PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMANITIES 1: SUMMARY
Part I: Philosophers
PLATO
● Myth of the cave
● Rationalism
● Perception is in perpetual flux, hence, perception can’t be the foundation of
knowledge.
● True knowledge through use of reasoning capacities.
ARISTOTLE
● Empiricism
● There is only one world and we can learn about it through empirical inquiry.
VIENNA CIRCLE
● Logical empiricism
● Rationalism
POPPER
● Critical Rationalism
● Falsifiability
● The induction problem
KUHN
● Paradigms/paradigm shifts
● Normal science/revolutionary science
● Exemplar/disciplinary matrix
● Kuhn’s cycle
FOUCAULT
● The Order of Things
● Knowledge/power
● The norm: sexuality & madness
● Epistemes & epistemic ruptures
KANT
● Subject/object
● The highest form of reason is free from necessity
● Representations, the way that signs come to take on meaning, is the product of an
active mind
● Start of modern episteme
● The human mind is both the subject and object of knowledge
● Object/subject distinction
, HEGEL
● History moves by Spirit/Geist
● Start of modern episteme
SCHLEIERMACHER
● Hermeneutics
● Historicity
● Hermeneutic circle
DILTHEY
● Hermeneutics
● Verstehen
● Humanities v.s. Natural sciences
GADAMER
● Hermeneutics
● History of its effects
● Authors intentions do not count
● Prejudices & (shared) experiences
MARX
● Critical theory
● Not only interpreting the world, but changing it
● Materialist
● Denaturalising the world
● From political optimism to methodological pessimism
BENJAMIN
● Critical theory
● Mechanical reproduction of art
● Art from ritual to politics
● Positive view on new media and mechanical reproduction
ADORNO
● Critical theory
● Very critical about media and capitalism
● Culture industry as mere entertainment
WITTGENSTEIN
● Practice turn
● Meaning is use
● Intention and reason useless for explaining cultural phenomena
● Language ‘game’ (rules & properties)
AUSTIN
● Practice turn
● Speech art theory
● Locutionary, illocutionary & perlocutionary aspects of speech acts
Part I: Philosophers
PLATO
● Myth of the cave
● Rationalism
● Perception is in perpetual flux, hence, perception can’t be the foundation of
knowledge.
● True knowledge through use of reasoning capacities.
ARISTOTLE
● Empiricism
● There is only one world and we can learn about it through empirical inquiry.
VIENNA CIRCLE
● Logical empiricism
● Rationalism
POPPER
● Critical Rationalism
● Falsifiability
● The induction problem
KUHN
● Paradigms/paradigm shifts
● Normal science/revolutionary science
● Exemplar/disciplinary matrix
● Kuhn’s cycle
FOUCAULT
● The Order of Things
● Knowledge/power
● The norm: sexuality & madness
● Epistemes & epistemic ruptures
KANT
● Subject/object
● The highest form of reason is free from necessity
● Representations, the way that signs come to take on meaning, is the product of an
active mind
● Start of modern episteme
● The human mind is both the subject and object of knowledge
● Object/subject distinction
, HEGEL
● History moves by Spirit/Geist
● Start of modern episteme
SCHLEIERMACHER
● Hermeneutics
● Historicity
● Hermeneutic circle
DILTHEY
● Hermeneutics
● Verstehen
● Humanities v.s. Natural sciences
GADAMER
● Hermeneutics
● History of its effects
● Authors intentions do not count
● Prejudices & (shared) experiences
MARX
● Critical theory
● Not only interpreting the world, but changing it
● Materialist
● Denaturalising the world
● From political optimism to methodological pessimism
BENJAMIN
● Critical theory
● Mechanical reproduction of art
● Art from ritual to politics
● Positive view on new media and mechanical reproduction
ADORNO
● Critical theory
● Very critical about media and capitalism
● Culture industry as mere entertainment
WITTGENSTEIN
● Practice turn
● Meaning is use
● Intention and reason useless for explaining cultural phenomena
● Language ‘game’ (rules & properties)
AUSTIN
● Practice turn
● Speech art theory
● Locutionary, illocutionary & perlocutionary aspects of speech acts
