Continental Philosophy With the Objective

Continental Philosophy With the objective of describing the historical development surrounding continental philosophy's existentialism and phenomenology as a response to Hegelian idealism, I believe that it is fitting to first provide an overview of the ideas of Hegel. What indeed, is this Hegelian idealism? Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel is indisputably one of the many important thinkers of Western philosophy. He has influenced the works of many succeeding thinkers -- Karl Marx is notably one of them (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2006).

He belonged in a distinct period in philosophy known as "German idealism," which is Germany's response to the period of Enlightenment. Hegel argued against Kant's philosophy of the inescapability of human ignorance. Instead, he maintained that the realization of fullest human potentials is not through the determined processes of the mind but through dialectics; of free and reflective intellects (Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia, 2008a).

Hegel's dialectics, or the dialectical activity of the human mind is centered on the idea that every concept has an opposite, a result of this conflict is the synthesis of ideas. This synthesis is placed on the domain of higher level of truth. Moreover, Hegel's idealism maintains that through evolution, the human mind shall arrive at the highest level of awareness and freedom -- the realization of its fullest human potential (Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia, 2008b).

Given this nature of thought, a response to Hegelian idealism came in the form what is now known as Continental philosophy. Within this broad array of thought, we can find its many strands: existentialism, phenomenology, hermeneutics, deconstruction and critical theory (faxed material, date). This article shall focus on existentialism and phenomenology, particularly its principal contributors and specific issues it entails. Existentialism Existentialism faces the fact that existential predicament may not be solved.

If we do not accept this fact much honesty this kind of fact, then life is headed towards deterioration. If we do not struggle with problems that envelope our very existence, then we will not find the meaning and value of life. These rather dark truths have long been espoused by thinkers such as Arthur Schopenhauer, Soren Kierkegaard, and Friedrich Nietzsche as a response to the optimism found in Hegelian idealism, i.e. that human mind is in constant progression towards total freedom and realization of its potentials (ibid).

Kierkegaard objected Hegel's stance on the rationality of things as the former emphasized that the world is defined by irrationalities -- the world is a place where suffering, death, and dread are inescapable. Hence, the utility of philosophy must lie on its ability to speak to the anguished individual living in this irrational world and at the same time confronted by decisions that need to be made (ibid).

Nietzsche, having been influenced by the ideas of Arthur Schopenhauer, also argued against the rationality of the world as he emphasized that the world is driven by cosmic will instead of reason. Nietzsche's ideas center on the will-to-power to escape the triviality of the society. Nietzsche argued against the "slave mentality" that permeates society causing the people to live lives devoid of joy and grandeur (ibid).

Phenomenology Phenomenology, on the other hand, focuses on the "essential structures found within the stream of conscious experience -- the stream of phenomena -- as these structures manifest themselves independently of the assumptions and presuppositions of science" (faxed material, date, p. 174). Edmund Husserl, who is considered as the first great phenomenologist, developed transcendental phenomenology which very purpose is to investigate the phenomena of the world without making assumptions. This requires the exclusion of one's presupposition about the existence of the external, physical, and objective world.

Phenomenology's end is to be able to describe the conscious experiences of human's "lifeworld" (ibid). Heidegger, having heard Husserl's call for a need to develop a philosophical system which understands the essences of the lifeworld, maintained that humans are only open to the things that are within their horizons, consequently the meaning of human relationships are poorly understood. This lack of insight results to living inauthentic lives. The little effort exerted by human beings to extend their comprehension leads to what Heidegger terms us everydayness.

This everydayness leads to the failure of human's real potentials. Heidegger also argued against the superiority of ideas over any physical reality (which Hegel espoused) -- this for Heidegger, has led not only to alienation and loneliness but to social destructiveness as well (ibid). As a form of summary, we.