Lebensphilosophie
Philosophy of life is formed in the 19th century towards the philosophy that was developed in France by Henri Bergson and in Germany by Wilhelm Dilthey as an alternative to positivism in the manner of the natural sciences and neo-Kantianism with one-sided emphasis on rationality. The becoming of life, its wholeness can therefore be inadequately captured and described with terms and logic. For an encompassing life are as much a non-rational, creative, and dynamic elements.
Categorically distinguished from the philosophy of life is vitalism, understood as a biological theory. According to the vitalism of life is the product not of primary lifeless matter, but an independent life force ( vis vitalis, entelechy ). The philosophy of life, which is intrinsically an anti- systematic character, explained as a metaphysical doctrine the phenomenon of life. As a critique of rationalism and the Enlightenment it is already created in Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, which can be considered as precursors of the philosophy of life, therefore, even if they did not know the term. The philosophy of life influenced representatives of existential philosophy.
Root
The roots of the philosophy of life go back to the decision made by Christian Wolff distinguished between theoretical school philosophy and a philosophy that aims itself coming from the life on the practical life. Life and the world were wisdom in the late 18th century high society fashion circles terms. The philosophy of life was less a specific philosophical doctrine as a certain cultural mood that influenced much of the intelligence. Characteristic of this philosophy of life is Goethe verse:
" Grey, dear friend, is all theory, and green the golden tree of life. "
New popular was the philosophy of life in the Romantic movement. For romantics like Novalis not the reason, but to the life more closely related feeling and faith is paramount. As an outspoken opponent of this salon philosophy occurred in 1794, Immanuel Kant with a font On the Common Saying: That may be true in theory, but is not suitable for the practice in appearance.
The life and the world of wisdom are often depicted in aphorisms.
To wider attention helped the philosophy of Friedrich Schlegel in 1827 against the system philosophers Kant and Hegel -related lectures on the philosophy of life.
Especially around the turn of the 19th century to the 20th century, the philosophy of life in Germany and France became a fashion trend with effects in sociology (Georg Simmel ).
Georg Lukács criticized the life philosophy, Marxist inspired, as reason enmity, irrationalism and the position of the " imperialist bourgeoisie " representative.
Philosophy of life as a technical term
At a philosophical technical term philosophy of life will be extended until the end of the 19th century by Wilhelm Dilthey and Bergson. Although Edmund Husserl did not belong to this direction, but added by the development of phenomenology to the " science of life world " from 1913 strongly to this. One consequence of this was to interpret everyday life as philosophically relevant.
Wilhelm Dilthey
Life is a basic fact of Wilhelm Dilthey ( 1833-1911 ). A central concept of his philosophy is the experience. Dilthey is aimed primarily against the deterministic scientific variant of John Stuart Mill, Herbert Spencer and others. Experience is an experience of contexts that can not be easily broken down into individual elements. Dilthey was particularly interested in historical considerations. To this end, he introduced the now customary distinction between natural sciences and humanities. While the scientific principle of the former is explaining the principle of understanding must be based in the humanities.
The science of individual phenomena try to find a general rule. In the humanities, however, one is concerned just with the single phenomenon as a historical event or a biography. A cornerstone of the philosophy of Dilthey is the nexus of experience, expression and understanding. The principle and the theory of understanding, hermeneutics is not only applicable to texts, but also on art, religious beliefs or principles of law. In understanding is not only the cognitive thinking, but also the emotive desires and feelings of the viewer. It requires a holistic approach that by analytical psychology that examines individual aspects, can not be done, for example. As a result of Dilthey's thought, the Gestalt psychology, which is applied descriptively especially developed.
Henri Bergson
Henri Bergson (1859-1941) makes a distinction between the experience of time, the psyche and the measurable time of science, which has a space -oriented idea of time. According to him, perceives the human consciousness structure relationships that are indivisible. Accordingly, the scientific analytical psychology, which seeks to capture individual psychological elements not suitable to capture an overall picture of a state of mind for him. Awareness one could detect only qualitatively. Physically measured time was against determined and causal. Experienced time as duration is a prerequisite for freedom. Perception successes originally in pictures and always at the same time containing memory and desire, so past and future. Also the knowledge of the holistic nature of things was needed, therefore, the additional intuition.
Georg Simmel
For Georg Simmel (1858-1918) involves recognizing a priori categories, but which undergo development in the course of evolution and of the person. In recognizing the chaos of experiences will be arranged. But our individual thinking can not grasp the unity of the totality full. Ideas, such as truth, are independent of the psyche. The notion of truth leads man to useful behavior according to the demands of life. That is true which had proved invaluable in the selection during evolution and was appropriate. The Shall is an original category if change in practice the content. In it the Will of the genus is expressed. Altruism is egoism of the genus. Simmel was next to his philosophical activity also one of the founders of German sociology.
Hans Driesch
Hans Driesch (1867-1941) noted because of its biological research that germs that are cleaved to form back to full-fledged new germs. From this he concluded that there was a certain natural force not causal in nature, although he called a terminological reference to Aristotle, but in conceptual declared contrary to this entelechy. Because of his views Driesch is considered a representative of the neo-vitalism.
Ludwig Klages
Ludwig Klages (1872-1956) emphasized the physical-mental unit and its contrary to the spirit (ratio). In thinking of the mind, we solve for a finite moment of the object from its phenomenal reality, from a steady space-time continuum. Trained as a chemist, Klages was a philosopher and poet science critically. Epistemology was for him science of consciousness. In Nietzsche he appreciated the detection of self-deception, forgery and compensatory value ideals, but declined his epistemology fundamentally on. He is regarded as one of the founding fathers of modern ecology movement through its holistic life with constant use for nature conservation.
Ferdinand Fellmann
1993 Ferdinand fur man has attempted to rehabilitate the philosophy of life, as it has been rejected due to their ideological instrumentalisation during the time of National Socialism after the Second World War as the destruction of reason by academic philosophers. In Fell 's approach to the self-experience of people is not exhausted in the Cogito of Descartes, but also includes the rationally unresolvable areas of physical and emotional existence. This man gains a realistic picture of himself and of the world. Also the language-analytical philosophy is distinguished from the philosophy of life; today shows the philosophy of mind in the United States distinct bonds in the classics of philosophy of life.