A History of Philosophy [Hardcover]

Wilhelm Windelband (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2001

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: In contrast with this external method of pronouncing sentence, the scientific history of philosophy must place itself upon tlie standpoint of immanent criticism, the principles of which are two : formal logical consistency and iiitnllfciual fruitfulni'.iK. Every philosopher grows into a certain set of ideas, and to these his thinking remains bound, and is subjected in its development to psychological necessity. Critical investigation has to settle how fur it has been possible for him to bring tilt; different elements of his thinking into agreement with each other. The contradiction is almost never actually present in so direct a form that the same thing is expressly maintained and also denied, but always in such a way that various positions are put forward which, only by virtue of their logical consequences, lead to direct contradiction and really irreconcilable results. The discovery of these discrepancies is formal criticism ; it frequently coincides with pragmatic explanation, for this formal criticism has been performed in history itself by the successors of the philosopher in question, and has thus determined for them their problems. Yet this point of view alone is not sufficient. As purely formal it applies without exception to all attested views of a philosopher, but it gives no criterion for decision on the question, in what the philosophical significance of a doctrine really consists. For it is often the case that philosophy has done its work just in conceptions which must by no means be regarded as in themselves perfect or free from contradiction; while a multitude of individual convictions, which there is no occasion to oppose, must remain unnoticed in a corner, so far as our historical survey is concerned. In the history of philosophy great errors are weightier t...

Product Details

• Hardcover: 740 pages
• Publisher: The Paper Tiger (August 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1889439258
• ISBN-13: 978-1889439259
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #485,084 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but truly accurate?, September 18, 2008

By 

D. W. Dallam "DW" (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A History of Philosophy (Hardcover)

When I was doing my degree in philosophy, we were taught the history of philosophy by Windelband, and we also read Coppelston. One question that arose is this: Is Windelband's history of philosophy accurate as far as his systematizing the entire process of philosophy, how each philosophical system sublates the former. Surely there are connections, but then surely not.

In Windelband's view, Socrates leads to Plato (Idealism) that leads to Aristotle (Realism) and then back to idealist, such as Descartes, who leads to Hume (the everyday view of science, which is Realism) and then so on to Kant and Hegel's Idealsm in a very closed system of necessity. This is highly suspect for many reasons too protracted for this review--and because I have forgotten the real arguments.

If I had to suggest reading either Windelband or Coppelston for a history of philosophy, it would be Coppelston hands down. But Windelband is interesting and worth the read if you have time. It can only add to an understanding of what and how philosophy forms and how it has helped lead to science also. Just don't expect to pass your interim using Windelband on your way to a Ph.D. in philosophy--nobody teaches Windelband.