Philosophy History Tutorial, Volume 1

Author: Commercial Press
Publisher:
Publication Date: 1997-02-01
Features: The opening chapters of this book were published two years ago. After multiple unpleasant delays and disruptions, the book has finally been completed and presented to readers. Readers should not confuse this book with outlines or similar materials. Such books are sometimes compiled from general lecture notes on the history of philosophy. What I now offer to readers is a serious textbook. In this book, I intend to describe the evolution of various European philosophical ideas in a comprehensive and concise manner, aiming to demonstrate: the principles and principles upon which our current scientific understanding and judgment of the universe and life are based, what motivations led people to grasp and develop them in the process of historical development. This purpose determines the entire form of the book. Accordingly, the historical and literary evidence we rely on, as well as biographies and documentary materials, are inevitably limited to a small scope, and the selection is limited to opening the way for readers who wish to delve deeper into further research to obtain rich primary materials. The arguments of the philosophers themselves are only briefly cited when they provide arguments or basic principles of lasting value in thought. In addition, the author occasionally quotes passages from the original works to support a unique viewpoint. The selection is always focused on the individual thinkers who proposed both novel and fruitful ideas; while personal ideological tendencies, although academically acceptable, are mostly only briefly mentioned if they do not pique philosophical interest. As even the external form of this exposition indicates, the focus is placed on the development of substantial things from the perspective of philosophy, namely the history of problems and concepts. My main purpose is to understand this development as a coherent, interconnected whole. Our theories about the universe and life arise from various lines of thought, and the interweaving of these lines of thought in history is the specific object of my research. I am convinced that this issue cannot be resolved through innate logical structures, but only through a comprehensive and unbiased investigation of the facts. If it seems that the ancient part occupies a considerable portion of this book in its exposition, it is based on this belief: if one wants to gain a historical understanding of the reality of human intellect, then the concepts obtained from the Greek spirit from the concrete reality of nature and life will be more important than all the things people have thought about since then—except for Kantian philosophy. With this task determined, sacrifices must be made; no one is more distressed about this than I am. A purely thematic treatment of the historical development of philosophy does not allow for an in-depth description of the character of the philosophers that is worthy of their true value. This can only be touched upon when their character can actively play a role as a causal factor in the combination and transformation of concepts. In order to better grasp the inherent necessity of the internal connections in the process of mental development, it is necessary to sacrifice the artistic charm of the personal style of the great figures who propelled the development of philosophy, and the special artistic charm that gives academic lectures and broader expositions of the history of philosophy their unique skills.