20th Century Philosophy: Existentialism, Rationalism, and Analytical Philosophy
20th Century Philosophical Movements
Existentialism
Existentialism, a significant philosophical current of the 20th century, was heavily influenced by 19th-century thinkers, especially Nietzsche. It revalues individual existence. Kierkegaard famously stated, “I am not interested in death, my death is what worries me.”
Existentialism emphasizes the freedom to be exercised by the individual, but it is the consciousness of this freedom that causes distress. It opposes the scientism and optimism that relied on the progress of humanity.
For Heidegger, being in the world is not just about the individual, but also about coexisting with other humans. When sharing with another is a mere space-time coincidence, one falls into self-deception.
For Sartre, freedom is the very fabric of existence: man cannot fail to be free, even when he decides not to be. There are no absolute values; values must be created by man, freely and with conviction.
Ratio-vitalism
Ortega y Gasset’s ratio-vitalism rejects both the rationalist notion that the world can be reduced to reason and the vitalism of Nietzsche, for whom life is a radical reality consisting only of impulses and instincts.
For Ortega, man should guide his life by reason, but this reason cannot be detached from life.
Analytical Philosophy
Analytical Philosophy emerged in the late 19th century, building upon the empiricist tradition. Its key features include an anti-metaphysical attitude, the use of empirical methods, and a fascination with the philosophy of language.
Its stages include logical atomism, the early Wittgenstein (associated with the Vienna Circle), and the later Wittgenstein.
Ortega y Gasset: Ideas and Beliefs
Ortega y Gasset distinguishes between two types of ideas: beliefs and thoughts or ideas themselves.
- Beliefs are always with us. They complement our reality and help us position ourselves in the world. We assume them without question because we are immersed in them; they are our reality. We do not have to think about them. They were here before us and are shared by a human community.
- However, when individuals realize that there are other equally credible beliefs, they lose admiration and respect for traditional beliefs and lose faith in their ancestors. Their beliefs are no longer the common “reality,” leading to embarrassment and immersion in uncertainty.
When a belief fails, and we do not trust any other, doubts and beliefs coexist because if the doubt is real, we question everything. In this state, we are insecure. In belief, however, we have absolute certainty. Since we cannot live forever in uncertainty, we turn to reason to leave it behind.
Philosophy is born when individuals lose faith in their ancestors and confidence in traditional beliefs, and begin to trust a new faculty, building faith in reason.
Ideas themselves are the thoughts that we build and are aware of. We have them and discuss them because we do not feel totally immersed in them. We must constantly defend and recompose them to turn them into beliefs that we do not have to defend because they are rooted in us. However, living in them requires much more effort to appreciate.