Contemporary Philosophical Alternatives and the Crisis of Truth : A Critical Study of Positivism, Existentialism and Marxism

The function of philosophy may be circumscribed as consisting in ma­ king a keen analysis of the peculiar nature of the crisis-situation, as it has existed among men throughout the centuries of human history, and as it manifested itself in definite ways at the various stages of this his­ tory. That is to say, philosophy may be regarded as the discipline which, again and again, will have to determine the authenticity of man's ex­ istence in the light of the changing conditions of life, i. e. , man's chang­ ing needs and interests. Fundamentally, these needs may be regarded as being of a material, an intellectual, an aesthetical and a spiritual kind. On the grounds of the crisis, which inevitably exists among men on ac­ count of the controversial nature of their various truth-perspectives, as they are postulated on a personal level, in the sciences, in history, in the fine arts and in theology, man creates and re-creates the goods of civilization and the cultural values. The task of philosophy consists then in making an ever new assessment of man's changing needs, in­ terests and aspirations on the basis of the specific conflicts and prob­ lems with which man wrestles at a certain historical stage. It is in this way that the important philosophical systems were constructed, which we still admire to-day. The function of philosophy may be circumscribed as consisting in maƯ king a keen analysis of the peculiar nature of the crisis-situation, as it has existed among men throughout the centuries of human history, and as it manifested itself in definite ways at the various stages of this hisƯ tory. That is to say, philosophy may be regarded as the discipline which, again and again, will have to determine the authenticity of man's exƯ istence in the light of the changing conditions of life, i. e., man's changƯ ing needs and interests. Fundamentally, these needs may be regarded as being of a material, an intellectual, an aesthetical and a spiritual kind. On the grounds of the crisis, which inevitably exists among men on acƯ count of the controversial nature of their various truth-perspectives, as they are postulated on a personal level, in the sciences, in history, in the fine arts and in theology, man creates and re-creates the goods of civilization and the cultural values. The task of philosophy consists then in making an ever new assessment of man's changing needs, inƯ terests and aspirations on the basis of the specific conflicts and probƯ lems with which man wrestles at a certain historical stage. It is in this way that the important philosophical systems were constructed, which we still admire to-day Front Matter....Pages I-XX The Nature of the Present Crisis....Pages 1-12 The Functionalistic Alternative or the Alternative of the Status Quo ....Pages 13-33 The Existential Alternative....Pages 34-55 The Dialectical Alternative....Pages 56-88 Philosophy as a Representation of the Nature of Truth....Pages 89-125 The Existential Character of Philosophy and the Problem of Authentic Existence....Pages 126-136 Conclusion....Pages 137-145 Back Matter....Pages 146-148