Continental Philosophy Since 1750: The Rise and Fall of the Self - Paperback

by Robert C. Solomon (Author)

The flowering of creative and speculative philosophy that emerged in modern Europe--particularly in Germany--is a thrilling adventure story as well as an essential chapter in the history of philosophy. In this integrative narrative, Solomon provides an accessible introduction to the major authors and movements of modern European philosophy, including the Enlightenment and Romanticism, Rousseau, German Idealism, Kant, Fichte, Schelling and the Romantics, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Feuerbach, Max Brentano, Meinong, Frege, Dilthey, Bergson, Nietzsche, Husserl, Freud, Wittgenstein, Heidegger, hermeneutics, Sartre, Postmodernism, Structuralism, Foucault, and Derrida.

Back Jacket

The main theme of this story is the rise and fall of the Self. The Self in question is no ordinary self; it is the Transcendental Self, whose nature and ambitions are unprecedentedly arrogant, cosmic, and often obscure. Put modestly, this universal Self is human nature; in less modest terms, it is nothing less that God, the Absolute Self, the World Soul. While recognizing the centrality of the question of knowledge, Professor Solomon focuses too on the broader picture of subjectivity, which includes ethics, aesthetics, and religion.