Nineteenth-Century Philosophy, Third Edition (Philosophic Classics, Volume IV) - Softcover

Forrest E. Baird; Walter Kaufman

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0130485500 ISBN 13: 9780130485502

Publisher: Prentice Hall, 2002

Synopsis

This anthology of readings in contemporary Western philosophy focuses on 19th-century philosophers who represent a variety of responses to the issue of their day: whether or not there was a knowable, nonhuman rational order upon which thinking persons could willfully choose to act. The selections are readable and accessible, yet remain faithful to the original works. Accompanying the text are drawings, diagrams, photographs, and a timeline; all of which allow the reader to really study the major philosophical thinkers of the 19th-century: Bentham, Wollstonecraft, Fichte, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Comte, Feuerbach, Mill, Kierkegaard, Marx, Peirce, James, and Nietzche. For anyone interested in owning a collection of works from the greatest philosophical thinkers in the 19th-century.

About this title

About the Author

Forrest E. Baird is Professor and Chair of Philosophy & Religion at Whitworth College, Spokane, Washington.

From the Back Cover

Forrest Baird's revisions of Philosophic Classics, Prentice Hall's long-standing philosophy series, continue the tradition begun in 1961, to provide generations of students with anthologies of high quality in the history of Western philosophy. Using the complete works or, where appropriate, complete sections of works, this series allows philosophers to speak directly to students.

This series includes texts central to the thinker's own philosophy, using the best available translations. Introductions to each reading are divided into three sections:

• Biographical – Provides a glimpse into the life of the philosopher;
• Philosophical – Presents a résumé of the philosopher's thought; and
• Bibliographical – Offers suggestions for further reading.

In addition, drawings, photographs, and time lines help put the readings into context. In short, every effort has been made to help the reader understand primary source materials.

Philosophic Classics is available in the following versions:

• Volume I: Ancient Philosophy Fourth Edition, c2003 (0-13-048556-X)
• Volume II: Medieval Philosophy, Fourth Edition, c2003 (0-13-048557-8)
• Volume III: Modern Philosophy, Fourth Edition, c2003 (0-13-048558-6)
• Volume IV: Nineteenth-Century Philosophy; Third Edition, c2003 (0-13-048550-0)
• Volume V: Twentieth-Century Philosophy Third Edition, c2003 (013-048563-2)
• From Plato to Derrida, Combined Edition, Fourth Edition, c2003 (0-13-048561-6)

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Nineteenth-century European philosophy is characterized by a growing skepticism of the assumptions of earlier "modern philosophy." The pre-Kantian thinkers of the seventeenth and eighteenth century had believed there was a knowable, nonhuman rational order upon which thinking persons could willfully choose to act. The debates of these "modern philosophers" centered on where that order was to be found, how one was to know it, and what actions should follow. But following the monumental work of Immanuel Kant, a shift took place. Kant had concluded that while there is a rational nonhuman order (the "things-in-themselves" or "noumenal world"), it cannot be known or used as a basis for morality. The nineteenth-century thinkers who followed were dissatisfied with this conclusion. Some maintained that there was a knowable, rational order, but claimed that it constituted reality and hence one could not really choose to act upon it. Others concluded that there was a nonhuman order, but it was anything but rational. Still others denied that there is anything beyond the "space-time manifold" of phenomenal experience to direct human affairs.

The nineteenth-century philosophers included in this volume represent a variety of different responses to these issues. It is often commonplace to group nineteenth(and twentieth-) century philosophers into two groups: Continental thinkers and Anglo-American thinkers. In choosing readings for this volume, I have tried to provide a balance between these two approaches to philosophy. Accordingly, it is possible to trace the development of Continental thought beginning with Fichte and moving through Hegel, Schopenhauer, Comte, Feuerbach, Kierkegaard, Marx, and Nietzsche. Likewise, one can follow the Anglo-American concerns beginning with Bentham and continuing on through Wollstonecraft, Mill, Peirce, and James. (Of course the development of nineteenth-century is hardly that neat and tidy. Comte's writing, for instance, had a major influence on several British and American thinkers and the later "Anglo-American" philosophy of Logical Positivism—a philosophy that began on the Continent of Europe in Vienna.)

For this new edition I have added a selection from Mary Wollstonecraft, changed the selections from James and the translation of Marx's Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, and made a number of other small changes. In choosing texts for this volume, I have tried wherever possible to follow three principles: (1) to use complete works or, where more appropriate, complete sections of works (2) in clear translations (3) of texts central to the thinker's philosophy or widely accepted as part of the "canon." To make the works more accessible to students, most footnotes treating textual matters (variant readings, etc.) have been omitted and all Greek words have been transliterated and put within angle brackets. In addition, each thinker is introduced by a brief essay composed of three sections: (1) biographical (a glimpse of the life), (2) philosophical (a résumé of the philosopher's thought), and (3) bibliographical (suggestions for further reading).

Edition details

• Publisher: Prentice Hall
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0130485500
• ISBN 13: 9780130485502
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 510