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Bauer's criticism of Wundt's metaphysical system
Zora Križanić
Sažetak
From the philosophical point of view Wund1t's metaphysical system is the most significant work written by Bauer. It is a critical review of Wilhelm Wundt's philosophy.
The reasons why Bauer »tackled« this system are as follows: 1. Wundt was unusually well informed in the natural sciences; 2. Wundt was with Helmholz, a founder and leading figure in phylosophical psychology, at present so much esteemed psychophysics; 3. He was a positivist second to none in cognition theory and scientific method.; 4. His philosophical system is nothing else but the philosophical system of Kant somewhat, re-arranged. However, Bauer felt that »it was impossible to discuss metaphysical system if you did not know the philosopher's doctrine of thinking and cognition in general«, and hence he opened his discussion with the question: »What is thinking; what is cognition; what is substance?« In his answers to these questions he first analysed Wundt's study of thinking, cognition and substance. Bauer's analyses went deeply into the matter; he drew a parallel between Wundt's doctrine and the doctrines of the peripatetic and scholastic philosophers. In this parallel he pointed out differences in their doctrines, and concluded with the words of Th. Pesch, which contain the philosophical views of Bauer himself: »Every organism together with its life principle is an undivided, although composite Being. This single essence is the substance of organic being. But the first particles of matter, whether material or ethereal atoms are, besides matter, something more, and possess their entelechy..... The perfection of an individual substance depends primarily on the perfection of this enthelechy. We can only imperfectly perceive this perfection from the appearence and activities of beings when we try to perceive their essence through concepts.« Of this idea of Pesch's Bauer said: »This is deep knowendge, great truth, which was already discovered by the gigantic spirit of Aristotel. In Bauer's opinion »this truth was shone bright in Wundt's soul«, and we have' the right to conclude this from Wundt's words«..... the complete mutual interdependence between the physical and the mental creates the belief that the spirit is in fact the inner Being of the same unity, which we perceive from the outside as the body which belongs to it.« In this idea of Wundt's Bauer saw an explicitation of an idea of Thomas Aquinas: »Man is neither (only) a soul, nor (only) a body.« Bauer thought that »Wundt was not able to ‘disentangle' himself from the depths of Aquinas' thoughts.« Bauer himself, whenever Wundt's philosophizing allowed, tried to find some congruity between his and Wundt's phi1osophies. Where he disagreed, the only reason was »the collision between true reality and false noetics, between sound natural realism and subjectivism, in which (for Wundt) now the former, now the latter prevailed.«
Ključne riječi
Hrčak ID:
88501
URI
Datum izdavanja:
5.12.1983.
Posjeta: 927 *