AGE OF ANXIETY
Essential Questions Why did doubts emerge concerning the belief in human progress during the 1920s? Who were the major thinkers and works which influenced the search for meaning in post World War I Europe?
18 th & 19 th centuries marked by an acknowledgment to science and reason
Nietzsche The West overemphasized rationality Conventional values suffocated creativity On the Genealogy of Morals “God is dead” – the West had killed Christianity and that left people disoriented and depressed Only a few ubermenschen – supermen could reorder the world and become true heroes
The Philosophy Revolt – 3 Paths Logical Positivism Existentialism Revival Christianity
Logical Positivism Sees meaning in only those beliefs that can be empirically proven – all else is nonsense Ludwig Wittgenstein – Austrian philosopher “Of what one cannot speak, of the one must keep silent”
Existentialism Stresses the meaninglessness of existence and the importance of the individual in searching for moral values in an uncertain world. Jean-Paul Sartre – French philosopher “existence precedes essence” – your actions give life meaning There is a ethical component suggesting one should be engaged in the world
Revival of Christianity Soren Kierkegaard – Swiss Danish theologian Impossible to prove God but must take a “leap of faith” Gabriel Marcel – leading Catholic existential Religion provided hope in a “broken world” Denounced anti-Semitism and smoothed relations with non-Catholics Religious participation on the rise