Suchergebnisse

This 1952 study is an investigation into the nature of language that focuses on reinterpreting Hamann's theories of language in light of twentieth century linguistic philosophy. One of the first studies of Hamann to be presented in English, it poses many questions of universal concern and interest

TheOrganic nature of all philosophic reflection can easily be obscured by the otherwise laudable efforts of specialists in such fields as the philosophies of ethics, political theory, and art. Granting the great speculative philosophers of the past, seeking a unified view of the totality of human experience, erred though an excess of undisciplined imagination, it is questionable whether the less ambitious, piecemeal work of the analytic specialist has saved philosophy from mysticism or has so truncated it that all vital connections with a humanity in search of meaning have been severed. The tendency to compartmentalize philosophy is not limited to any area of experience but in this article I should like to restrict myself to a consideration of the consequences of separating philosophy of history from inquiries into individual and political values. In order to appreciate these consequences we must first agree on the nature of a philosophy of history and the role it plays, or should play, in determining our estimation of human values.

The social meaning of work derives from the acts of creation it makes possible. The creative use of leisure suggests a philosophy which may be summarized under the ideas of integrity of purpose, liberty to choose goals, ob jectivity, equality in fellowship, common command of skills, growth, and inner joy. Since the average citizen is unable to invent new uses for his leisure, a professional elite shares a heavy responsibility for discovering criteria for ways of employing leisure and creating enthusiasms for common ends within the moral aims of the community.