20th century American philosophy

1 20th century

1.1 rejection of idealism
1.2 process philosophy
1.3 analytic philosophy
1.4 return of political philosophy
1.5 feminism

20th century

george santayana, spanish-american philosopher

pragmatism, began in 19th century in america, beginning of 20th century began accompanied other philosophical schools of thought, , eclipsed them, though temporarily. 20th century saw emergence of process philosophy, influenced scientific world-view , einstein s theory of relativity. middle of 20th century witness increase in popularity of philosophy of language , analytic philosophy in america. existentialism , phenomenology, while popular in europe in 20th century, never achieved level of popularity in america did in continental europe.

rejection of idealism

pragmatism continued influence 20th century, , spanish-born philosopher george santayana 1 of leading proponents of pragmatism in period. held idealism outright contradiction , rejection of common sense. held that, if must in order knowledge, seems no knowledge may possible, , result skepticism. according santayana, knowledge involved sort of faith, termed animal faith.

in book scepticism , animal faith asserts knowledge not result of reasoning. instead, knowledge required in order act , engage world. naturalist, santayana harsh critic of epistemological foundationalism. explanation of events in natural world within realm of science, while meaning , value of action should studied philosophers. santayana accompanied in intellectual climate of common sense philosophy thinkers of new realism movement, such ralph barton perry.

process philosophy

process philosophy embraces einsteinian world-view, , main proponents include alfred north whitehead , charles hartshorne. core belief of process philosophy claim events , processes principal ontological categories. whitehead asserted in book concept of nature things in nature, referred concresences conjunction of events maintain permanence of character. process philosophy heraclitan in sense fundamental ontological category change. charles hartshorne responsible developing process philosophy of whitehead process theology.

analytic philosophy

an image of w.v.o. quine seen on passport

the middle of 20th century beginning of dominance of analytic philosophy in america. analytic philosophy, prior arrival in america, had begun in europe work of gottlob frege, bertrand russell, ludwig wittgenstein, , logical positivists. according logical positivism, truths of logic , mathematics tautologies, , of science empirically verifiable. other claim, including claims of ethics, aesthetics, theology, metaphysics, , ontology, meaningless (this theory called verificationism). rise of adolf hitler , nazi party, many positivists fled germany britain , america, , helped reinforce dominance of analytic philosophy in united states in subsequent years.

w.v.o. quine, while not logical positivist, shared view philosophy should stand shoulder shoulder science in pursuit of intellectual clarity , understanding of world. criticized logical positivists , analytic/synthetic distinction of knowledge in essay 2 dogmas of empiricism , advocated web of belief, coherentist theory of justificiation. in quine s epistemology, since no experiences occur in isolation, there holistic approach knowledge every belief or experience intertwined whole. quine famous inventing term gavagai part of theory of indeterminacy of translation.

saul kripke @ juquehy beach

saul kripke, student of quine @ harvard, has profoundly influenced analytic philosophy. kripke ranked among top ten important philosophers of past 200 years in poll conducted brian leiter (leiter reports: philosophy blog; open access poll) kripke best known 4 contributions philosophy: (1) kripke semantics modal , related logics, published in several essays beginning while still in teens. (2) 1970 princeton lectures naming , necessity (published in 1972 , 1980), restructured philosophy of language and, have put it, made metaphysics respectable again . (3) interpretation of philosophy of wittgenstein. (4) theory of truth. has made important contributions set theory (see admissible ordinal , kripke–platek set theory)

david kellogg lewis, student of quine @ harvard, ranked 1 of greatest philosophers of 20th century in poll conducted brian leiter (open access poll). known controversial advocacy of modal realism, position holds there infinite number of concrete , causally isolated possible worlds, of ours one. these possible worlds arise in field of modal logic.

thomas kuhn important philosopher , writer worked extensively in fields of history of science , philosophy of science. famous writing structure of scientific revolutions, 1 of cited academic works of time. book argues science proceeds through different paradigms scientists find new puzzles solve. there follows widespread struggle find answers questions, , shift in world views occurs, referred kuhn paradigm shift. work considered milestone in sociology of knowledge.

return of political philosophy

the analytic philosophers troubled abstract , conceptual, , american philosophy did not return social , political concerns (that dominated american philosophy @ time of founding of united states) until 1970s.

ayn rand, founder of objectivism

the return political , social concerns included popularity of works of ayn rand, promoted ethical egoism (the praxis of belief system called objectivism) in novels, fountainhead in 1943 , atlas shrugged in 1957. these 2 novels gave birth objectivist movement , influence small group of students called collective, 1 of whom young alan greenspan, self-described libertarian become chairman of federal reserve. objectivism holds there objective external reality can known reason, human beings should act in accordance own rational self-interest, , proper form of economic organization laissez-faire capitalism. academic philosophers have been highly critical of quality , intellectual rigor of rand s work, remains popular, albeit controversial, figure within american libertarian movement.

in 1971 john rawls published book theory of justice. book puts forth rawls view of justice fairness, 1 based on form of social contract theory. rawls employs use of conceptual mechanism called veil of ignorance outline idea of original position.

in rawls philosophy, original position correlate hobbesian state of nature. while in original position, persons said behind veil of ignorance, makes these persons unaware of individual characteristics , place in society, such race, religion, wealth, etc. principles of justice chosen rational persons while in original position. 2 principles of justice equal liberty principle , principle governs distribution of social , economic inequalities. this, rawls argues system of distributive justice in accordance difference principle, says social , economic inequalities must greatest benefit of least advantaged.

viewing rawls promoting excessive government control , rights violations, libertarian robert nozick published anarchy, state, , utopia in 1974. book advocates minimal state , defends liberty of individual. argues role of government should limited police protection, national defense, , administration of courts of law, other tasks commonly performed modern governments – education, social insurance, welfare, , forth – taken on religious bodies, charities, , other private institutions operating in free market.

nozick asserts view of entitlement theory of justice, says if in society has acquired holdings in accordance principles of acquisition, transfer, , rectification, pattern of allocation, no matter how unequal distribution may be, just. entitlement theory of justice holds justice of distribution indeed determined historical circumstances (contrary end-state theories), has nothing fitting pattern guaranteeing worked hardest or deserving have shares.

alasdair macintyre, while born , educated in united kingdom, has spent around forty years living , working in united states. responsible resurgence of interest in virtue ethics, moral theory first propounded ancient greek philosopher aristotle. considered preeminent thomist political philosopher. holds modern philosophy , modern life characterized absence of coherent moral code, , vast majority of individuals living in world lack meaningful sense of purpose in lives , lack genuine community . recommends return genuine political communities individuals can acquire virtues.

outside academic philosophy, political , social concerns took center stage civil rights movement , writings of martin luther king, jr.

feminism

betty friedan

while there earlier writers considered feminist, such sarah grimké, charlotte perkins gilman, elizabeth cady stanton, , anne hutchinson, feminist movement of 1960s , 1970s, known second-wave feminism, notable impact in philosophy.

the popular mind taken betty friedan s feminine mystique. accompanied other feminist philosophers, such alicia ostriker , adrienne rich. these philosophers critiqued basic assumptions , values objectivity , believe masculine approaches ethics, such rights-based political theories. maintained there no such thing value-neutral inquiry , sought analyze social dimensions of philosophical issues.