Contemporary philosophy is the name given to the philosophical currents that have emerged since the late nineteenth century, and have been closely related to historical and social changes of great importance to the human being.
Contemporary philosophy is the most recent stage of what is known as Western philosophy, which starts in the pre-Socratic period, and advances through its ancient, medieval, Renaissance, etc. stages.
The thinker of Auguste Rodin
The contemporary period should not be confused with the so-called modern philosophy, which addresses a stage prior to the nineteenth century, or with the postmodern, which is simply a critical current to modern philosophy.
One of the main aspects that characterize the contemporaneity of philosophy was the professionalization of this practice, thus overcoming the isolated condition that previously maintained, through thinkers who carried out their reflections on their own. Now philosophical knowledge is institutionalized and accessible to all interested in knowledge.
It should be noted that the currents that are included as part of contemporary philosophy have been devoted to finding answers to concerns more linked to social aspects of the human being, and their place in an ever changing society, also addressing labor and religion relationships.
Characteristics of contemporary philosophy
Professionalization of philosophy
One of the main characteristics of the contemporary stage was to locate the philosophical practice at the same level of other branches of professional knowledge.
This led to the conception of a legal and formal body around the philosophical practice that allowed to recognize all those who fulfilled certain academic or other statutes.
Thinkers the likes of Hegel They were among the first to be awarded as professors of philosophy in European higher education at the time.
Despite the normalization of the philosophical profession, there were still intellectuals whose training and philosophical work did not originate within the framework of the profession as such, as would be the case Ayn Rand .
Rejection of the transcendent and the spiritual
Unlike previous stages in the history of philosophy, the contemporary period is notable for presenting a body of work that relegated to the background, or rejected entirely, the conceptions around the transcendental beliefs, religious or spiritual, taking their reflections to a strictly earthly plane.
There are currents and authors that from their own origins reject these subjective positions, as was the Marxism , to speak of a current, and Friedrich Nietzsche, to mention an author.
Reason crisis
It was based on contemporary concerns and questions about whether philosophy as a reflective practice in the continuous search for knowledge can really be considered capable of providing an entirely rational description of reality, without being subject to the subjectivities of those authors responsible for thinking and developing such visions of reality.
The diversity that emerged in the approaches of contemporary philosophy shared the characteristic of facing very contradictory positions among themselves. For example, the confrontation between absolute rationalism and Nietzschean irrationalism, or existentialism itself.
Currents and authors
The contemporary western philosophy since its emergence was divided into two main currents or philosophical approaches, which were the analytical philosophy and continental philosophy, from which a large number of much more well-known currents on a global level.
- Analytical philosophy
Analytical philosophy was approached for the first time by English philosophers Bertrand Russell Y G.E. Moore , and was characterized by moving away from the postulates and positions manifested by Hegel through his work, in which idealism dominated.
The authors who worked under the concepts of analytical philosophy focused on the analysis of knowledge and reality from logical development.
From this great body streams come off like:
Experimental philosophy
Characterized by using empirical information for reflection and the search for answers to philosophical concerns and questions not addressed until now.
Naturalism
Its precept and basis is the use of scientific method and all its instruments as the only valid means to investigate and delve into reality.
Quietism
From the metaphilosophical point of view, he approaches philosophy as a practice that may have therapeutic or remedial purposes for man.
Post-analytic philosophy
It is an improvement of the analytical philosophy, promoted by Richard Rorty, which seeks to separate from the most common aspects of traditional analytical philosophy to generate new reflections about reality and knowledge.
- Continental Philosophy
Continental philosophy gave rise to the most well-known trends worldwide during the course of the nineteenth century and beyond, mainly from 1900, with philosophers such as Edmund Husserl being credited as one of its main founders.
Continental philosophy encompasses a series of philosophical approaches that, although complicated to encompass in the same definition, are commonly considered as a continuation of Kantian thought.
In general, it is a body of currents that lack analytical rigor and that in many cases reject scientism. From this part, currents like:
Existentialism
Current popularized by authors such as Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, which seeks to overcome the disorientation and confusion caused by a senseless environment once the subject assimilates its own existence.
Structuralism / Post-structuralism
French current of the mid-twentieth century that addressed a deeper analysis of the contents of cultural products and their effects on the society .
Ferdinand de Saussure, Michel Foucault and Roland Barthes have been considered some of their representatives.
Phenomenology
It seeks to investigate and establish the notions and structures of consciousness, as well as the phenomena around reflective acts and analysis.
Critical theory
It consists in the approach and critical examination of society and culture, starting from the institutionalized social Sciences and the humanities. The thinkers of the Frankfurt School They are representative of this current.
References
- Geuss, R. (1999). The Idea of a Critical Theory: Habermas and the Frankfurt School. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Lorente, R.C., Hyppolite, J., Mueller, G.E., Pareyson, L., & Szilasi, W. (1949). Reports on current philosophical directions in different countries. Contemporary philosophy (pp. 419-441). Mendoza: First National Congress of Philosophy.
- Onfray, M. (2005). Antimanual of philosophy. Madrid: EDAF.
- Osborne, R., & Edney, R. (2005). Philosophy for beginners. Buenos Aires: It was Naciente.
- Villafañe, E. S. (s.f.). Contemporary philosophy: the nineteenth century.