Chapter 16: Soren Kierkegaards Repetition Brief Biography Soren Kierkegaard was born on May 15, 1813 in Copenhagen,

agen, Denmark. 7th child of a wealthy businessman. His father had special philosophical interests which had great impact on him He was also a bright student who learned to read Hebrew, Greek,Latin,German and French at the age of 17. His philosophy, which he called existentialism, practically applied to an examined life as opposed to the works of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel whose philosophy was deeply anchored in the ideas of Plato. Kierkegaard died in Copenhagen on November 11,1855. His works include Either/Or(2 volumes,1843),Stages on Lifes Way(1845), Fear and Trembling(1846),The concept of Dread(1844),The Sickness unto Death(1849)The present Age(1846), and Repetition(1843)

Repetition and Recollection Kierkegaard maintains that while recollection is backward, repetition is forward. Recollection is easy but painful. On the other hand, repetition is uncertain, but gives hope that lies within the province of the absurd. He said, the pseudonymous authors could see that repetition was the same thing as the Platonic recollection, only with a forward movement instead of backward this explains why repetition is a movement to the absurd. It is most commonly known as a leap of faith. This is what most people are afraid of--- to be responsible for anything that may happen.

Psychological versus Religious Human problems are not psychological but religious. They ought to be treated using Kierkegaards leap of faith. Human existence is highly religious because man, with all his powers, cannot master or control himself and the world around him. Kierkegaard maintains that since repetition is highly religious, recollection is psychological. Hence, for him, recollection is to treat life from the pagan point of view. Recollection is the pagan life-view, repetition is the modern life-view; repetition is the interest of metaphysics..Repetition is the solution contained in every ethical view. Since repetition is also ethical, it is marvelous, and it must come about in the ways of the absurd.

Western Metaphysics is a Recollection

Western metaphysics is said to be purely recollection. In fact, Plato attempted to explain knowledge through anamnesis, a process of remembering the past. Kierkegaard said, A Greek would prefer to recollect, unless his conscience were to frighten him; and modern philosophy makes no movement generally it only makes a fuss and what movement it makes is always within immanence, whereas repetition is always transcendence..

Misuse of Language Kierkegaard resists language because for him, it is a wretched human invention. He said: What a wretched invention human language is. It says one thing and means another! Using ones name to tell something is not a philosophical stand for Kierkegaard; it is a characteristic of a recollecting person.

Chapter 19: Maurice Merleau-Pontys Yogi and the proletarian Brief Biography Maurice Merleau-Ponty was born on March 14, 1908. He studied philosophy at the Ecole Normale Superieure and graduated in 1930 He served in the French military during World War II. He became one of the foremost French philosophers. Like his father, he was associated with the existentialist school but he denied his connection with existentialism because his ideas were not so much on freedom, anguish, responsibility, and death He also served as a political editor for the Les Temps Modernes from October 1945 until he died of a stroke.

General Philosophy Merlaeau-Ponty asserts the significance of humanism as a lived experience. Perception, for him, is not causal product of different sensations; rather, it is an active dimension as it is a perception to the life of the world. Thus, he adopts Husserls slogan, All consciousness is consciousness of something. In the Phenomenology of Perception, Merleau-Ponty says that while art captures mans individual perception, science, on the other hand, neglects to explain the depth it seeks to analyze. For him, science is individualistic because it does not talk about human subjectivity; instead it only talks about positivism or objective facts. Yogi and the Proletarian The problem Merleau-ponty addresses in his essay, The Yogi and the Proletarian, is the tension between ideology and its application by the proletarian. There is a tension between the two because the misuse of ideology, to a certain extent, has led to terror. Historically, it is also a tension between the poor and the rich. Merleau-Ponty said, The revolution of 1893 is terror because it is abstract, and it attempts to pass immediately from principles to the forced application of those principles. A revolution must come, according to Merleau-Ponty, from the movement of history and not from the so-called committee of public safety. Two solutions for an abstract revolution: Let the revolution mature and support it; and Depend not on the decisions of a committee of public safety but on a movement of history. Revolution and Terror The start of terror was attributed to the decline of proletarian humanism. Merleau-Ponty establishes his point by setting Trotsky as his model.

 Trotsky was involved with Marxs proletarian philosophy, which stressed grounded history as the history. This kind of philosophy is grounded on the history of the masses. It is a historical reality, because the people below are exploited in this new order of philosophy. This proletarian philosophy roused many intellectuals in Europe during the ripe days of facism. However, this new mode of thinking was challenged when World War II erupted. The historic mission of the Proletariat The Marxist conception of history asserts that economic history will become stable only through the collective appropriation of nature at the hands of the proletariat. From this perspective, it is the proletariat which given a historical mission, and its struggle becomes of major importance. In creating a humanity that is historically grounded, the world has to adopt the proletarian philosophy, which is certainly against the society designed by the scholars, saints, princes, and government officials. Could we develop a philosophy that could bind the prince and the pauper to work for common interest? The historical mission of proletariat is, Merleau-Ponty, to gain a wise balance power because giving them their role to create themselves means reciprocity. Yogi and Humanism This is a situation where reciprocity is impossible the proletariat is not considered in terms of his/her capacity to determine and to situate himself/herself in the world, which, according to Merleau-Ponty, is more vital than the product of his/her physical powers. The yogi and the proletarian have a common mission: Making humanity reala kind of humanity that is felt and expressed freely in the world contrary to the Cartesian notion of indubitable truth, which is only good in understanding and condemning, but not in making moral judgements.

Chapter 17: The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche Brief Biography Friedrich Nietzsche was born on October 15, 1844 in the town of Rocken, province of Saxony, Germany. His father, Carl Ludwig, was a Lutheran pastor and teacher. His Mother was Francisca Oehler. Nietzsche was a poet. He is known to have contributed the idea, God is dead. He also distinguished the master and slave moralities, according to which, there is celebration of life on the one hand and so much suffering on the other. The most recurring theme in his philosophy is the will of power. This implies the power of human behavior to survive at all costs. On August 25, 1900, Nietzsche contracted pneumonia. When he died, his sister buried him beside their father in Rocken. Nietzsches works include: The Birth of Tragedy (1872) Thus Spoke Zaranthustra (1885) The Will to Power (1883-1889) Beyond Good and Evil ( 1886) On the Genealogy of Morals (1887) The Case of Wagner (1887) Twilight of the Idols, The Antichrist (1888) Ecce Homo (1888) The Birth of Tragedy The Birth of Tragedy (1887-1888) is Nietzsches first book, which talked about science from the viewpoint of the artist. For Nietzsche, art, which rest upon the Greek culture, was the definition of human existence. His admiration for music was emphasized. The literature influenced Nietzsches philosophy since he admired Greek culture, especially how well they translated the tragedy of human existence into drama and music.

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8)

The Birth of Tragedy is a question of the famous contrast of the so-called Apollonian and Dionysian spirits. What distinguishes the two is that the Dionysian spirit desires the original oneness while the Apollonian desires the individual form.

Friedrich Nietzsche and Richard Wagner Richard Wagner and Arthur Schopenhauer played a vital role in Nietzsches life. Wagner initiated Nietzsche into the mysteries of art and life. Schopenhauer initiated him into the school of Superman and Overman.

Chapter 18: Martin Heideggers Politics and Ideology Brief Biography Full name: Born: Martin Heidegger September 26, 1889 Baden-Wrttemberg, Germany School: University of Freiburg (1909-1911) Studied: Theology Completed Doctoral Degree on Psychologism (1914) Studied: Philosophy He served as a soldier during World War I. He was chosen to hold an office of extraordinary professorship in 1923 in University of Marburg. He retired in 1982 and stayed at the University of Freiburg for the rest of his life. He died on My 26, 1976 at the age of 86. Political Influences The Nazi dictatorship culminated when Adolf Hitler suspended all civil liberalities when a building named Reichstag was bombed on February 27, 1933. Hitler rashly suspected the communists for the bombing. Several communist were arrested and placed in concentration camps. Hitler became very strong because he acquired all powers including those of the law-making body. Martin Heidegger and Edmund Husserl

Husserl worked out his philosophy in the context of phenomenology which emphasizes the importance of human existence as lived in day-to-day context. The relationship of the two was damaged by controversies and ideological issues. The eventual breakup of their friendship terminated on May 1, 1933 when Heidegger joined the National Socialist Movement.

 Martin Heidegger and Nazism Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism (German: Nationalsozialismus) was the belief and practice of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (otherwise known as the Nazi Party). The relation between the philosopher Martin Heidegger and the Nazi Party is a controversial subject. Martin Heidegger joined the Nazi Party on May 1, 1933, nearly three weeks after being appointed Rector of the University of Freiburg. Heidegger resigned the rectorship about one year later, in April 1934, but remained a member of the Party until the end of World War II. His first act as Rector was to eliminate all democratic structures, including those that had elected him Rector. There were book burnings on his campus, some of which he successfully stopped, as well as some student violence. People, Mission, Destiny: An Ideology Heideggers political ideology is taken in the perspective of history within which he was active. Common in all his speeches were the terms: Volk (people) Believe that should be collected into one that would be in control of the destiny. Aufrag (mission) The German community in the midst of a struggle Schicksal (destiny) - Fate The ground of this was the so-called Volksgemeinschaft (peoples community). People and Growth Volk was considered an organism: an organic whole evolving in time. The idea about people was regarded to be a competition: the weaker ones gave way to the stronger ones. This was an affirmation of Darwinism which claimed that the evolution is ascending. Ascension means a change for the best and takes place as nature develops. According to Kant, A maxim is a rule. Everything in nature happens according to rules (called the laws of nature). The German Spiritual Regeneration

As Germans ascended, nations in Europe, particularly France and England, declined, they were overthrown. So it was natural then that the German race became influential and strong. Hence racism became the core of the social structure.

 Heideggers political ideology of the Germans finding their own identity was fulfilled through spiritual regeneration called an inner change The Nature Of Inner Collection

Innerlichkeit (inner collection) a change of thinking and behaving the Volk should be involved in it. Heideggers ideology aims to rediscover the historical destiny of Germany. Spiritual leadership starts with the self; it is inward rather the outward. The opposite is taught by the British and the Americans. The Role of The School in Inner Collection It is in the school that the Volk imbibe the true essence of history and destiny. Heidegger believes that everything can be possible if people are conditioned first in school. The beginning of the task starts in it, as the university is the home of spirituality. The task begins with teaching future leaders, den Fhrer zu Fhren (to lead the leader). The Platonic Leadership For Plato, leadership must emanate from the philosopher-king or the wise and properly educated. Education is not a mere end but a means toward a further end. For Heidegger, it is not knowledge that administers what is supposed to be for the community of the people. The leadership of the people also starts with the leaders or the scholars of a university. As leaders of a university, they must be able to maintain academic and managerial powers to unite the fragmented departments. For Heidegger, the society should use Platonic leadership. People should be led not by the mere power of the leader or the iron of his fist, but by forms and the authentic grounding of being. The English and German Ways Many ideologues have commented that England and America give more importance to private interests. Germany would rather work as a people or as a nation. Private interest is subordinated by the will of the community as a whole. This contrasting English and German ways allow the world to know that the former are traders while the latter are heroes. The German way of life is a package of self-sacrifice and endurance, duty of the nation, and defense of it as a community. Self-Sacrifice: The German Spiritual Mission

 Heidegger wanted nothing of the German life but dedication and self-sacrifice, qualities he kept on repeating so that the German spiritual mission would emerge. For him, it is clear that the true meaning of life is in making a sacrifice for the community rather than for the self. Satisfaction can be achieved in ones life for the community. Only then can the world find its direction to the vision of Being. Technology and Nihilism Nihilism An extreme form of scepticism that denies all existence. A doctrine holding that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated. Heidegger became an anti-modernist. He strongly argued that industrial technology brings nihilism to the world. Many considered technology as a project not only of the will of the person but also his intelligence. However, Catholic universities during that time made a policy for the university leaders to take an oath against modernism. He was one of the victims of this policy. His breakup from Catholic philosophy plays a major role in directing the course of mankinds history. The so called loss of faith of Heideggers part was due to the papal belief that all aspects of mans life have to be controlled by the church, one he thought to be absurd. Volkisch Totalitarianism

Volkisch Totalitarianism Another term for Heideggers ideology - Requires a total subjection of the people - It is humane and is more likely uphold the integrity of the individual For the people, it means leading their activities for the welfare of their own community. It means working together for the common good.