Is philosophy primarily critical
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20143055 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sven Ove Hansson (0000-0003-0071-3919), Oskar Hansson (0000-0001-8467-7286, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 90 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 157-160 |
| Publication date | 2024-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Theoria (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0040-5825 • E-ISSN: 1755-2567 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/theo.12524 |
| OpenAlex | W4395084582 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 16 |
Priest's essay begins with criticism of Wittgenstein's and Rorty's answers to the question, both of which he finds unsatisfactory and even self-refuting, since 'the way they do philosophy conflicts with the way that they say philosophy is ' (ibid., p. 200).Instead, he proposes that philosophy should be defined 'neither by its subject matter, nor by its method, but by its spirit:-unbridled criticism ' (ibid., pp.206-207).Criticism is 'the life-blood of the discipline' (ibid., p. 203n).He specifies his standpoint as follows:What distinguishes the role of criticism in philosophy is, I think, precisely that there is nothing that may not be challenged.Anything is a fit topic for critical scrutiny and potential rejection, including, of course, the views of other philosophers and the criticisms that they, in their turn, may come up with: that there is an external world, that there are moral values, that people other than me have minds; even the efficacy of critical reasoning itself.Naturally, these are all somewhat extreme cases of criticism, and I am not suggesting that all philosophy targets such views.It certainly does not.I cite these examples simply to illustrate that there is nothing that is sacrosanct, no criticism that is beyond the pale.This is not, of course, to say that particular philosophers will criticise anything.Later Medieval philosophers, for example, did not criticise the claim that God exists.But they could have done so:-had they done so, they would still have been philosophers, though not, perhaps, unexcommunicated.It is exactly here, it seems to me, that philosophy is to be distinguished from other intellectual inquiries.(Priest, 2006, p. 201) According to Priest, philosophers are 'prepared to challenge things which everybody else takes for granted, or whose rejection most people do not countenance ' (ibid., p. 202).He sees no limits to the ability of philosophers to criticize the work of other scholars and scientists: Philosophy is of universal import.Concerning any field of inquiry, one may ask pertinent philosophical questions.One does this when one challenges things that the inquiry itself takes for granted.This is exactly what the philosopher has licence to do.(ibid., p. 203) Priest recognizes that philosophers sometimes perform positive work, for instance by proposing new theories on philosophical subject matter.However, he sees such work as
Citation · Library science · Sociology · African cultural and philosophical studies · Computer Science · Education and Critical Thinking Development · Philosophy · Values and Moral Education
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |