AN INTRODUCTION TO MODERN EUROPEAN

PHILOSOPHY
Also by Jenny Teichman

ILLEGITIMACY
INTENTION AND INTENTIONALITY (with Cora Diamond
and others)
PACIFISM AND THE JUST WAR
PHILOSOPHY, A BEGINNER'S GUIDE (with Katherine Evans)
PHILOSOPHY AND THE MIND
POLEMICAL PAPERS
SOCIAL ETHICS, A STUDENT'S GUIDE
THE MIND AND THE SOUL

Also by Graham White

LUTHER AS NOMINALIST
An Introduction to
Modern European
Philosophy
Edited by

Jenny Teichman
Fellow ofNew Hall
University ofCambridge

and

Graham White
Department of Computer Science
Queen Mary and Westfield College
University ofLondon

Second Edition

palgrave
Selection and editorial matter© Jenny Teichman and Graham White 1995, 1998
Text © Macmillan Press Ltd 1995, 1998

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of

this publication may be made without written permission.
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Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Published by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
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and London
Companies and representatives
throughout the world

First edition 1995

Second edition 1998
ISBN 978-0-333-72463-7 ISBN 978-1-349-26651-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-26651-7

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Transferred to digital printing 200 I

Contents

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS vi

PREFACE vii

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION viii

GLOSSARY ix

INSTEAD OF AN INTRODUCTION G. White

REFLECTIONS ON THE PRESENT CONFLICT G. White 4
G.W.F. HEGEL R. Stem 18
ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER J. Teichman 38
S0REN KJERKEGAARD R . Stem 49
KARL MARX G. Howie 63
FRIEDRICH NIElZSCHE J. Teichman 77
EDMUND HUSSERL G. White 91
MARTIN HEJDEGGER G. White 105
JACQUES MARITAIN C . Farey 120
JEAN-PAUL SARTRE J. Teichman 133
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR G . Howie 145
HANNAH ARENDT I.F. Burke 158
JURGEN HABERMAS N . Davey 169
M . FOUCAULT S. Christmas 186
1968 AND AFTER S. Plant 199
INDEX 216

v
List of Contributors

John Francis Burke, Department of Social Sciences, S1.Thomas

University, Texas.
Simon Christmas, Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge,
England.
Nicholas Davey, Department of Philosophy, University of Dundee,
Scotland.
Caroline Farey, Maryvale Institute, Birmingham, England.
Gill Howie, Department of Philosophy, University of Liverpool, England.
Sadie Plant, Cybernetic Culture Research Unit, University of Warwick,
England.
Robert Stern, Department of Philosophy, University of Sheffield,
England.
Jenny Teichman, New Hall, University of Cambridge, England.
Graham White, Department of Computer Science, Queen Mary and
Westfield College, University of London, England.

vi
 Preface

This book is an introduction to European philosophy for English-speaking

readers . In the Introduction, one will find an exploration of the misunder-
standings which arise from the notion that English philosophy is analytic,
and therefore very dry and abstract, while European philosophy is non-
analytic, and therefore more relevant to human concerns. The divide
between analytic philosophy and continental philosophy is sometimes
taken as self-evident. Yet logic, and linguistics, and the philosophy of
mathematics - areas usually associated with Anglo-American philosophy
- have not been neglected in Europe during the last two hundred years; on
the contrary, great advances in these fields were made by Peano (an
Italian), Frege (a German), Lukasiewicz (a Pole) and other Europeans .The
works of these people, however, are probably too difficult to be useful as
subject matter in an introductory text.
The philosophers we have chosen to discuss concerned themselves, on
the whole, with less arcane matters. It has to be admitted, moreover, that
philosophy in continental Europe during the last two centuries has been
richer than English philosophy in ideas and theories about politics, his-
tory, religion, music and the nature of Western culture; matters which do
not strictly speak ing belong to philosophy itself, or not, at least, to its
more technical side. For these reasons we believe that this text will be
accessible to humanities undergraduates generally and not only to stu-
dents of philosophy. And since each chapter is more or less self-con-
tained, it will be possible for individual readers to begin by reading the
ones which deal with their own particular concerns. Students of political
theory and history will find the essays on Marx and Habermas especially
significant, while theology students may want to start with Kierkegaard
and Nietzsche. Psychology students will discover that HusserI's theory of
knowledge incorporates ideas about the psychology of perception, and
that de Beauvoir and Foucault both discuss the psychology as well as the
ideology of sex. Schopenhauer's concept of the will embodies yet another
aspect of psychology. Students of literature may find out how Sartre's
philosophy of freedom is expounded in his novels . An account of the
interaction between philosophy and politics in France is given in the last
chapter. Finally, since almost every thinker represented herein had a the-
ory about the fundamental nature of reality. the book as a whole compris-
es a brief history of two hundred years of metaphysics .

vii
Preface to the Second Edition

As well as corrections and minor modifications to the original text this

second edition of An Introduction to Modem European Philosophy incor-
porates two substantial new chapters on important political philosophers
of the twentieth century. The essay by Caroline Farey will introduce read-
ers to the philosophy of Jacques Maritain, a French Catholic thinker
whose ideas significantly influenced those of the founders of the European
Community and whose ideals are to some extent embedded in the institu-
tions of the Community. The other new paper, written by John Francis
Burke, deals with the political thought of Hannah Arendt, author of semi-
nal works about Nazism and other forms of totalitarianism.
In addition, we have added, to the suggestions for further reading in
each chapter, some URLs - either of Web pages or of mailing lists -
appropriate to the subject of that chapter. The Internet has become a valu-
able resource for the humanities , and we hope that this material will be
useful.
Since the first edition was published in 1995 some of the original con-
tributors have changed their addresses. Nicholas Davey has moved from
the University of Swansea to the University of Dundee, Sadie Plant has
moved from the University of Birmingham to the University of Warwick
and Graham White has moved from Liechtenstein to the University of
London .

viii
Glossary

Alienation A Hegelian and process of exposing the instability

Marxist concept, according to is called deconstruction.
which certain entities, typically Dialectics Generally used for a
people and social institutions, variety of philosophical methods
develop by passing through stages, which go beyond the capacities of
some of which involve dissolution merely formal logic. Used
and loss . These latter are states of especially of the methods of Hegel
alienation. and Marx.
Behaviourism The doctrine that Encyclical A letter from the Pope
scientific accounts of mind and to the bishops affirming or
meaning must rest on descriptions reaffirming the teachings of the
of behaviour and not on Church on various matters.
introspection. Epistemology The theory of
Bracketing See Epoche. knowledge.
Cognitivism The doctrine Epoche A term borrowed by
according to which knowing that Husser! from the philosophical
things are the case precedes sceptics of ancient Greece, and
knowing how to perform actions. which means suspending
Conventionalism The doctrine judgement. It is a central principle
that the connection between signs, of phenomenology that , in order to
language, etc. , and what these discover the truth about some
stand for is a matter of arbitrary things - for example the structure
convention. of reality - it is necessary to
Destruction and Deconstruction suspend judgement on others - for
Heideggerean Destruction is the example the existence of material
view that certain key concepts (for objects.
example the Western concept of Essentialism The theory that
Being) are fundamentally muddled. things have fixed natures, from
To extricate ourselves from which their other properties, and
muddle, we have to analyse these their behaviour, can be inferred.
concepts into their historical roots . Existentialism A theory which
Deconstruction is associated with arose in opposition to essentialism.
Derrida, who has a theory about It holds that individuals as such -
signification according to which all especially human individuals - do
our concepts are unstable. The not have essences or fixed natures.

ix
 Glossary

Existenz The German for according to which the world has

existence. The word is typically real non-mental constituents.
used to indicate that aspect of Ideology A term which can be
human beings - or other complex, used neutrally or polemically .
contingent things - which cannot Neutrally it means a system of
be defined in terms of an essence. beliefs, especially those
Fordism and pest-Fordism Terms characteristic of a given society . In
relating to Henry Ford, who polemics , and particularly Marxist
introduced large-scale assembly- polemics, it means a false system
line manufacturing procedures of beliefs supporting the power
based on a "rational" division of structure of a given society.
labour and the regimentation of the Identity Philosophy The position
work process. Post-Fordism refers that the basic constituents of reality
to recent developments in are static and self-sufficient. Hegel
manufacturing, made possible by invented the term to use
new technology, which seem to polemically against the early
escape from the Fordist paradigm. Schelling.
Gender Bias A gender biased Individual In philosophy, the word
theory, outlook or doctrine uses 'individual' is sometimes
gender-specific concepts in an contrasted with 'particular' (e.g. by
unreflective way, and thereby Hegel or Kierkegaard) when the
reinforces the sexual status quo. To opposition is between a mere thing,
genderise a theory is to introduce or bare particular, versus a
gender-biased concepts. complex, self-reflective entity .
Gender Theory Any theory Sometimes - for example in
involving a critical examination of Maritain - it is contrasted with a
the way in which gender-biased person (see Personalism) when the
concepts affect thinking. opposition is between a merely
Humanitas This does not mean material entity, or individual, and a
mere humanity, but conveys the spiritual being, or person . In
idea that one is not fully human ordinary language, the individual is
unless one is, and behaves as, a contrasted with the community.
social being, a citizen, a member of Liberalism A many-stranded
a community. Arendt takes the concept comprising ideals such as
term from Heidegger, who takes it freedom and tolerance, political
from Cicero. and economic liberty; sometimes it
Idealism and Realism Idealism is involves hostility to government.
the theory that reality consists of Logic This has been defined as the
ideas and consciousness. Realism "laws of thought", an expression
is a theory or group of theories which can be taken in more than

x
 Modern European Philosophy

one way. It can mean either a study Phenomenology A group of

of how people ought to reason, or philosophical methods which use
of how they do in fact reason . introspection to study the structure
Formal logic studies reasoning by of experience by imagining
presenting it in symbolic form. variations in its contents. The word
There is disagreement amongst was first used in this sense by
logicians and other philosophers Husseri, who invented the method.
about whether all of human Pluralism The view that a healthy
reasoning can be represented society will affirm the existence of,
symbolically. and the necessity for, a variety of
Mereology The formal theory of world-views among its citizens .
parts and wholes. Post-Fordism See Fordism.
Metaphysics Refers either to the Post-Modernism See Modernism.
philosophical study of existence Personalism See Individual.
and knowledge, or to any general Praxis A term which (especially in
integrative discipline that ties the Marxism) means a combination of
various parts of philosophy theory and action.
together. Project A long-range structure of
Modernism and Post-Modernism plans and desires.
Modernism is a group of theories Projection Investing some external
which maintain that society is objects, for example other persons ,
progressing towards a state of with attributes which do not belong
greater rationality and thereby a to them but which come from one 's
state of greater justice. Its own mental life.
proponents include Kant and J. S. Realism See Idealism.
Mill. Post-modernism is the view Reification The error of treating as
that the era in which modernism is things items which are not things -
valid is over. for example, relations,
Ontology Literally the study of propositions, concepts (such as
being or existence; sometimes used justice, patriarchy, etc.).
as a synonym for metaphysics. Relations In social thought, the
Particular See Universal and neglect of relations (see
Individual. Reification) is sometimes regarded
Personalism The term is used by as an error, because, it is held,
Maritain as a contrast with human beings depend on their
individualism. More recently , it has relations with others.
been used to describe a philosophy Sensus Communis The Latin term
which claims that not all human which became our 'common
beings are persons, and that only sense' ; it stood for the Aristotelean
persons are worthy of respect. notion of a general sense which

xi
 Glossary

integrated the perceptions of the Transcendental A Kantian term

other senses. which applies to subject and object,
Solipsism The doctrine that the and to arguments. The
only reality is a single isolated transcendental object and subject,
consciousness, for example mine . as distinct from merely empirical
Structuralism A family of objects and subjects , are the two
theories, associated with Saussure, basic constituents of reality. A
which emphasises the importance transcendental argument is one
of relations, rather than the nature which starts from the conditions of
of objects in isolation. Often possibility of a premise, rather than
associated with conventionalism. from the premise itself.
Superstructure A Marxist concept Transcendental Idealism The
referring to the non-material theory that the transcendental
components of society, for subject is prior to the
example art, religion etc. transcendental object.
Teleology The doctrine that basic Universal and Particular A
explanations are in terms of a particular is an individual of some
purpose, or end. kind, for example a person , a chair,
Thrownness A Heideggerean a table. The word universal is used
concept, referring to the fact that either of a collection of similar real
we find ourselves in a situation in or imaginary particulars (for
the world which we did not choose example horses, thoughts, volcanic
and cannot fully grasp or control. eruptions, unicorns) , or as a
Transcendent To transcend a synonym for the words type, class ,
domain is to go beyond it. The sort, kind.
transcendent is generally taken to
be those realities which lie beyond
what we can immediately know.

xii