Philosophy - Classical Positivism

Classical Positivism

Epiphenomenalism- the belief that consciousness and mental phenomena are dependent upon and produced by physical processes, but that the converse is never the case.

Henri Bergson (1859-1941) - French biologist, most influential exponent of the evolutionary school during contemporary times.

Bergson’s vitalism- life is an autonomous function controlled by its own laws instead of the laws of physics and chemistry.

- attempts to arrive at logical explanations of reality are ineffective because reality is always in a state of Becoming and never stationary or at rest.

- man’s intellect can grasp nothing except static truths (mathematics, logic, etc) but his intuition can discern the ever changing life process itself.

- the élan vital (vital impulse) is unpredictable and perfectly free.

Dualism permeates every phase of Bergson’s philosophy: in his metaphysics (mind and matter), in his epistemology (intelligence and instinct), in his ethics (open and closed morality), in religion (static and dynamic).

Static religion - set of myths devised by human intelligence as a means of defense against the depressing experiences of life.

Dynamic religion = prompted by the elan vital, mysticism

Samuel Alexander (1859-1938) - born in Sydney, neo-realist (objects of knowledge and of sense experience are externally real in their own right and are not dependent upon consciousness for their existence), the ontological real is space and time.

Five levels of emergent evolution (1) space time and the categories   (2) primary qualities  (3) secondary qualities  (4) life  (5) mind  (6) deity

- values do not exist independently of the individual; relationship between subject and object.

- truth must be the coherent ordering of reality as the mind understands it, for truth does not exist apart from the mind’s knowing it, nor does the mind create  it.

Auguste Comte (1798-1857) - sort to revamp society for the sake of all classes, societies salvation was to be contingent upon scientific knowledge; theology to be replaced by a “Religion of Humanity”; sought a natural law of the history of society; founder of sociology; God is humanity.

Anthropomorphism - attributing human qualities to natural objects.

- metaphysical causes or substances are not real; only the facts of sense phenomena exist.

- for us to attain immortality it is necessary to survive in the memory of those who follow us.

- a scientific law is a condensed statement about repetitive experienced facts (Ernst Mach).

- since “metaphysical realities” are assumed to go beyond the boundaries of sense experience, they must be considered nonsense, nonexistent.