|
|
||
 |
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
MODERN PHILOSOPHY |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Select: Francis Bacon - Thomas Hobbes - John Locke - George Berkeley - David Hume |
|
|
Empiricism holds that only sense knowledge is valid, for it alone securely rests on the impressions of the thinking subject. Hence the question arises: Can an objective metaphysics be established through the analysis of sense modifications? We shall examine this problem in the philosophical teachings of those philosophers called the Empiricists. Elsewhere On the Internet Francis Bacon (picture) was a student of law and politics. He had important offices conferred on him by Question Elizabeth and James I. He was made Baron Verulam and Viscount St. Albans, and became Lord Chancellor of England. In 1621 he was accused of accepting gifts from litigants in his official capacity as judge. Found guilty he was sentenced to imprisonment, heavily fined, deprived of office, but received the King's pardon, and retired from public life. His chief works are the Essays (1597), The Advancement of Learning (1605), Cogitata et visa (1612), and Novum Organum (1620). Knowledge is the power of establishing the dominion of man over the earth. To arrive at this knowledge, we must study "natures" with the intention of grasping their "forms." For Bacon "natures" are the natural phenomena of heat, sound, light, etc.; "forms" are the immanent forces of the natural phenomena. "Instauratio Magna" (The Great Restoration) Bacon, living at the time of first discoveries of modern physics, became an enthusiastic innovator in the methods of physical science. According to him, former ages had not made many discoveries because of their use of the syllogism of Aristotle, which is an inept means for scientific research. Bacon held that the natural sciences needed a new method, and that through this method discoveries could be directly attempted. "Novum Organum" The first and best part of the Novum Organum aims at freeing the mind of all the prejudices ("idols") which prevent a successful study of natural phenomena. These prejudices are four:
The study of natural phenomena must be made through three different "tables":
The use of these tables should show the "form" of the phenomenon, or some provisory hypothesis. Summary Bacon was a great admirer of Telesio, Campanella, and Galileo. He opposed the ancient authorities, Aristotle, and the Scholastics. He abandoned a priori speculation and emphasized observation by experimental procedure. The inductive method was a new way of reaching knowledge, a new logic, a "novum organum." He maintained that our knowledge is full of prejudices, whims, preferences, idols. The idols of the mind must be freed and cleared. Induction must discover the "forms," or true differences, of a given nature. The most important causes or laws are forms which are discovered by induction. "Forms" are "essential natures"; the world is a collection of forms more or less obscured by their embodiments in Nature and the scientist must bring them to light. The "forms" resemble Anaxagoras' qualitative atoms, which are related and external. In The Radical Academy
Elsewhere On the Internet
The positive contributions of Francis Bacon to the Perennial Philosophy Virtually none. Bacon was neither a great philosopher nor a notable scientist; he was a literary theorist about philosophy and science. His ambitious and impossible intention of making philosophy over foredoomed him to futility and failure. Three particular weaknesses marked his effort:
The second and third of these points still endure in modern and recent philosophy, and they rob it of effectiveness and solid achievement. Bacon has gone into history as the originator of modern empiricism, that is, the system of those who place all faith in observation and experiment, playing up the role of the senses and minimizing the place of reasoning in the attaining of truth. For Bacon, the only data are matter and the movement of matter, and hence this method is pure mechanism. Thomas Hobbes developed this mechanistic viewpoint and proclaimed "materialism"; John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume, concentrating on the formal aspect, turned to phenomenalism. Thomas Hobbes (picture) was the son of a clergyman, educated at Oxford, and a student of Aristotelian philosophy and Scholasticism. He traveled extensively in Europe as companion and tutor to English nobles. He became tutor of Lord Cavendish (through whom he developed a loyal friendship for the Stuarts). Rebellion and revolution were taking root in England. The revolution of 1688-89 took place in the reign of James II, resulting in his expulsion and the seating of William and Mary on the English throne. The execution of the Stuart King, Charles I (in 1649) had given monarchical absolutism its deathblow. The Cromwellian insurrection (1642-1652) had led to democratic reforms and Parliament became a ruling body. Hobbes entered this unsettled area of public life as a political writer, moralist, ontologist, and psychologist. He discarded Greek philosophy and contended with his older contemporary, Francis Bacon, that philosophy should become a science and a practical utility. He wanted factual knowledge of the world through mathematics which should aid the science of his day. His greatest work is The Leviathan (1651). Hobbes revives the Nominalism of Duns Scotus, goes back to Democritus and Galileo, but finds harmony in the State, in absolute government (monarchy), or in the assembly of men protecting the State (aristocracy, democracy). To these forms of government the State gives authority. Hobbes is famous for his statement "homo homini lupus est," (every man is a wolf to every other man). Hobbes' philosophical system is a synthesis of materialism and Rationalism. The fundamental points of his system are:
Theory of Knowledge All human knowledge is restricted to sensation. Concepts are the representation of common qualities which speech keeps under a single phantasm. Reason operates on these concepts, dividing and composing them mathematically. Science is the knowledge of these mathematical operations. Metaphysics Hobbes' metaphysics is founded on matter and motion from within; this intrinsic motion has given rise to a diversity of realities, including life and the human soul. Emotional life draws its origin from sensation. Man tends naturally to pleasure; but this tendency must be rationalized by calculation, in order that it may bring greater pleasure. This is possible only in the State. Hobbes is a complete materialist. The mind is a brain substance, motion in the brain. Images and ideas are motions in the brain. The universe is particles of matter in motion. Particles of moving matter form constellations, some of which are our bodies. Sensations dies down and imagination results. Sensations enable man to observe but the real world is never observed; it consists of absolute qualities. Politics in Theory The State arose from a contract. At first man lived on natural egoism, which drove everyone to procure the maximum of pleasure -- for man by nature has the right to everything. The search for the maximum of pleasure generated a universal war. Thus there was no security for anyone. Under these conditions reason made a precept: man must seek peace and, once it is obtained, must keep it. In order to obtain peace, reason showed that:
Politics in Practice Hobbes argued against the English revolution. The Roundheads (Puritans) declared the King could do wrong and they protested the power of the monarchy (and papal authority). As Protestants they denied any mediation between man and God. In politics they wanted nothing to come between themselves and the ends of human conduct. To Hobbes, legal execution of rulers was a crucifixion and he becomes, therefore, an absolutist in the theory of the State. In The Radical Academy
Elsewhere On the Internet
The positive contributions of Thomas Hobbes to the Perennial Philosophy In a word, none. Hobbes insists on the distinction between sense-knowledge and intellectual knowledge, and then he immediately mixes them up confusedly, to the extent that he attributes a sort of intellect to brute animals. In political theory, he holds that man is not naturally a social being, which is contrary to the evidence of our experience, and that civil society (the State) is the result of a social contract or social compact, a notion for which no evidence exists. He teaches State absolutism, and declares that the civil power must regulate all our activities, even those of religion, an idea which is contrary to the American experience and the basic principles upon which democratic republics are established. And, of course, he is a full-blown Materialist which results in Subjectivism and Relativism and then leads to philosophic chaos. John Locke (picture) studied philosophy, natural science, and medicine at Oxford. He appreciated the system of Descartes but was repelled by the lingering Scholasticism in Oxford. From 1666 to 1683, Locke was in the service of the Earl of Shaftesbury as tutor to the family. He followed the Shaftesbury family into exile in Holland. After the deposal of James II he returned to England (1689) and held several important offices. The years of Locke's life were stirring and changing. He was born during the reign of Charles I, and he lived through the period of the Commonwealth, the Restoration, the dethronement of James II, the reign of William and Mary, to the accession of Queen Anne. Locke was the official English philosopher of his age. Men turned to him as an intellectual pontiff. His chief works are: An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690), Two Treatises on Government (1690), Letters Concerning Toleration (1689 ff.), Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693), The Reasonableness of Christianity (1695). Locke was an analytical thinker. His main interest was in illuminating knowledge, examining its validity pro and con. The metaphysical factors of mind were of less account as a problem to him. He was the first to give a logic for Empiricism. Granted this, it would be impossible to construct a metaphysics of objective realities. But Locke, prescinding from what he had established in the question of knowledge, attempts a demonstration of the existence of God, of the world, and of the knowing subject. Locke possessed three great habit of mind:
Theory of Knowledge In opposition to Descartes, Locke denied that there are innate ideas. The human intellect is like a clean sheet of paper (tabula rasa) on which nothing has yet been written. Everything that is written thereon takes its origin from experience. Experience is twofold, external and internal. The former, called sensation, gives us the ideas of the qualities of the supposed external objects; the latter, called reflection, gives us the ideas of the operations which the mind performs on the data of sensation. Locke distinguishes "primary" qualities (bulk, number, figure, situation and motion) from "secondary" qualities (colors, sounds, etc.); the former are objective, while the latter are subjective. Ideas may be simple or complex. Simple ideas are "uncompounded appearances," such as whiteness, softness. They are atomic and externally related. Complex ideas are of three classes:
General ideas are those collecting many sensations. Value of Knowledge Logical Value of Ideas. Logically valid ideas may be obtained either by intuition or demonstration. The first is achieved when the mind, comparing two or more ideas, sees immediately their agreement or disagreement; the second is achieved when the mind sees the agreement of the ideas by reverting to some intermediary idea. The existence of external objects, for instance, requires demonstration, which is achieved by the intermediary idea of passivity. Truth obtained by demonstration are inferior to those of intuition. Metaphysical Value of Ideas. In spite of his phenomenalism, Locke believed that he could demonstrate the existence of objective reality:
Ethics In ethics Locke defends a utilitarianism whose laws are rational. Moral laws must have a due sanction in order to restrain man from his irrational tendencies. Opposed to liberty, Locke defends determinism in regard to the will. Politics Society is the result of a contract. Locke, in opposition to Hobbes, states that man in the state of nature did not live in a wild condition, but directed himself by a notion of the fundamental rights of life. The contract of society was made to better guarantee the fundamental rights of human life. The sovereign who fails in defending such rights can be dismissed by the subjects. The Persistence of Locke's Philosophy Locke's teaching, like Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, and others, has extended over the years:
In The Radical Academy
Elsewhere On the Internet
The positive contributions of John Locke to the Perennial Philosophy One thing Locke did in a masterly way. He refuted innatism, the theory that our knowledge is inborn, and that it advances in us, not by the acquiring of anything from without, but by its inward growth or development. Locke also holds that rights can be determined from the relations that exist between an infinitely intelligent being (God) and a rational but dependent being. The moral norms are hence rational, and are identified with the divine right and then with natural right. Moral laws must have a due sanction (rewards and punishment) which is imposed on the will in such a manner as to restrain man from diverging from the tendency that leads to his own well-being. Locke is considered the founder of liberal politics, and his influence during the centuries following his lifetime has been great in the area of political philosophy. Apart from his refutation of innatism and his contributions to liberal politics, Locke's contribution to philosophy is negligible and much of his philosophy is confusing and anti-realistic. See the essay: The Origins of Intellectual Insanity: What is Wrong with Locke's Philosophy?
IV. George Berkeley (1685-1753) Born in Ireland, George Berkeley (picture) was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was noted for his ardent curiosity and his simple, sincere, original and generous character. He was greatly influenced by John Locke. In 1709 he became an Anglican divine. In later years, between 1713 and 1720, he traveled in France where he made the acquaintance of Malebranche, and journeyed also in Italy. In 1728, having conceived the plan of founding a missionary institute for the Christian education of native youth in Bermuda, he sailed for America and got as far as Rhode Island. When the financial means to implement his plan did not materialize, he returned to England. Nominated Bishop of Cloyne in south Ireland, he dedicated himself to the works of the apostolate. Death took him at Oxford, where he had gone to found the missionary institute that he had not been able to establish in Bermuda. He was sixty-eight years old. Berkeley's most important writings are: Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710), which was rearranged in popular form in the Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous (1713). In opposition to freethinkers, Berkeley wrote seven dialogues under the title Alciphron, or the Minute Philosopher (1732). The purpose of Berkeley's philosophy was to restore Christian values, which had fallen before contemporary incredulity. He aimed to prove that the idol of atheists (matter) does not exist; the world is a communion of finite spirits with the Infinite Spirit. Theory of Knowledge Berkeley accepts the empiristic epistemology of Locke, but does not accept the distinction between primary and secondary qualities. Granted that subjective impressions are the immediate object of our knowledge, Berkeley holds that all ideas are subjective. He rejects also the concept of material substance; whatever is separate from our impressions is unthinkable and inconceivable. Impressions are real -- "Omne esse est percipi," (to be is to be perceived). When we say a thing exists, we mean nothing more than we perceive it (Extreme Subjectivism). Berkeley reduces abstract universal ideas to mere names (nominalism). The Nature of the Universe While denying the existence of a material world, Berkeley did not deny the existence of finite spirits; their existence is proved by the fact that we are passive with regard to many impressions. The nature of finite spirits consists in activity, as producers of ideas; and passivity, as receivers of ideas. No finite spirit could produce the idea of the universe or the laws connecting natural phenomena; hence God exists, and He produces in our spirit the idea of the universe and all the laws of the universe. Critique of Berkeley's Philosophy Berkeley feared to allow universals any validity. He denies universals and axioms when there is no necessity for this denial. The weakness of his philosophical doctrine is that it leaves too much to be explained, especially the explanation of the outer (external) world. Berkeley's fundamental premise -- the mind can know only its own ideas -- has been called the "egocentric predicament." This is the predicament of one trying to imagine something unknown. Two lines of thought proceed from Berkeley's philosophy: From his weaker side -- the denial of universals, leads to David Hume. From his stronger side -- the supremacy of the spirit, leads to and ends in German idealism, Fichte, Schelling, Schleiermacher, and Hegel. In The Radical Academy
Elsewhere On the Internet
The positive contributions of George Berkeley to the Perennial Philosophy In a word, none. Berkeley's denial of the material world is nonsense and his statement that to exist is to be perceived is contrary to our experience. The one thing positive about Berkeley is that his Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous is fascinating reading as it follows the argument between Hylas, who is a materialist, and Philonous, who is an idealist. David Hume (picture) was born in Edinburgh, studied law, and held various public offices. He lived much of his time in France as a member of the English embassy. His chief works are: Treatise Upon Human Nature (his most important work, written 1739-1740 during his residence in France), Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779), Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748), Inquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751). Hume accepts the empiricism of John Locke and develops it logically to its extreme conclusions by denying the objective value of the principle of causality and the existence of any substance, either material or spiritual. Theory of Knowledge No knowledge is possible except that of the sensations. The fundamental elements of this knowledge are:
Impressions and ideas may be connected with one another to form a complexity through the fundamental laws of association. These complexities suffice to explain all things both in the material and spiritual world. Negation of Metaphysics and the Sciences Causality, the fundamental principle of metaphysics and the sciences, is a complex idea, and hence is produced by associations of the mind. Hume reduces the relation between A (cause) and B (effect) to the chronological association of the two ideas A and B, and denies any necessary connection between them. Hume also demolishes the concept of substance. Substance, either material or spiritual, is nothing other than a constant association of impressions. Religion and Ethics Granted the negation of substance, the existence of God and the immortality of the human soul are only hypothetical. In regard to ethics, Hume admits only a natural morality. Hume, lacking a metaphysics, had recourse to practical exigencies in order to justify the value of ethics, and of religion as well. This distinction between theoretical and practical motives, and the justification of insuppressible values through practical motives alone, were to pass as a heritage to Immanuel Kant, and to form one of the pillars of Kant's critical philosophy. In The Radical Academy
Elsewhere On the Internet
The positive contributions of David Hume to the Perennial Philosophy Absolutely none. Hume's vague philosophy has a very modern sound: a collection of impressions collected nowhere; contents of a mind which is not a container. Here we have the smug unintelligibility of the modern antirealist's definition of mind as "a cross-section of the environment." Hume holds that the only thing that can be said, with full certainty, to exist is our perceptions (impressions and ideas). In and among these perceptions there is no causal connection; indeed, there is no knowable causality anywhere. If things outside us really do exist, there is no proof of their existence available to us. His theoretical empiricism concludes with the collapse of all rational understanding; it lead inevitably to Skepticism and, of course Subjectivism and Relativism, the twin scourges of modern and recent philosophy.
Enrich Your Life With a Philosophy Book...
|
|
|
Introduction & Directory |
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
[Homepage] [Newsletter] [Search] [Support the Academy] [Link to Us] [Contact the Academy] [Citing Articles from Our Website] [Privacy Policy & Disclaimer]
Copyright 1998-99, 2000-01, & 2002-03 by The Radical Academy. All Rights Reserved.
This Page Was Updated On