Classical German Philosophy Research Articles

Introduction to the Special Issue “Lukács and the Critical Legacy of Classical German Philosophy”

Introduction to the Special Issue “Lukács and the Critical Legacy of Classical German Philosophy”

Property and its Forms in Classical German Philosophy

Property and its Forms in Classical German Philosophy

Engels' Theoretical Contribution to Historical Materialism and its Contemporary Value Implication

As Marx's close comrade-in-arms and revolutionary partner, Engels undertook the major mission of perfecting Marxist philosophy in defense of Marx after Marx's death, but Engels's interpretation of Marxism caused scholars to explore the academic relationship between Marx and Engels, and his book Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy (hereinafter referred to as Engels’Ludwig Feuerbach of 1888) became the focal point of the research on the academic relationship between the two. The work presents Engels' systematic interpretation of the materialist conception of history, his innovative formulation of Engels' theory of historical synergy and the fundamental question of phi-losophy, and is a strong proof of the consistency between the ideas of Marx and Engels. Engels' theoretical contribution to the materialist conception of history in the work still has valuable theoretical value in contemporary times, and inspires us to hold on to Marxism without wavering, and to innovate without stopping, in order to better guide our practice.

The practical philosophy of Immanuel Kant and the modern ethics of responsibility

The article deals with the practical philosophy of Immanuel Kant, its transformation in the modern ethics of responsibility and the significance of «risks and threats» for modern society. It is emphasized that in Ukraine, in particular, in the H.S. Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, a powerful historical-philosophical tradition of research in German classical philosophy has developed, the foundation of which is the philosophy of I. Kant. This trend gained a new development after the restoration of Ukraine's independence. Special attention was paid in the investigation to the study of Kant's moral philosophy, its important component – the categorical imperative. It is shown that Kant's practical philosophy became an important driver of the leading trends of modern philosophy in the world, which was manifested in the process of «rehabilitation of practical philosophy», which includes the philosophy of responsibility of H. Jonas, communicative philosophy and ethics of discourse. These trends prompted the search for new formulations of the categorical imperative. The relevance of Kant's practical philosophy is evident especially today, under the conditions of modern technological civilization, the destruction of the normative order in the world, and the crisis of moral guidelines. Kant's concept of the primacy of the practical (moral and ethical) mind over the theoretical, technical and instrumental mind opens up ways to solve the global problems of our time, especially in the conditions of crisis and war. Kant's anniversary coincides with a special period of Ukrainian history: the modernization of Ukrainian society, the restoration of national identity, and orientation towards universal values. This event acquires special significance in view of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. Distorting the enlightment, moral-ethical and universalistic direction of Kant's philosophy, Russian propaganda tries to use it for ideological and propaganda purposes. That is why events dedicated to Kant's anniversary are an important component in the fight against the Russian aggressor.

Reinhold's "letters on kantian philosophy": their significance for Kant and german philosophy

The article is devoted primarily to the analysis of Reinhold’s Letters on Kantian Philosophy, published in the “Der Teutsche Merkur” (German Mercury) 1786-1787. The purpose of this analysis is to reveal the peculiarities of Reinhold’s interpretation of Kant’s philosophy, as well as the possibility of the influence of these letters on Kant's practical philosophy and the further development of German idealism in general. To more clearly define Reinhold's own position, the article turns to Reinhold's early works, written before Letters, as well as to the 1790 and 1923 editions of the Letters. Particular respect is given to three topics that are closely related to each other: “Why did Reinhold’s Letters bring fame to Kant?”, “To what extent was Reinhold an independent philosopher?” і “What kind of infusion did his Letters make into the development of Kant’s philosophy and German idealism?” The article proves that before 1786, Reinhold had, in general terms, formed a program for the reform of philosophy, which was critical in its nature and had a clearly expressed practical focus. However, Reinhold's criticism was closer to the criticism of the eclectics and Leibniz than of Kant: it was aimed at overcoming the limitations of the original points of view and assumed a deep knowledge of the history of philosophy. The main reason for the popularity of Reinhold’s Letters lies in his idea of the “scientific revolution” in Germany, which should have become an alternative to social revolutions in other countries of Europe. Formed in “pre-revolutionary” articles, this idea received its justification in the second edition of the Letters. It was the nationalist idea of transforming the Germans into a “nation of scientists”, that became the reason for the rise of national consciousness in Germany and attracted “thinking youth” to it Reinhold's program for the reform of all philosophical sciences from a generally valid point of view gave impetus and largely determined the further development of German classical philosophy: not only Fichte, but also Schelling and Hegel relied primarily on his program. The first edition of his Letters largely determined the main themes of the Critique of Practical Reason, and the second - the Metaphysics of Morals. The second edition inspired Kant to develop a system of criticism and the basic ideas of Kant’s philosophy of law.

Опыт истолкования соотношения созерцания и преобразования в учении И. Канта

The author of this article sees the research problem in the fact that I. Kant in his ontological substantiation of the theory of knowledge shifted from the concept of contemplation to the concept of transformation, considering transformation to be the main factor that determines the method of cognition and constructs the object of knowledge. Kant – the founder of classical German Philosophy – uses the terms contemplation and transformation in an epistemological sense, taking into account a certain ideological foundation laid by the cultural and historical conditions of the epoch that were reflected in his teaching. At that time, the idea of the subject’s dominance, that was ruling the worldview of the new European man, was being established in culture. According to Kant, humans are beings whose normal state is that which corresponds to their consciousness. This state must be created by a person him/herself. Kant is talking about a world in which the phenomena of nature are transformed by humans. From that moment on, history began to move faster than the natural environment. The centre of a new, accelerated (compared with natural processes) development started to take shape, which allowed humans to escape from the influence of purely natural processes while remaining in the same space with them. Nature handed activity to humans. According to B.F. Porshnev, an updated periodization of a historical process, if it is objective and captures the process’s own rhythm, turns out to be acceleration. This was the context in which Kant’s epistemological approach originated. The assertion of the subject’s dominance transported thinkers to an ontologically new world, ruled not by the naked necessity of nature, condemning humans to a contemplative position that was criticized by K. Marx in his first thesis on Feuerbach, but by necessity linked with consciousness. This necessity is established by consciousness and becomes a conscious necessity, redefined by Kant and by a person him/herself.

Основной вопрос философии: диалектика субъекта и объекта познания в немецкой классической философии и марксизме

The aim of the study is to examine the fundamental question of the relationship of consciousness (thinking) to being in its historical dynamics using German classical philosophy as an example, which represents the culmination of the development of classical Western European philosophy in the Modern era. The research hypothesis is that the fundamental question of philosophy objectively existed in Western European philosophy at all times regardless of the subjective opinions of various philosophers on this matter, taking on a specific form of expression corresponding to the logic of the historical development of cognition. By means of analysis, it was found that in German classical philosophy, the second side of the fundamental question of philosophy was predominantly discussed in connection with the conversion of ontological questions into gnoseological ones and then into ontognoseological ones. In polemics with representatives of German classical philosophy, Marxism took another step forward, offering its own solution to the problem by showing the necessity of moving beyond gnoseology into the realm of praxis. Subsequent development of the problem led to the creation of the general theory of activity based on methodology.

Fəlsəfi antropologiyanın mahiyyəti: Maks Şelerin fəlsəfi antropologiyanın məktəb kimi formalaşmasında rolu

"Philosophical anthropology" is a special and extremely comprehensive branch of the history of world science and modern philosophical thought in general. Philosophical anthropology is an important branch of Western philosophical and social thought. Philosophical anthropology, which took its historical roots from ancient Greek philosophy, existed in the later periods of the history of philosophy, acquired a new meaning in German classical philosophy, and became a special trend in the history of philosophy starting from the beginning of the 20th century, is also, in general, a new philosophy of man. It is a philosophical teaching that includes the results of various systems of knowledge about the nature and existence of man in the 20th century Western Europe, mainly in German-language philosophy. In a broader sense, philosophical anthropology is a scientific system consisting of a set of philosophical ideas, concepts, and teachings that focus on man and aim to study him. Philosophical anthropology, which emerged in the late 1920s as a result of Max Scheler's philosophical teaching and was considered a new direction in the history of thought, developed as a branch of non-classical philosophy.

Research on Some Criticisms of Fichte's Intellectualism Made by Schelling in Classical German Philosophy

Research on Some Criticisms of Fichte's Intellectualism Made by Schelling in Classical German Philosophy

A Comparison between Engels’s “Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy” and Lenin’s “Materialism and Empirical Criticism”

A Comparison between Engels’s “Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy” and Lenin’s “Materialism and Empirical Criticism”

Reflexividade como princípio – ou por que o eu não pode ser abolido

Based on an analysis of the thought of Kant, Fichte and Hegel, the article aims to show the centrality of the concept of reflexivity as a principle of knowledge and, therefore, as a fundamental tool for thinking, against the naturalistic vision, about both the self (and subjectivity) and the sciences themselves in contemporary times. Reflexivity is revealed here as a concept specific to the classical German philosophy.

Back from the Future. Remarks on Temporality and Totality in the Birth of Classical German Philosophy

Abstract In this paper I propose to study the different combinations between temporality and the idea of totality in the beginning of Classical German Philosophy. In order to do that I will analyze the image of liberation in the philosophical and practical articulation of a new mythology in the manuscript “The Oldest Systematic Program of German Idealism”, and the outlines of a theory of the Spirit in the documents written by Hegel in the first part of his Jena stage, more specifically, in the fragments of the period 1803/04. For this purpose I will take as specific objects the figures of an “eternal unity” [die ewige Einheit] to come and of an “absolute becoming” [das absolute Werden] of Spirit. The hypothesis I intend to develop holds that the confrontation of these two images can lead to duplicated consequences: on the one hand, this comparison would make it possible to relativize the binary readings that oppose as terms of a simple contradiction both conceptual lineages, Idealism and Romanticism. On the other hand it would express an insurmountable tension between two ways of thinking about the relationship between time and totality.

Nature and Naturalism in Classical German Philosophy. Edited by LucaCorti and Johannes‐GeorgSchülein. Abingdon, Oxon.: Routledge, 2023. Pp. 250. £130.00.

Nature and Naturalism in Classical German Philosophy. Edited by LucaCorti and Johannes‐GeorgSchülein. Abingdon, Oxon.: Routledge, 2023. Pp. 250. £130.00.

Медицинская этика как прикладная теория развития

A new approach to medical ethics when it is interpreted as an applied theory of development has been investigated in this article. Relying on the ideas of German classical philosophy and Russian philosophy of unitotality, the development is defined based on the idea of any system as a set of basic polarities (thesis and antithesis). Their composition expresses deep polar definitions of the system and its polar portrait. A simulation model of this methodology is suggested using vector spaces with a scalar product. The development measure is introduced using the basis, the development law is defined, polar portraits of health and diseases are determined, the highest moral law is formulated as the law of development in the ethical sphere. To display medical ethics as an applied theory of development, three standards of classical medical ethics such as standards of mercy, ‘no harm’ and medical secrecy are analyzed, their polar interpretation is performed taking into account the suggested models. It is also displayed that all these standards express specific cases of the development law. Hypothesis of medical ethics as an applied section of development theory is supported, and a new research program of similar reinterpretation of other standards of medical ethics is suggested.

Thought: Parmenides' prohibition / Gorgias' self-will

The paper presents the philosophical arguments of the Sophist Gorgias of Leontius. For a long time, he was considered a judicial orator, rhetorician, teacher of eloquence. It's time to talk about Gorgias as a philosopher. His ontology, epistemology, and epistemology are as important as his rhetorical legacy. In this article, Gorgias appears as a broad-minded thinker. His ideas were echoed in German classical philosophy and French existentialism. Its cosmology was in tune with the concepts of physics of the XXI century. Gorgias is at the origin of the idea of an infinite number of Universes and quantum worlds. The author explores the speech personality of Gorgias, his games with language, his experiments with the genres of literature, poetry, and rhetoric. Gorgias had a great influence on the modern analytical philosophy of language. An important place in the article is given to the controversy between Gorgias and Parmenides, which goes far beyond the narrow limits of the “Eleatic question”.

Fichte’s formal logic

Fichte’s Foundations of the Entire Wissenschaftslehre 1794 is one of the most fundamental books in classical German philosophy. The use of laws of thought to establish foundational principles of transcendental philosophy was groundbreaking in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century and is still crucial for many areas of theoretical philosophy and logic in general today. Nevertheless, contemporaries have already noted that Fichte’s derivation of foundational principles from the law of identity is problematic, since Fichte lacked the tools to correctly present the formal parts of Foundations. In this paper, however, we argue that Fichte’s approach intuitively offers an important contribution to transcendental philosophy, and especially to philosophy of logic. We first point out the difficulties of Fichte’s logic in the Foundations and improve it in a second part on the basis of a formal system in which both propositional logic and syllogistic are combined.

Ludwig Feuerbach’s View of Human in Thoughts on death and immortality

Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872) was an outstanding delegate, following the tradition of Renaissance philosophers, the French Enlightenment of movement and the eighteenth – century French materialism with humane pages about people. In the process of the exploring new experience, along with the impact of contemporary German society. Ludwig Feuerbach has made significant “ahead” contributions to the history of philosophy in general and the history of classical German philosophy in particularly. In his studies, Ludwig Feuerbach has left a great legacy to be a meaningful end to researcher not only of German classical philosophy. Accordingly, the works of Thoughs on death and immortality (German: Gedanken zu Tod und Unsterblichkeit) he emphasized that it is necessary to reform philosophy in the relationship between matter and consciousness, thinking and being, spirit and nature.

Psychoanalysis, Philosophy and Literature- Intersection of Science and Art

IntroductionPhilosophy and psychoanalysis have mutually influenced each other in many ways. Ancient Greek philosophers, Socrates and Plato were frequently cited by Freud in his works and the origins of certain psychoanalytic concepts can be found in their works. The philosophical works of Kant, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Husserl, Sartre and many others had a significant impact on the development of psychoanalytic ideas. The intersection of philosophy and literature was best depicted in Simone de Beauvoir’s concept of the metaphysical novel.ObjectivesThe goal of this presentation is to perform a comprehensive historical review of the relationship between psychoanalysis, philosophy and literature.MethodsDifferent philosophical schools from ancient philosophy to classic German philosophy and philosophy of existentialism have been explored in their relationship with psychoanalysis and world literature. Among world literary classics, we selected only those who best represent the role of psychoanalysis in the modern literary critics and on the other hand the influence of philosophy on literature.ResultsEarly origins of the relationship between philosophy, psychoanalysis and literature can be found in the text of ancient philosophers and writers. The great Sophocles’ tragic drama Oedipus the King was the foundation for Freud’s concept of Oedipus complex. The Socratic dialogue, a technique best elaborated by his student Plato was the antecedent of modern psychotherapy. Later in history philosophical works of Kant, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre and many others had a significant impact on the development of psychoanalytic ideas. There is a number of other philosophical fictions in the world literature written by Sartre, Camus, Kafka, Proust and many others and some of these literary woks may have characteristics of psychological novel as well. Literary critics is an important field for the application of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalytic theory has been always in forefront of Shakespearean studies. Marcel Proust is a writer who gave a significant contribution to modern literary studies. He wrote about the interactive process between the reader and text and emotional impact of reading. Proust recognized the similar psychological processes that we can see in psychoanalytic setting.ConclusionsThis comprehensive historical review of the relationship between psychoanalysis, philosophy and literature demonstrates that all these disciplines have much in common, particularly in their intention to approach truth from different angles. Psychoanalysis is a science and applies scientific methodology in its theory and treatment. Certain branches of psychoanalysis like Jung’s analytic psychology are sometimes closer to philosophy and art than to science. Philosophy as a humanistic discipline has always been in between science and art.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Дуализм чувственной и духовной любви в немецкой философии

The article deals with the spiritual component of such a unique phenomenon as love. The aim of the work is to analyze the spiritual side of love in the German philosophy of Im. Kant, G. W. F. Hegel, A. Schopenhauer and L. Feuerbach, namely Christian and non-Christian, including mythological, sensual-spiritual images of love. and the task is to compare the understanding of the sensual-spiritual side of love in the works of these philosophers. The relevance of this study is associated with the great importance of German classical philosophy in understanding love as both a spiritual and sensual phenomenon, which seems important due to the modern exaggerated sensual understanding of the world. It is noteworthy that the aesthetic in this context was interpreted as a sensually perceived, non-utilitarian attitude of a person to reality, capable of elevating him to a state of spiritual and sensual euphoria. The object of this study is the understanding of love in the philosophy of Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer and Feuerbach. The subject is the ratio of sensual and spiritual love in German philosophy. The article provides an analysis of the philosophical and religious views of these thinkers in the field of understanding love as an aesthetic phenomenon. The purpose of the work is to reveal specifically religious, namely Christian and non-Christian sensual-spiritual images of love. Philosophers' concepts are considered sequentially, including in a comparative section and polemics between authors.

Матрица иллюзии

The article highlights several methodological levels in the study of illusory forms of consciousness based on the heritage of German classical philosophy (Kant, Hegel) and on the materials of the works of Durkheim, Freud and Marx. The “Kantian” level involves deciphering the content of an illusory complex by isolating unconscious intellectual or social processes, the interweaving of which gives rise to the appearance of ontological connections that do not exist in real­ity. Such an understanding of the nature of illusory forms allows us to single out four regular stages of reflection of these phenomena: naive fetishism, its rational criticism, scientific ideology and critical theory. At the fourth stage, invisible connections are revealed, but the reason for their concealment by an illusory form remains unexplained (fetishized). The “post-Kantian” level implies the re­jection of the subjective understanding of the illusory form and its understanding as a natural generation of content, which requires the rejection of the classical opposition of truth and error. The Hegelian model of absolute reality, for which all knowledge and illusions are its internal, but transient characteristics, can act here as a “methodological measure”. Unlike Durkheim, for whom illusion was the eternal state of society, Freud and Marx viewed it as a transient phenomenon, focusing on the mechanisms of its formation and death, but the opposition of “society and man” characteristic of psychoanalysis did not allow revealing the “systemic secret of form”. Marx partly took this step, and Durkheim’s innova­tion consisted in revealing the reflexive nature of the connection between the fetish and its sign.