The 'Age of Reason' crashed and burned on the rocks of Kant's massive work, Critique of Pure Reason. Proving to the satisfaction of many that reason alone is not capable of reaching answers regarding ultimate truth and reality, Kant unwittingly opened the door to what might be called the 'Age of anti-Reason,' i.e., the age of irrationality. 19th Century philosophy was dominated by attempts to explain human experience based not on reason, but on irrational instinct. The bridge to this era was Hegel, who argued that both side of a contradiction can be true. Later, however, philosophers like Schopenhauer took the position that the human race is carried along by great sub-rational forces like his "Will." This presentation introduces the thought of this important voice of the early 19th century.
11 сен 2024
