Schele's Soul - Shanghai Sanlian Humanities Classics Collection (9)

Author: Fuchs
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2006-08-01
Features: I wrote this book for two purposes: first, to fill the long-standing gap in contemporary philosophical literature. The complete works of Max Scheler (1874—1928) in German have just recently been edited into fifteen volumes. This book is the first comprehensive study of Scheler's philosophy based on these original texts. In this regard, the book is entirely grounded in Scheler's German and the corresponding manuscripts. Second, to instruct experts familiar with various research works related to the aforementioned editions and their English translations, as well as beginners in Scheler studies who have recently emerged both domestically and internationally. My work is the result of nearly thirty years of research into the mind of Max Scheler. The mind of Scheler that I studied is reflected in his complete works and thousands of pages of manuscripts. I have been researching Scheler's works and manuscripts: not only to discover the unity of his thought but also to demonstrate the breadth of the literature he was familiar with, which even extended beyond the strict realm of philosophy. During the process of writing this book, I inadvertently discovered that, from the reader's perspective, referencing secondary literature and its various arguments, comments, and viewpoints should not make the already challenging texts even more obscure. I hope that through this research method, I have successfully provided a clear overview of the entire philosophical thought system of the early 20th century, which has constituted the research background of thinkers such as Heidegger, Husserl, Levinas, Merleau-Ponty, Nietzsche, Russell, Sartre, and Wittgenstein, as well as other thinkers of equal importance. Therefore, I apologize that the names of my colleagues and the titles of various secondary works do not appear in the main text. However, for the convenience of readers, I have chosen to include a selected list of recently published secondary works at the end of the book. Here, I would also like to extend my gratitude to all these authors, especially those whose research has benefited me greatly. As we approach the dawn of the third millennium—within which the centuries filled with the evils of war, hunger, social upheaval, the decline of faith, and the Holocaust have passed, and these centuries have also, to some extent, brought humanity a healthy and happy life through technological progress and the realization of the highest values in art, culture, and creation—the question of "What is man?" and "Who is man?" has first become a topic of philosophical inquiry. The study of man in modern philosophy begins with Descartes and Pascal, rooted in the fact that people have increasingly come to realize that they live among many opposing forces. Among these opposing forces are good and evil, justice and injustice, poverty and wealth, faith and atheism, abortion and the right to life. This condition of man is either tragic or full of paradoxes, and thus requires philosophical answers. Furthermore, the life of modern people is shrouded in the glow of technology, but technology itself is full of paradoxes—humans are highly dependent on technology, yet sometimes reject it. Perhaps, something beyond our understanding is shaping the direction of human future. Today, we are all very familiar with photographs of our small planet taken from the dark depths of space. In Greek, the word "planetai" literally reveals the fact that our planet is "wandering." The term "planet" is well-suited to convey a highly important modern experience—that of living in vast space and time. Alongside people's trust in technology, especially in Western culture, this cosmic experience has gradually replaced the experience of living in God; or, to put it another way, it has replaced the experience of living with the gods in ancient mythological times. If we admire the beauty of our blue, white, and sometimes slightly red, wandering, colorful planet—Earth—from space, we might gain a different impression. However, if we conduct a simple psychological experiment—imagining that this planet is obscured and replaced by humans—what would the scene be like?—we humans would be floating alone in the silent and mysterious darkness of the universe. In this scene, one would immediately be shocked by the countless phenomena of, evil, and self-destructive foolishness that float in the world alongside human achievements. As we stand on the threshold of the new millennium, this vision of human history observed from space would immediately prompt us to consider a question that concerns all of us: Are we Earthlings completely alone in the vast universe? As we will see, like many contemporary philosophers, Max Scheler was also keenly aware that, compared to the past, people are increasingly curious about the meaning of their existence. In his later years, he admitted that, compared to any other philosophical problem, the questions "Was ist der Mensch?" (What is man?) and "What is the position of man in nature?" fascinated him more. Regarding the question of "the essence of our existence," Scheler not only engaged in philosophical reflection but also in sociological, metaphysical, religious-philosophical, psychological, ethical, and anthropological thinking. In his work On the Eternal in Man, the essential characteristic of the modern human being that he revealed is this sense of solitude in the universe: "Because, in the vast universe, man feels lonely." Scheler's contemporaries acknowledged the loneliness of existence and agreed with the nihilism (negativism) that still occasionally appeared in 20th-century philosophy. Their thoughts somewhat obscured the brilliance of Scheler's philosophy. Compared to the ideas of his contemporaries and the later development of phenomenology and hermeneutics—including contemporary deconstruction—Scheler's philosophy is a positive alternative. Contrary to these views, Scheler believed that there had indeed been privileged texts and cultures, but they were not the product of just social structures. To a large extent, Scheler's philosophy is firmly committed to defending the value of the unique individuality of the person. Therefore, in Scheler's thought, the egalitarian movement has been subjected to continuous scrutiny and skepticism. Here, on the completion of this book, I would like to express my deep gratitude to many scholars listed in my bibliography, as well as to many students who participated in my seminar on Scheler's thought—whose philosophical questions have inspired me greatly. Regarding any possible errors in this book, I take full responsibility.