Philosophy History Tutorial (Part 1) Fine

Author: [German] Windelband, translated by Luo Da-ren
Publisher:
Publication Date: Not available
Features: The introductory 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. It is important not to confuse this book with outlines or similar materials. Such books are sometimes compiled from lecture notes on general philosophy. What I now offer to readers is a serious textbook. In this book, I aim to describe the evolution of various European philosophical ideas in a comprehensive and concise manner, demonstrating how the principles and principles we currently use to scientifically understand and judge the universe and life have been understood and developed throughout historical development. This purpose determines the entire form of the book. Accordingly, the historical and literary evidence, biographies, and documentary materials we use are necessarily limited to a small scope, and the selection is limited to opening the way for further research for readers to obtain abundant primary sources. 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 particular viewpoint. The selection is always focused on the novel and fruitful ideas proposed by individual thinkers; while personal intellectual tendencies, although academically valuable, are mostly only briefly mentioned if they do not pique philosophical interest. As even the external form of this exposition shows, the emphasis is placed on the development of what is substantial from a philosophical perspective, namely the history of problems and concepts. My main goal is to understand this development as a coherent and 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, this is based on the belief that a historical understanding of the reality of human intellect is more important than anything else people have thought about since then—except for Kantian philosophy. With this task determined, I had to make sacrifices; no one is more distressed about this than I am. A purely thematic treatment of the historical development of philosophy does not allow for a profound description of the philosophers' characters that is worthy of their true value. This can only be touched upon when their characters play an active role as causal factors 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 skills that give academic lectures and broader expositions of the history of philosophy their artistic charm.