Continental philosophy

Continental Philosophy (English continental philosophy ) is a common, especially in the English-speaking philosophy collective term for various movements in continental Europe (especially Germany and France) driven philosophy, which have in common that in empirical and logical- analytic influenced schools, as long as they time prevailed in the Anglo-American world, have long been virtually appeal. Part are also other distinguishing criteria, such as methodological, content, or institutional, is proposed.

Continental philosophy encompasses a broad spectrum of very different philosophical schools. These include the German Neohegelianismus, phenomenology, hermeneutics, the works of Schopenhauer, Nietzsche and Kierkegaard, different varieties of Marxism, critical theory, psychoanalysis, French existentialism, structuralism, deconstruction and post-structuralism and feminism French coinage. Many of these continental thinkers or schools be judged from the perspective of some decidedly analytical philosophers critically about because the positions taken appear blurry and imprecise, were not verifiable or implausible. In such assessments, the term continental philosophy is often used pejoratively.

Problem of containment

In recent decades, a demarcation between " analytic " and " continental " tradition, education, or method of different pages from different motives and reasons is problematized. For example, positions that clearly can ascribe a " continental " thinkers under reconstruction in explicit connection to these thinkers of analytically trained philosophers elaborated or defended. Conversely, see " continental " schools that were found philosophers positions of interest, which are developed from the original " analytical " contexts entstamme ends theorists. Examples can be found for example in the exegesis of these classics or in debates about self- consciousness, intentionality, and phenomenological issues at all, idealism or feminist theories. One of the factors that favor this can be seen that many initially largely relevant assumptions and methodology to be " analytic " philosophers, such as an empiricist, metaphysics critical or linguistic analysis orientation were enriched at least since the 1960 years to a wide variety of alternatives. From the beginning, also were more trained in analytical methodology and familiar with analytical debates or there discussed philosophers interested in " continental " traditions. Also, many authors such as Leibniz, Bolzano, Brentano, or, later, for example, Ludwig Wittgenstein and William James and other pragmatists were important for many " analytic " how many " continental" philosophers.

Many theorists and Philosophiegeschichtler propose spite of such trends, to maintain the distinction. Here, for example, stressed now and again, that " analytic " philosophers rather to issues and arguments oriented as in certain classics. On the other hand sometimes been argued that each have different role models are orienting or the difference will be moored to methodologies, their characterization is also debatable. Typical stereotypes write " analytic " philosophers, for example, more interested in theoretical clarifications tightly marginalized issues than on historical, cultural or political conditions, " continental " philosophers, however the latter.