Philosophy and the Social Problem - Couverture souple

Durant, Will

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0973769866 ISBN 13 : 9780973769869

Editeur : Promethean Press, 2008

Synopsis

In "Philosophy and the Social Problem," Will Durant's first book, Durant argues that philosophy has fallen into disrepute because it has stood high and dry upon academic ground, has occupied itself generally with the problem of knowledge, and has not gone down among the crowd to be of practical service. Durant says that philosophy can justify itself only by fruits which are of direct utility to the common man. And since the great prblem of the modern world is the social problem - the problem of waste and want, rich and poor, luxury and starvation, child labor and education, crime, and so on - it follows that philosophy must be brought to take this problem in hand and that it will stand or fall as a factor in civilization according as it is or is not adequate to its solution. The new edition of this hard-to-find treasure is fully annotated with philosophical details, historical facts, and behind-the-scenes insights into the man and his ideas.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

Philosophy and the Social Problem By Will Durant, Ph.D. Includes Sections on: Morality as impotence Democracy Feminism Socialism and anarchism Degeneration Nihilism The will to power The superman How to make supermen On the necessity of exploitation Aristocracy Signs of ascent Feminism Socialism Eugenics Anarchism Individualism The organization of intelligence Information as panacea Sex, art, and play in social Reconstruction Education Political ethics Is man a political animal? What the social problem is Free speech Virtue as power Freedom and order Democracy and intelligence THE purpose of this essay is to show: first, that the social problem has been the basic concern of many of the greater philosophers; second, that an approach to the social problem through philosophy is the first condition of even a moderately successful treatment of this problem; and third, that an approach to philosophy through the social problem is indispensable to the revitalization of philosophy. By “philosophy” we shall understand a study of experience as a whole, or of a portion of experience in relation to the whole. By the “social problem” we shall understand, simply and very broadly, the problem of reducing human misery by modifying social institutions. It is a problem that, ever reshaping itself, eludes sharper definition; for misery is related to desire, and desire is personal and in perpetual flux: each of us sees the problem unsteadily in terms of his own changing aspirations. It is an uncomfortably complicated problem, of course; and we must bear in mind that the limit of our intention here is to consider philosophy as an approach to the problem, and the problem itself as an approach to philosophy. We are proposing no solutions. Let us, as a wholesome measure of orientation, touch some of the mountain-peaks in philosophical history, with an eye for the social interest that lurks in every metaphysical maze. “Aristotle,” says Professor Woodbridge, “set treatise-writers the fashion of beginning each treatise by reviewing previous opinions on their subject, and proving them all wrong.” The purpose of the next five chapters will be rather the opposite: we shall see if some supposedly dead philosophies do not admit of considerable resuscitation. Instead of trying to show that Socrates, Plato, Bacon, Spinoza, and Nietzsche were quite mistaken in their views on the social problem, we shall try to see what there is in these views that can help us to understand our own situation to-day. We shall not make a collection of systems of social philosophy; we shall not lose ourselves in the past in a scholarly effort to relate each philosophy to its social and political environment; we shall try to relate these philosophies rather to our own environment, to look at our own problems successively through the eyes of these philosophers. Other interpretations of these men we shall not so much contradict as seek to supplement. Each of our historical chapters, then, will be not so much a review as a preface and a progression. The aim will be neither history nor criticism, but a kind of construction by proxy. It is a method that has its defects: it will, for example, sacrifice thoroughness of scholarship to present applicability, and will necessitate some repetitious gathering of the threads when we come later to our more personal purpose. But as part requital for this, we shall save ourselves from considering the past except as it is really present, except as it is alive and nourishingly significant to-day. And from each study we shall perhaps make some advance towards our final endeavor,—the mutual elucidation of the social problem and philosophy.

Présentation de l'éditeur

This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Promethean Press
• Date d'édition: 2008
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0973769866
• ISBN 13: 9780973769869
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 148
• Éditeur: Bishop JR James
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible