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The orthodox understanding of pseudophilosophy is any idea or system that masquerades itself as philosophy while significantly failing to meet the high intellectual standards of philosophy. Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language The term is frequently used pejoratively, and most applications of it are quite contentious. Words and phrases are pejorative if they imply disapproval or contempt Pseudophilosophy bears the same relationship to philosophy that pseudoscience bears to science. Pseudoscience is defined as a body of knowledge methodology belief or practice that is claimed to be Scientific or made to appear scientific but does not adhere to the Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding

Nicholas Rescher, in The Oxford Companion to Philosophy, defines pseudo-philosophy as "deliberations that masquerade as philosophical but are inept, incompetent, deficient in intellectual seriousness, and reflective of an insufficient commitment to the pursuit of truth. Nicholas Rescher (born July 15, 1928 in Hagen, Germany) is an American philosopher, affiliated for many years with the " Rescher adds that the term is particularly appropriate when applied to "those who use the resources of reason to substantiate the claim that rationality is unachievable in matters of inquiry. "

Other terms used are non-philosophy and cod philosophy (from codswallop). The word codswallop, primarily a British English term meaning " Nonsense " is of uncertain origin [1]

Contents

Accusations of pseudophilosophy in academia

Hegel

Arthur Schopenhauer wrote the following about Hegel:

If I were to say that the so-called philosophy of this fellow Hegel is a colossal piece of mystification which will yet provide posterity with an inexhaustible theme for laughter at our times, that it is a pseudophilosophy paralyzing all mental powers, stifling all real thinking, and, by the most outrageous misuse of language, putting in its place the hollowest, most senseless, thoughtless, and, as is confirmed by its success, most stupefying verbiage, I should be quite right.

– Arthur Schopenhauer, 'On the Basis of Morality', trans. E. F. J. Payne (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1965), pp. 15-16.

Schopenhauer's critiques of Hegel, Schelling, and Fichte are informed by his view that their works use deliberately impressive but ultimately vacuous jargon and neologisms, and that they contain castles of abstraction that sound impressive but ultimately include no verifiable content. Johann Gottlieb Fichte ( May 19, 1762 – January 27, 1814) was a German philosopher For Wikipedia jargon see WikipediaGlossary. For hacker slang see Jargon File. A neologism (from Greek neo = "new" + logos = "word" is a word that although devised relatively recently in a specific time period has been Søren Kierkegaard attacked Hegel in a similar manner, writing that it was pretentious for Hegel to title one of his books "Reality. Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (ˈsœːɐn ˈkʰiɐ̯kəˌɡ̊ɒˀ in Danish Anglicized as;) " To Kierkegaard, this indicated an attempt to quash critics even before criticism was voiced.

Despite these attacks, Hegel is widely considered one of the most influential writers in world history: the rigor of his philosophy notwithstanding, Hegel had a significant effect on the writings of subsequent philosophers, such as Kierkegaard, Marx, and Heidegger. Martin Heidegger ( September 26, 1889 &ndash May 26, 1976) (ˈmaɐ̯tiːn ˈhaɪ̯dɛgɐ was an influential German philosopher The philosopher Walter Kaufmann contended that Schopenhauer's attacks actually tell us more about Schopenhauer than about Hegel. Walter Arnold Kaufmann ( July 1, 1921 Freiburg Germany - September 4, 1980 Princeton New Jersey) was a German-American

Postmodernism

More recently, accusations of pseudophilosophy have been made against postmodernists, Martin Heidegger, and certain late twentieth century French thinkers like Jacques Derrida, Jean Baudrillard, Julia Kristeva, Jacques Lacan, Jean-François Lyotard, Gilles Deleuze, and Jean Luc Nancy by numerous philosophers in the tradition of analytic philosophy and some 'hard scientists' such as Alan Sokal (see the Sokal affair) who claim that these thinkers use of scientific concepts is lacking in rigor. Postmodernism literally means 'after the modernist movement' While " Modern " itself refers to something "related to the present" the movement of modernism Martin Heidegger ( September 26, 1889 &ndash May 26, 1976) (ˈmaɐ̯tiːn ˈhaɪ̯dɛgɐ was an influential German philosopher Jean Baudrillard ( July 29, 1929   – March 6, 2007) (ʒɑ̃ bo Julia Kristeva (Юлия Кръстева (born 24 June 1941) is a Bulgarian - French Philosopher, Literary critic, Jacques-Marie-Émile Lacan (French ʒak lakɑ̃ ( April 13, 1901 &ndash September 9, 1981) was a French Psychoanalyst Jean-François Lyotard (ʒɑ̃ fʀɑ̃swa ljɔˈtaʀ August 10 1924 April 21 1998) was a French philosopher and literary Gilles Deleuze ( (January 18 1925 &ndash November 4 1995 was a French philosopher of the late 20th century Jean-Luc Nancy (born July 26, 1940) is a French philosopher. Nancy's first book published in 1973 was Le titre de la lettre Analytic philosophy (sometimes analytical philosophy) is a generic term for a style of Philosophy that came to dominate English-speaking countries in the 20th century Alan David Sokal (born 1955) is a professor of Physics and faculty member of the physics department at New York University. The Sokal affair (also Sokal's hoax) was a Hoax by physicist Alan Sokal perpetrated on the editorial staff and readership of the Postmodern

The biologist Richard Dawkins has claimed that postmodernists are generally intellectual charlatans who deliberately obscure weak or nonsensical ideas with ostentatious and difficult to understand verbiage. Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL (born 26 March 1941 is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and Popular science [1] W.V.O. Quine, along with Barry Smith, Hugh Mellor (then Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge), and various other academic philosophers, once wrote to protest Cambridge University's award of an honorary degree to Jacques Derrida, claiming that Derrida's work "does not meet accepted standards of clarity and rigor" and that it is made of "tricks and gimmicks similar to those of the Dadaists". Willard Van Orman Quine (June 25 1908 Akron, Ohio &ndash December 25 2000 (known to intimates as "Van" Barry Smith is the name of Barry Smith (ontologist (born 1952 an ontologist at the University at Buffalo The State University of New York Barry David Hugh Mellor (known as Hugh Mellor) is an English Philosopher. The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University) located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the For other meanings see Dada (disambiguation DaDa is a Concept album by Alice Cooper, released [2] Such attacks are usually considered as a sign of the breach between analytical and continental philosophy. Analytic philosophy (sometimes analytical philosophy) is a generic term for a style of Philosophy that came to dominate English-speaking countries in the 20th century Continental philosophy, in contemporary usage refers to a set of traditions of 19th and 20th century philosophy from mainland Europe

Furthermore, while French reception (of Foucault, Althusser, Lacan, Deleuze, Derrida, etc. ) considers their work to be within widely different fields and intellectual traditions, American critics have frequently responded to them as a homogenous body. The label of "structuralism" was denied by almost all of the so-called structuralists thinkers (Claude Lévi-Strauss, Lacan, Althusser, early Foucault), and the label of post-modernism was adopted by few of the movement's "founding fathers". For the use of structuralism in biology see Structuralism (biology Structuralism is an approach to the human sciences that attempts to analyze Claude Lévi-Strauss (klod levi stʁos born 28 November 1908 is a French Anthropologist. Postmodernism literally means 'after the modernist movement' While " Modern " itself refers to something "related to the present" the movement of modernism Derrida would warn several times that the "deconstruction" of metaphysics didn't mean that "we didn't need metaphysics"; but we need to do something else, beside it: the deconstruction of metaphysics is not an abandonment of metaphysics.

Likewise, numerous philosophers in the tradition of analytic philosophy have been dismissed as pseudophilosophical by their peers in continental philosophy. Analytic philosophy (sometimes analytical philosophy) is a generic term for a style of Philosophy that came to dominate English-speaking countries in the 20th century Continental philosophy, in contemporary usage refers to a set of traditions of 19th and 20th century philosophy from mainland Europe For example, In "Signature, Event, Context", Jacques Derrida refers to John Searle's theory of speech acts as having "inherited from a certain Continental tradition [. John Rogers Searle (born July 31 1932 in Denver Colorado) is an American Philosopher and the Slusser Professor of Philosophy at the University . ] numerous gestures and a logic I try to deconstruct". He claims that Searle's ignorance of the history of philosophy in general and continental philosophy in particular has led to his "repeating its most problematic gesture, falling short of the most elementary critical questions. . . "[3] Similarly, Alain Badiou refers to analytic philosophy as "Anglo-American linguistic sophistry", and claims that analytic philosophy of science relies wholly on untenable metaphysical presuppositions. Alain Badiou (born January 17, 1937 in Rabat, Morocco) is a prominent French Marxist Philosopher, formerly chair Analytic philosophy (sometimes analytical philosophy) is a generic term for a style of Philosophy that came to dominate English-speaking countries in the 20th century Philosophy of science is the study of assumptions foundations and implications of Science. [4]

Mysticism

Excursions into mysticism are generally frowned upon by academic philosophers. Mysticism (from the Greek grc μυστικός mystikos, an initiate of a Mystery religion) is the pursuit of communion with identity A notable example is the nonacceptance by academics of Robert M. Pirsig's metaphysics of quality, an experience described in his two books Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Lila: An inquiry into morals. Robert Maynard Pirsig (born September 6, 1928, Minneapolis Minnesota) is an American Writer and Philosopher, mainly known The metaphysics of Quality (MOQ is a Theory of Reality introduced in Robert Pirsig 's philosophical Novel, Zen and the Art Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance An Inquiry into Values is the first of Robert M Lila An Inquiry into Morals ( 1991) is the second philosophical novel by Robert M The mystical explanation, the academic philosopher laments, invariably is to accept at the same time p as true and not-p also as true. Interestingly, the later philosophy of both Ludwig Wittgenstein and Martin Heidegger, each the most prominent figure in his philosophical tradition, was criticized for devolving into mysticism. Martin Heidegger ( September 26, 1889 &ndash May 26, 1976) (ˈmaɐ̯tiːn ˈhaɪ̯dɛgɐ was an influential German philosopher

Popular philosophy

Alfred Korzybski's theory of General Semantics has been given this appellation (also by Quine). Alfred Habdank Skarbek Korzybski (kɔ'ʐɨpski ( July 3, 1879 &ndash March 1, 1950) was a Polish-American Philosopher The term General Semantics refers to a non- Aristotelian Educational Discipline created by Alfred Korzybski (1879–1950 during the years The works of Albert Camus, Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957, have also been so named, in particular by Jean-Paul Sartre who claimed it was "philosophy for classe de terminale" (last class in high school before the Baccalauréat). Albert Camus ( (7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960 was an Algerian born French Author, philosopher, and journalist who won the Nobel prize The Nobel Prize in Literature (Nobelpriset i litteratur is awarded annually since 1901 to an author from any country who has in the words from the will of Alfred Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (21 June 1905 &ndash 15 April 1980 commonly known simply as Jean-Paul Sartre (ʒɑ̃ pol saʁtʁə was a French The baccalauréat (bakaloʁeˈa often known in France colloquially as le bac or le bachôt, is an academic qualification which Camus' works are generally considered as literature and not as philosophy, although they definitely posed some philosophical questions.

Ayn Rand's Objectivism has been referred to as a pseudophilosophy, with varying justifications. Ayn Rand (ˈaɪn ˈrænd &ndash March 6 1982 born Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum (Алиса Зиновьевна Розенбаум was a Russian born American Objectivism is a Philosophy developed by Ayn Rand in the 20th century that encompasses positions on Metaphysics, Epistemology, [5] Many of her views are presented in her romantic realist-style novels, rather than in scholarly publications. Romantic Realism is an aesthetic term that usually refers to Art that deals with the themes of volition and value while also acknowledging In addition, Rand was self-taught, and consequently the philosophical issues that she discussed were out of sync with the research programs of mainstream academic philosophy during the years she was active. Her grasp of the historical problems of philosophy is considered idiosyncratic in many ways – her proposed resolution of the problem of universals, for example, treated it as a question of epistemology although it has usually been taken as a question of metaphysics (though Rand notes this fact in her treatment of the problem). The problem of universals is an ancient problem in Metaphysics about whether universals exist Epistemology (from Greek επιστήμη - episteme, "knowledge" + λόγος, " Logos " or theory of knowledge Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science

Finally, she and some of her followers are often perceived as being dogmatic. [6] This is in part because some of her readers, imagined to be "adolescents and far right", are excited by her novels and by "reading them from their own perspectives" outside of their ideological context. [7] These readers, Nora Ephram says, are "missing the point. "[8] Furthermore, many of her supporters would not permit modifications or additions to her system of ideas, leading some to label Rand as a cult leader. This article does not discuss "cult" in the original sense of "veneration" or "religious practice" for that usage see Cult (religious practice [9] There have been few published reactions to Objectivism in academic journals. The most comprehensive academic criticism to date is "With Charity Towards None" by William F. O'Neill, published in 1971. However, academic work on Objectivism has grown in recent years, within and beyond the Objectivist Movement. The Objectivist movement is a movement to study and advance Ayn Rand ’s philosophy Objectivism.

Furthermore, the New Philosophers (Bernard-Henri Lévy, Alain Finkielkraut etc. The New Philosophers (French nouveaux philosophes) is a term referring to French philosophers who broke with Marxism and the Left in general Bernard-Henri Lévy (born November 5, 1948 in Béni Saf, Algeria) is a French Public intellectual and journalist Alain Finkielkraut (born in Paris on June 30 1949) is a French essayist and son of a Jewish Polish artisan manufacturing fine leather goods ) have been also accused to be a form of pseudophilosophy, although some of their early work was academic. Gilles Deleuze particularly criticized the movement. Gilles Deleuze ( (January 18 1925 &ndash November 4 1995 was a French philosopher of the late 20th century Some have criticized them for reversing the classical model of the intellectual: while the classical intellectual uses the influence gained in their field for moral or political purposes, and thus goes from their scientific field to the public space, New Philosophers invert this by capitalizing on their appearances on TV talk shows to derive their scientific legitimacy. An intellectual (from the adjective meaning "involving thought and reason" is a person who tries to use his or her Intelligence and analytical thinking, A public space refers to an area or place that is open and accessible to all citizens regardless of Gender, Race, Ethnicity, Age or A talk show ( American) or chat show ( Global) is a Television or Radio program where one person or group of people come together to They are not studied by philosophy students.

So-called integral thought is an example of new-age ideology, written for a popular audience, that at least strives for the appearance of philosophical rigour. This article is about the integral movement in philosophy and psychology For example, the promotional material printed on the back of Ken Wilber's Sex, Ecology, and Spirituality (Second Edition) claims, "Ken Wilber is one of the most widely read and influential American philosophers of our time," even though Wilber is at best a fringe figure in contemporary philosophy. Kenneth Earl "Ken" Wilber Jr (b January 31, 1949, Oklahoma City, U

Best-selling British author Alain de Botton has been criticized by academic philosophers Jonathan Lear and Mary Margaret McCabe for abandoning the Socratic pursuit of truth for its own sake which, they assume, is central to genuine philosophy. Alain de Botton, (born 20 December 1969 in Zurich, Switzerland) is a British writer and television producer of Swiss Jewish extraction Jonathan Lear is the John U Nef Distinguished Service Professor in the Committee on Social Thought and professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago [10] De Botton, McCabe claims, "popularize[s] philosophy. . . precisely on the basis that philosophers can provide us with useful tips. . . . " Lear concludes, ". . . let's face it, this isn't philosophy. "

Best-selling American author Christopher Phillips, who uses Socrates' name to describe his own methods, has been similarly criticized for neglecting the Socratic search for truth: although she does not describe Phillips as a pseudo-philosopher, academic philospoher Janet Sisson does claim that "the background for [Phillips' popular Socrates Café project] is very different from that for the conversations of Socrates. Christopher R Phillips (born circa 1960 is the creator of the Socrates Cafe discussion groups Socrates Cafe is the name used by a number of Philosophy discussion groups which take their model from the book of the same name by Christopher Phillips. Plato uses the figure of Socrates as a way of introducing the idea of intellectual discussion in order to promote the pursuit of truth, not as a path for personal discovery. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece . . . To treat opportunities for dialogue as a means of self-discovery is a modern attitude, not the aim of Socrates own original dialectic. American scholars have sometimes encouraged this reading of Socratic endeavors; Phillips' fondness for this line of argument perhaps owes more to idealist or existentialist thinking than to Socrates himself. Existentialism is a philosophical doctrine which posits that individuals create the meaning and essence of their lives and that this essence follows from their existence "[11]

Since the publication of academic philosopher William Irwin's Seinfeld and Philosophy in 1999, there has been an influx of books that mix themes of pop culture with philosophical themes, most notably perhaps Open Court Publishing's "Popular Culture and Philosophy Series"[12] and Blackwell Publishing's "Philosophy and Pop Culture Series". Seinfeld is an American Situation comedy, or sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5 1989 to May 14 1998 lasting nine seasons Popular culture (or pop culture) is the Culture — patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activities significance and importance — The Open Court Publishing Company is a Publisher with offices in Chicago and La Salle Illinois. Blackwell Publishing Ltd was a Learned society publishing company based in Oxford, England. [13] Many of these books have been criticized for watering down philosophical content while making tenuous connections with popular themes in order to maximize appeal to consumers. Australian journalist Steve Carroll, for example, says, "During the past 10 years there has been a spate of books intent, not so much on taking philosophy to streets, as taking it to the dinner parties. And they're a mixed bag. Many are just crass attempts to cash in on the movement - the worst kind of arranged marriage between publishing and opportunistic editors. . . . The Sopranos and Philosophy: I Kill Therefore I Am, is part of a series that also includes The Simpsons and Philosophy, Seinfeld and Philosophy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy and so on. The Simpsons and Philosophy The D'oh! of Homer is a Non-fiction book analyzing the Philosophy and Popular culture effects of the American It is basically cultural studies with bits of philosophy thrown in. Cultural studies is an academic discipline which combines Political economy, Communication, Sociology, Social theory, Literary theory But if you're not into The Sopranos, Seinfeld, Buffy or that whole other reality of cult US TV - and this series, which is aimed at the American market (and got a thumping from some US reviewers), assumes you most definitely are - then it is of distinctly limited value. A cult following is a group of fans devoted to a specific area of Pop culture. "[14]

Other self-described philosophers

Frederick II of Prussia considered himself to be a philosopher in his own right, a claim not recognised by academic philosophers. Frederick II (Friedrich II January 24 1712 August 17 1786) was a King of Prussia (1740&ndash1786 from the Due to his influence on European political, economic and cultural history his opinions and ideas on philosophy were, and are, read.

Other works that have been labeled as "pseudophilosophy" include the material in Richard Bach's fable Jonathan Livingston Seagull, The Satanic Bible, James Redfield's The Celestine Prophecy and the novella The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Richard David Bach (b June 23, 1936, Oak Park Illinois) is an American writer A fable is a succinct story in prose or verse that features Animals Plants inanimate objects, or forces of nature which are Jonathan Livingston Seagull, written by Richard Bach, is a Fable in Novella form about a seagull learning about life and The Satanic Bible was written by Anton LaVey in 1969 It is a collection of essays observations and basic Satanic Rituals and outlines LaVey's Satanic James Redfield, born March 19 1950, is an American author lecturer screenwriter and film producer The Celestine Prophecy is a 1993 novel by James Redfield that discusses various Psychological and spiritual ideas which are rooted A novella is a written, Fictional Prose Narrative longer than a Novelette but shorter than a Novel. Paulo Coelho (ˈpau̯lu ˈko̯eʎu (born August 24, 1947) is a Brazilian Lyricist and Novelist. Other New Age works are generally considered speculative or unanalytical by philosophers. New Age ( New Age Movement and New Age Spirituality) is a Social Collective Phenomenon and a Spiritual Nature Here, the label of pseudophilosophy is used to criticise these works as being conventional, sentimental, or platitudinous; and of lacking rigour, system, or analytical content.

A special type of pseudophilosophy is mock philosophy, proposed as a mystification, just for fun, such as externism by Jára Cimrman in the Czech theatre play Akt (English: The Nude). Externism is a fictional pseudo-philosophical theory proposed by the famous fictitious Czech genius Jára Cimrman. Jára Cimrman 'ʦɪmr̩man or Jára da Cimrman da 'ʦɪmr̩man is a Czech fictional character created by Jiří Šebánek and Zdeněk Svěrák

References

  1. ^ Topological Redheads and Cod Philosophy. Retrieved August 4, 2006. ]]
  2. ^ Letter to The Times, Saturday, May 9, 1992. The Times is a daily national Newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register.
  3. ^ Derrida, Jacques "Signature, Event, Context" Northwestern University Press
  4. ^ Badiou, Alain "Being and Event" Continuum Press 2005 pp. 3-7
  5. ^ Clark, Leslie. "The philosophical art of looking out number one", Sunday Herald. Retrieved on 2007-04-30. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule  
  6. ^ David Kelly (2000). Contested Legacy of Ayn Rand. Transaction Publishers Press. ISBN 0765808633.  
  7. ^ Mimi Reisel Gladstein (1999). The New Ayn Rand Companion. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0313303215.  
  8. ^ Mimi Reisel Gladstein (1999). The New Ayn Rand Companion. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0313303215.  
  9. ^ See, for example, Michael Shermer, Ayn Rand: The Unlikeliest Cult in History, originally appearing in Skeptic, vol. Michael Brand Shermer (born September 8, 1954 in Glendale California) is an American science writer historian of science founder of The Skeptics 2, no. 2, 1993, pp. 74-81
  10. ^ Lear, "The Socratic Method", New York Times, 14 May 2000, accessed 29 May 2008; McCabe, "Who wants to be a millionaire?", Times Literary Supplement, 23 June 2000.
  11. ^ Review of Socrates Café, Metapsychology, Vol. 7 No. 21, 25 May 2003, accessed 29 May 2008.
  12. ^ Open Court's "Popular Culture and Philosophy Series", accessed 31 May 2008.
  13. ^ Blackwell's "Philosophy and Pop Culture Series", accessed 31 May 2008.
  14. ^ Steve Carroll, "You ain't nothin' but an existential hound dog", The Age, 4 Sept 2004, accessed 31 May 2008; see also Brian Ott's satirical "The 'Popular Culture and Philosophy' Books and Philosophy: Philosophy, You’ve Officially Been Pimped", Flow, Vol. The Age is a Broadsheet daily Newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854 Flow is an online journal of television and media studies published by the Department of Radio-TV-Film at the University of Texas at Austin. 3 No. 3, 7 Oct 2005, accessed 1 June 2008.

See also


External links

Obscurantism (from the Latin obscurans, "darkening" is the practice of deliberately preventing the facts or full details of something from becoming known Alfred Jarry ( 8 September 1873 &ndash 1 November 1907) was a French Writer born in Laval, Mayenne 'Pataphysics ( French: 'Pataphysique) a term coined by French writer Alfred Jarry (1873 – 1907 is a Joseph Nechvatal (born 1951 is a post- Conceptual art Digital artist and art theoretician who creates computer-assisted paintings and Computer
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