The main methods of philosophical discourse - 2024

German Philosophy of the 19th Century

Philosophy of the Modern Age

History of Philosophy

In the 19th century, German philosophy introduced a series of significant and influential concepts to the world. One such concept was formulated by Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860). He argued that humans can only know phenomena, which are expressions of things, rather than the things themselves. Real reality remains inaccessible to humans, and even one's own self is only a phenomenon to oneself. Since humans express themselves through desires and will, Schopenhauer deemed the will to be the only true characteristic of a person. As people constantly will (desire) something, the world for Schopenhauer is the result of this desire; in his words, the world is will and representation. However, human desires remain mere illusions that often go unfulfilled. For instance, a person may wish to live forever but ends up dying, or may desire realization but finds themselves unneeded. Unfulfilled desires are the source of human suffering. Schopenhauer saw no possibility of liberation from suffering and believed that humans are doomed to live in a world of illusions.

Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872) rejected Hegel's doctrine of the Absolute Spirit, replacing it with the concept of humanity. If there is no Absolute Spirit, there is also no dialectic as principles of the Spirit's development. According to Feuerbach, humans are material beings. Nothing exists beyond matter. Humans are inclined to construct dreams and ideals, seeking happiness, love, respect, etc. When these ideals are not found within themselves or others, they create an absolute image of them - God. Feuerbach, an atheist, believed that humans invented God to embody their highest ideals and aspirations. Since religion reflects human expectations, changes in religious attitudes signal shifts in values and thus in epochs. In ethics, Schopenhauer called for the humanization of behavior, asserting that humans should regard other humans as their deity.

The Marxist doctrine, established by Karl Heinrich Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820-1895), had a profound impact on global politics, economics, and history. Like Feuerbach, Marx rejected Hegel's concept of Spirit but adopted dialectics into his own philosophy. Marx acknowledged only the existence of matter, but saw its primary characteristic as constant development occurring according to dialectical laws. He called this doctrine dialectical materialism. Marx understood matter in a broad sense, considering society as a special kind of matter. Since all matter is in constant development, so too is society, being matter itself. This theory Marx termed historical materialism. The driving force behind societal development is the economy, which comprises productive forces (people who create material goods) and production relations (norms governing human coexistence). In the past, people did not have private property and shared all goods equally. With the emergence of capital, some people began to control its distribution, creating a divide between the ruling and subordinate classes. This class division led to class struggle. As productive forces evolve over time, production relations remain static, eventually causing the productive forces to outgrow them, leading to a revolution that dismantles the old relations and establishes new ones. Marx referred to each new stage of production relations as a societal formation, enumerating several: primitive communal society, slavery, feudalism, and capitalism.

However, revolution is always painful. Marx aimed not only to describe the world but to change it. The ideal state of society would be one where production relations develop as dynamically as the productive forces. They are not dynamic because a force, namely the ruling class, prevents their change. To make production relations dynamic, the ruling class must be abolished. The ruling class comprises those who own the means of production (land, factories). Hence, to eliminate class division, private ownership of the means of production must be abolished, leading to a classless society where dynamic development of production relations can occur. Marx proposed confiscating private property, with the means of production becoming communal property. This new social formation he termed communism, with the transitional phase between capitalism and communism referred to as socialism.

Since Marx, like Hegel, focused not on being but on its development, his philosophy held that everything is relative and nothing can have a fixed value assessment. Anything that promotes development is good, and anything that hinders it is bad. For instance, Marx considered Christianity to have been beneficial in the Roman Empire because it helped slaves overthrow the slave-owning system and establish new production relations. However, it became harmful in feudalism as it turned into a tool for the ruling class to maintain the societal order unchanged. Morality is also a product of production relations: what is morally good in one context may be morally bad in another.

Marxist philosophy became the dominant ideology in several countries (the USSR, Eastern Europe, China, and some countries in the Far East). Wherever Marxism prevailed, it led to horrific bloodshed, the establishment of dictatorships, economic decline, and low levels of education. Worse still, Marxism relativized values, fostering irresponsibility and lack of initiative, traits that former socialist countries continue to struggle with even decades after the fall of socialism. Marxism was ineffective because it was based on fictitious premises. In reality, class struggle does not exist, and all people work towards common goals. Formations did not change as Marx described. In many countries, slavery persisted even under capitalist production. Marx's greatest error was his call for the confiscation of private property, aiming to construct an economy that contradicted human nature.

In the 19th century, the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) also made significant contributions. His ideas evolved into one of the most influential movements of 20th-century philosophy—existentialism. Kierkegaard believed that each person is unique and unknowable. One’s essence cannot be confined to any concept, as it is not given but created by the individual. To uncover one's inherent potential, one must delve into oneself. Kierkegaard saw society as the greatest enemy of the individual because it homogenizes people, destroying their uniqueness. Human development occurs through three stages: the aesthetic (sensory pleasure), exemplified by Don Juan or Faust; the ethical (focus on moral good), represented by Socrates; and the religious (sensory and moral values giving way to spiritual values), epitomized by Abraham. Kierkegaard considered Christianity the true religion, as it offers the best opportunity for an individual to emphasize their uniqueness.

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) concluded the 19th century with his influential ideas. He believed that all living beings are in constant evolution toward higher forms of life. The driving force behind this evolutionary process is the will to power. Every living being strives for power, and to attain it over others, it must surpass them in its development. The will to power is an active force of progress. Once evolution reached the human stage, a new factor emerged—human thought, which introduced fear of the future and laziness, impeding further human development. Fear and laziness are reactive forces of regression. In humans, there is a struggle between active and reactive forces. To avoid advancing in evolution while simultaneously avoiding guilt, humans created culture to justify their indecision. Nietzsche termed this culture ressentiment, a French word meaning "resentment." Active forces seek to propel humanity from its current state to the next stage of evolution—the Übermensch (Overman). Reactive forces keep it in the human stage. To justify humanity’s reluctance to reach its potential, ressentiment culture invented God, placing Him in the position of the Übermensch to show that this role is already occupied and aspiring to it is blasphemy. Nietzsche proclaimed himself the prophet of the Übermensch, revealing the truth to humanity and calling for further progress. For humanity to transition to the Übermensch stage, this position must be vacated. Nietzsche declared, "God is dead," signifying that humanity need not fear progressing to the state of the Übermensch. With God’s death came the end of all moral norms. His radical ideas inspired ideologies of Nazism and postmodernism.