosophy. Kant believed there was a certain moral sense in the fundamental limitations of human knowledge: if man were endowed with absolute knowledge, he would face neither risk nor struggle in the performance of his moral duty. In the world of things-in-themselves are God, soul, free will. They are unrecognizable, but can serve as regulators of practical activities. Man, in the opinion of Kant belongs to the world of phenomena, where he speaks is necessary (as a biological and physical being), and the world ofthingsinthemselves,wheremanisfree.Becausehehasaconflicting mind. Because of this, a person can act both immorally and morally.

There is a moral law – “categorical imperative“ (unconditional order), which is guided by the person:”Act so that the Maxim of your act became the basis of the General law.” The moral law is understood in the following way:

•a person should act in such a way that his actions are a model for everyone;

•a person should treat another person as a goal, not as a means. After Kant, classical German philosophy was developed by such

outstanding philosophers as Fichte and Schelling. Both of them tried to overcome the Kantian opposition of phenomenon and noumenon by grounding cognitive activeness in some unitary principle – the absolute ego, as in Fichte, or the absolute identity of being and thinking, as in Schelling. The latter carried out a subtle analysis of the categories of dialectics, such as freedom and necessity, identity, one and many; this analysis anticipated Hegelian objective-idealist dialectics. Schell- ing’s studies in the philosophy of nature made a great impact on the minds of natural scientists.

As part of preparation for the third question students should learn the content of philosophical views of G. Hegel. He developed, on an objective – idealist basis, a theory of the laws and categories of dialectics, and was the first to work out in systematic form the fundamental principles of dialectical logic, criticizing the metaphysical method