The Problem of Philosophy in the Twentieth Century

Abstract

* Ever since Socrates, waiting in prison to drink hemlock, observed that unexamined life is not worth living, it has generally been recognized in Western world that philosophy belongs to every man. Whoever examines his life thereby becomes his own philosopher, and, as Descartes pointed out, this is an enterprise which every intelligent man should undertake at least once. As a result philosopher, while weaving his philosophic threads, has traditionally written for every man. And he has been surprisingly successful. Plato's Republic is not only a masterpiece of plhilosophic discourse: it is also beginner's best introduction to philosophy. David Hume in eighteenth century wrote A Treatise of Human Nature in language of layman which yet profoundly influenced twentieth century thought. Philosophy belonged to layman. With twentieth century there has been a great change. Hume was among those most responsible for it. As Henry Aiken points out in The Fate of Philosophy in Twentieth Century, the general drift of twentieth century philosophy represents nothing that is radically new .... It represents merely fulfillment and climax of tendencies . . . which have been active in Western philosophy generally since time of Descartes.1 But fulfillment and climax have resulted in a situation that is novel, as journal