The basic objective of this
course is to enable students to identify the main features
of 20th Century philosophy in relation to what had transpired
in previous philosophical era and the influence which
20th century philosophy has on the current philosophical
trends in the 21st Century.
The major concern of 20th Century philosophy is to break
away from metaphysical system of thought which characterized
philosophical endeavors in the past and to identify
philosophy with: (i) the meaning, clarification and
analysis of words and concepts and (ii) the analysis
of the most general structures of our experiences. Some
writers have therefore identified 2 major philosophical
movements in the 20th Century, namely, analysis and
phenomenology. It may be said, then, that 20th Century
philosophy has a scientific undertone, using the word
‘scientific’ in a broad sense.
The course will however examine the strengths and weaknesses
of the 20th Century conception of philosophy in relation
to the question whether the philosophers of that period
were successful in breaking away totally from the philosophy
of the past and to what extent this philosophical era
has influenced the philosophical enterprise in the 21st
Century.
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