subjectivism
In philosophy and the historiography of philosophy, subjectivism is a collective term that has been used since modern times to classify positions according to which knowledge and action can mainly or even exclusively be subjectively justified or justified. The real reasons for justification lie in the subject of acting and thinking and are related to its point of view or (at least in the absence of reflection ) limited to it. In contrast to subjectivism, objectivism insists on objectivity , that is, on the knowledge of objective reality.
Use of the term
philosophy
The term is used to determine various epistemological positions, according to which all terms , judgments and knowledge are essentially determined and shaped by the respective subject - usually the individual person is meant. Subjectivist positions are in contrast to objectivist or highly realistic positions, but do not necessarily lead to idealism , relativism or skepticism . For this it is crucial how the positions understand truth and the accessibility to truth.
Subjectivist theories
Subjectivist theories are described in more detail under different aspects. The individuale subjectivism seen in detail individual and his individual consciousness the measure of all knowledge. The individual perception and the individual interests of the respective subject determine his reality , which is necessarily relative . Each subject perceives the outside world in its own way.
The general subjectivism sees the nature of the knowing subject, such as a common to all men "human beings," the condition of all knowledge. Different individuals are subject to the same law in their knowledge due to their belonging to the human species and consequently know the outside world in basically the same way. Nevertheless, they could not be sure whether their knowledge is "objectively" correct, since from the perspective of other living beings, be they animals or fictitious other forms of life , the view of things could be completely different.
When reasonable reasons and personal needs coincide in an enlightened egoism, one speaks of rationalistic subjectivism. Subjectivist theories can also be colored altruistically. Each subject ensures that he and others are fine, then everyone is fine. If this altruistic concept is extended to society, one speaks of social subjectivism. A moral order of values is created by compromising individual needs. The mutual weighing of interests creates these compromises.
Subjectivism in the History of Philosophy
The statement “Man is the measure of all things” is attributed to the pre-Socratic philosopher Protagoras , although it is uncertain whether this refers to the individual or the human species. It is considered the most radical theory of subjectivism. Critics warn against arbitrariness for moral action and its negative consequences. Subjectivism coincides with the (in) morality of selfishness and egoism . Besides, there would no longer be any objectivity. Therefore, the possibilities of scientific research are called into question. The philosophical classics already pointed out that subjectivism is a self-contradiction if it claims (with an absolute or objective validity claim) that everything (knowledge) is subjective.
As a moderate form of subjectivism, René Descartes' opinion that all object knowledge depends on the only thing that is primarily given, the consciousness of the subject. But this is due to certain logical laws, which it cannot escape, at least partially capable of objective or indubitable knowledge. In this context Descartes formulated the principle “I think, therefore I am” ( Cogito ergo sum ) as the indubitable foundation of all thinking. This gave rise to tendencies that favored the development of subjectivist theories.
Related to the moderate Cartesian approach is Immanuel Kant 's approach of a “ critical ” epistemology . The things in themselves are unknowable, since they always appear within subjective categories of perception - namely space and time. Kant is a representative of a general subjectivism: Kant does not regard the empirical individual subject as the epistemological authority, but rather thinking as such, as it essentially belongs to the human species. Philosophy as “ transcendental philosophy ” has to devote itself to researching these laws of thought, for which Kant wanted to lay a foundation stone with his Critique of Pure Reason and the Prolegomena of every future metaphysics . This examination of one's own cognitive ability and the associated philosophical exploration of the subject is often referred to as the “ Copernican turn in philosophy”: No longer the world , but the self-criticism of thinking, no longer the outside, but that Inside, is the center of attention. Here one speaks of transcendental subjectivism.
Following Kant, many German thinkers who belonged to idealism saw themselves as transcendental philosophers - but each with their own emphasis. In addition to Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling , this also applies to Edmund Husserl , whose renewal of the Cartesian ideal of an absolutely well-founded science is at the center of his phenomenology . Arthur Schopenhauer even claimed:
" The world is my idea is a sentence that everyone must recognize as true as soon as they understand it, even if not one that everyone understands as soon as they hear it."
Today, the term encompasses all those relativistic conceptions which, by referring to the subject as the only instance of any knowledge, fundamentally deny the possibility of general and intersubjectively valid statements. When applied to ethics , a consistently skeptical subjectivism can lead to the negation of inter-individual values and point to egoism . This is not mandatory because interindividual ethics can play an important and action-guiding role for the subject even if other individuals are denied possession of truth - from the assumption that there is no intersubjective validity for moral values does not necessarily follow that there are no moral values at all.
“Since the Enlightenment, man has risen to the standard of all being and of all things and has thus put his subjectivity in the place of God's revelation. But if subjectivity understands itself and its thinking as truth, this implies the lack of presuppositions and immanence of the human being. From this an epistemology develops in which, in a positivistic manner, all knowledge is decisively determined by the subject. The apprehension of reality is accordingly shaped by the peculiarity of the knower as well as by his a priori conditions. "
Social sciences
In the social sciences , especially in sociology and political science , the pair of opposites subjectivism vs. Objectivism has a meaning of its own. Both terms denote different understandings of social science research. Subjectivism means the exploration of human experiences in the given social environment: the subject is the main object of research here. Objectivism starts with, describes and explores society. He understands society as the second nature of the individual who structures social action with rules and regulations.
Sociological terms such as “ society ”, “ social structure ”, “ social system ”, “ social class ” or “ social class ” are either categories that structure social reality (objectivism) or raise questions about the facts that fit these organizational concepts (Subjectivism).
In the meantime, a theoretical concept is sought that combines both views under a cultural theoretical perspective. This approach can be found e.g. B. at ' Pierre Bourdieu '. This should make it possible to research and describe the dynamic totality of societies. This could also result in the social sciences being enabled to develop alternative models of society. Anthony Giddens so-called " structuring theory " can be seen as a further attempt to make this possible. If the mutual relationships between objective structures and subject-oriented traditions are examined, the question of the relationship between the individual and society or the subjective and the objective could be answered more completely than before.
romance
The descendants of the Enlightenment, the 1970s generation of the 18th century founded the romantic movement in Germany. Her motto is philosophical: "Reason is not everything". The world must be grasped holistically, said Friedrich Schlegel . So reason needs poetry .
The subjectivism of this epoch would like to gain a more intimate and truer relationship to things by withdrawing the individual into himself and inventing subjectivist world views. Good and bad are interpreted subjectivistically: "Nothing in itself is neither good nor bad, thinking makes it so."
Through “poetry and truth” one strives to escape the rationalistic compulsion to adapt and to give expression to the “lost, dreaming self”. The world is "poetized" or "romanticized". The “blue flower” is the central symbol of romanticism, as well as - if you like - that of subjectivism, as suggested by the Schlegelbrothers' romantic community. The subjectivism of this time lives on in symbolism , expressionism and surrealism .
See also
literature
- Ulrich Schwabe: Individual and Trans-Individual I. The self-individualization of pure subjectivity and Fichte's theory of science. With a continuous commentary on the science of science nova methodo. Paderborn u. a. 2007
- Christian Rother: In the “Endstiftung”. Some remarks on Richard T. Murphy's "Hume and Husserl: Towards Radical Subjectivism" , in: Controversen in der Philosophie , Issue 5, November 1993, 55-61. ISSN 1019-7796
Individual evidence
- ↑ Franz von Kutschera : Fundamentals of Ethics. Berlin / New York 1999. 2nd completely revised edition, pp. 122–124.
- ↑ Kirchner, Friedrich / Michaëlis, Carl: Dictionary of basic philosophical terms. Leipzig 51907, p. 607. - Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon , Volume 19. Leipzig 1909, p. 161.
- ↑ Johannes Hirschberger: History of Philosophy. Volume II. Freiburg / Frechen (Komet licensed edition) undated, p. 99f. - Brockhaus Encyclopedia (Subjectivism) Wiesbaden 1972.
- ↑ Johannes Hoffmeister: Dictionary of Philosophical Terms. 2nd Edition. Hamburg 1955, "transcendental". - Hans Jörg Sandkühler (ed.): Encyclopedia Philosophy. Hamburg 2002. "Transcendental Philosophy"
- ^ Lutz von Padberg: The Bible. Basis for believing, thinking and knowing. Prologomena to a biblical epistemology. Hänssler, Neuhausen-Stuttgart 1986, ISBN 3-7751-1083-6 , p. 65
- ^ Matthias Junge: Zygmunt Bauman: Sociology between modernity and fleeting modernity. Wiesbaden 2006, ibs. Pp. 41-45. Further presentations of various theories in: Heinz-Günter Vester: Compendium of Sociology III: Newer sociological theories. Wiesbaden 2010.
- ^ Georg Simmel: Philosophy of Money (1900) textlog.de
- ^ William Shakespeare: Hamlet , 2nd act, 2nd scene.