19 th Century Philosophy A response to a changing world
Why so much? In the renaissance, there was Humanism In the enlightenment, there was different ideas but most agreed on increasing human rights and a foundation in logic However, no single theme describes the 19 th Century The 19 th Century is characterized by the vast amount of divergent philosophies that developed There are many reasons for this... But the greatest is the industrial revolution The world was transforming rapidly and society was changing... It is only natural that this upheaval would lead to different ways of thinking Also, people had dreamed of freedom human rights and logical politics. They got to experience these things and life was no better (for many, it was much worse)
Romanticism A philosophical reaction to the enlightenment Focused on the value of human emotions rather than pure logic Intellect alone does not lead to fulfillment Extremely popular during the early 19 th century Nationalism is a perfect example of a Romantic movement There is no logical reason why you should love your country, but you do!
Liberalism A continuation of Enlightenment thought Focused on Freedom of the Individual Liberalism went global after the French revolution Liberal thinkers (like John Stuart Mill) and politicians continued to push for more rights and less government control throughout the 19 th century
Socialism Began with Karl Marx A response to the horror, poverty and inequality of the industrial revolution Saw life as a struggle between the classes The only way to a peaceful, equitable society is for those who work to control the means of production Workers should create a society of absolute equality – everything is proportioned to people based on need He believed that the lower classes must violently rise up and overthrow their rich masters “Workers of the World Unite. You have nothing to lose but your chains” In 1848, Marx wrote his ground breaking book – “The Communist Manifesto”
Anarchism A belief that all governments and institutions are corrupt Therefore, there should be no governments, institutions or laws Each person should rule themselves Anarchists can be very different in their approach Some are extreme individualists while others focus on voluntary small communities
Utilitarianism Invented by Jeremy Bentham An extremely simple philosophy Believed that governments should rule by one simple principle ‘The greatest good for the greatest number of people”
Existentialism The belief that traditional philosophy was to abstract for humans to process Philosophy should be born out of human experience Focused on Authenticity (your own spirit, personality or character) Because Existentialism focuses so mush on the perceptions of the individual – existentialist thinkers do not agree on very much Very hard to define
Nihilism A belief that life has no real purpose Nothing has any real value There is no absolute truth There is no right and wrong Literally a belief in nothing
Friedrich Nietzsche Sometimes called a Nihilist or an Anarchist Proclaimed “God is Dead” He believed in no absolute truth and no higher power Life was completely about your senses – what you could hear, feel, see and touch is the only truth War, violence and competition are the natural state of man. He was not negative... Many consider his philosophies liberating Nietzsche talked of true freedom – to live your life by your own rules, to create truth based on your own experiences, to be completely human and live to the absolute fullest He also suggested that it is a good idea to kill yourself He believed that humanity was evolving towards something greater – people who refuse to live by the rules of others – refuse to be sheep The Ubermensch or The Superman
Nietzsche Quotes A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything. After coming into contact with a religious man I always feel I must wash my hands. All credibility, all good conscience, all evidence of truth come only from the senses. All of life is a dispute over taste and tasting. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you. Believe me! The secret of reaping the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment from life is to live dangerously! Extreme positions are not succeeded by moderate ones, but by contrary extreme positions.
Faith: not wanting to know what is true. God is a thought who makes crooked all that is straight. Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man. I cannot believe in a God who wants to be praised all the time. In Christianity neither morality nor religion come into contact with reality at any point. In heaven, all the interesting people are missing. In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.
In the consciousness of the truth he has perceived, man now sees everywhere only the awfulness or the absurdity of existence and loathing seizes him. Is man one of God's blunders? Or is God one of man's blunders? It is always consoling to think of suicide: in that way one gets through many a bad night. One should die proudly when it is no longer possible to live proudly. That which does not kill us makes us stronger. The word "Christianity" is already a misunderstanding - in reality there has been only one Christian, and he died on the Cross. You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star. "I teach you the Superman. Man is something that should be overcome. What have you done to overcome him? All beings so far have created something beyond themselves; and do you want to be the ebb of this great flood and even go back to the beasts rather than overcome man? What is the ape to man? A laughingstock or a painful embarrassment. And man shall be just that for the Superman: a laughingstock or a painful embarrassment..."
Darwinism Charles Darwin traveled the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. He observed different species of animals on different islands and came up with the theory of Natural Selection. In his book, The Origin of Species, Darwin described Natural selection as a process where animals evolve and change over time and that all animals have evolved from lower species. (i.e. Humans were not created special by God, rather we evolved from apes). In Natural Selection, it’s “Survival of the Fittest.” Those animals who have better adaptations will survive will other animals will die off. Darwinism was the most shocking idea of its time. Humans were among the apes and not the angels.
Social Darwinism Darwinism turned out to be one of the most dangerous theories the world had ever known because it was easily twisted into other things. Social Darwinism is an idea which applies Survival of the Fittest and Natural Selection to relationships between humans. Herbert Spencer is credited as being the first Social Darwinist Only the strongest should survive, superior cultures should dominate weaker cultures. This justified a brand new type of racism, that was worse than ever before. Lets create a Social Darwinist scenario... Black Africans were not inferior because they were not Christians, they were inferior because of evolution, because they were genetically inferior. This fact could never change and justifies racism, slavery, exploitation forever. The most important Social Darwinist in History – ADOLPH HITLER!
Craniology: the Study of Skull size to determine intelligence