The Philosophy Book

212

T

oward the end of the

19th century, philosophy

once again reached a

turning point. Science, and

particularly Charles Darwin’s

theory of evolution (1859), had

thrown into doubt the idea of the

universe as God’s creation, with

humankind as the peak of his

creative genius. Moral and political

philosophy had become entirely

human-centered, with Karl Marx

declaring religion “the opiate of the

people.” Following in the footsteps

of Arthur Schopenhauer, Friedrich

Nietzsche believed that Western

philosophy, with its roots in Greek

and Judaeo-Christian traditions,

was ill-equipped to explain this

modern world view. He proposed

a radical new approach to finding

meaning in life, one that involved

casting aside old values and

traditions. In doing so, he set the

agenda for much of the philosophy

of the 20th century.

A new analytical tradition

To some extent, the traditional

concerns of philosophy—such as

asking what exists—were answered

by science in the early 20th century.

Albert Einstein’s theories offered

a more detailed explanation of the

nature of the universe, and Sigmund

Freud’s psychoanalytic theories

gave people a radically new insight

into the workings of the mind.

As a result, philosophers turned

their attention to questions of

moral and political philosophy or,

since philosophy had become the

province of professional academics,

to the more abstract business of

logic and linguistic analysis. At the

vanguard of this movement of logical

analysis—which became known

as analytic philosophy—was the

work of Gottlob Frege, who linked

the philosophical process of logic

with mathematics. His ideas

were enthusiastically received

by a British philosopher and

mathematician, Bertrand Russell.

Russell applied the principles

of logic that Frege had outlined to

a thorough analysis of mathematics

in the Principia Mathematica,

which he wrote with Alfred North

Whitehead, and then—in a move

that revolutionized philosophical

thinking—he applied the same

principles to language. The process

of linguistic analysis was to

become the major theme in

20th century British philosophy.

One of Russell’s pupils, Ludwig

Wittgenstein, developed Russell’s

work on logic and language, but

INTRODUCTION

1900

1906

1910 –13

1914 –18

1907 1917

1908 1921

Bertrand Russell and

Alfred North Whitehead

co-author The Principles of

Mathematics, set philosophers

on a new analytical path.

Albert Einstein

introduces his theory

of relativity.

Edmund Husserl

publishes The Idea

of Phenomenology.

The October Revolution

takes place in Russia,

leading to the creation

of the Soviet Union.

Henry Ford produces

the Model T Ford—

the world’s first

mass-produced car.

Ludwig

Wittgenstein

publishes his

Tractatus

Logico-

Philosophicus.

Death of Friedrich
Nietzsche, whose
philosophy proposed
that “God is dead.”

World War I leads to the

collapse of the Russian,

German, Ottoman, and

Austro-Hungarian empires.