Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

A Philosophical Critique of ThoughtA Critique of the Basic Beliefs Underlying Thought

A Philosophical Critique of Thought: A Critique of the Basic Beliefs Underlying Thought [The assertion that “our subjective thought and the objective world are subject to the same laws” (Marx and Engels [1], p. 544.) is the basic belief constituting thought. Therefore, a critique of these ‘basic beliefs’ is a direct critique of the “unconscious and unconditional premise for our theoretical thought,” (Ibid.) as well as a critique of the basic question of philosophy itself—the question of the relation between thought and being. A critique of the underlying premises of the basic modes, ideas, and logic of thought constructed by philosophy itself implicitly contains the critique of the basic beliefs of the thought so constructed. This implies that the question of the relation of thought and being is the cardinal and fundamental question of philosophy itself. Therefore, a critique of the underlying premises of thought should first involve a critique of the basic beliefs that constitute thought, in other words, a critique of the identity of thought and being. In understanding the relation between thought and being, it is necessary to critically reflect on two basic ideas: first, on abstract identity, and second, on the abstract opposition of thought and being. These two ideas are polar opposites, but are also connected. The abstract opposition of thought and being is implicit in the abstract identity of thought and being. Its concrete manifestations are as follows: On a sensory level, the abstract identity of image and object implicitly contains the abstract opposition between the image that arises in different subjects and the object. On a rational level, the abstract identity of representation and thought implicitly contains the abstract opposition between representations in different subjects and thought. On the level of value, the abstract identity of ‘is’ and ‘ought’ implicitly contains the abstract opposition of value judgments in different subjects. On the level of laws, the abstract identity of thought and being implicitly contains the abstract opposition between the laws of thought and being. Abstract identity and opposition are the opposing ‘thesis’ and ‘antithesis’ of thought. A critique starting from the thesis and progressing to the antithesis is then a critique that begins from the abstract identity of thought and being and progresses to a critique centering on the abstract opposition of thought and being. It is precisely a critique of the abstract identity and opposition of thought and being that has shaped the historical progression from the logical to the historical identity of thought and being, thus continually deepening the critique of the basic beliefs that constitute thought.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A Philosophical Critique of ThoughtA Critique of the Basic Beliefs Underlying Thought

Sun, Zhengyu
Springer Journals — Nov 3, 2020
Download PDF
45 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/springer-journals/a-philosophical-critique-of-thought-a-critique-of-the-basic-beliefs-avTUUAGKgs
Publisher
Springer Singapore
Copyright
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021. Sponsored by: National Achievements Library of Philosophy and Social Sciences (15KZX001); Research Scheme of Scholars in Philosophy and Social Sciences of Jilin University (2012FRMJ01); Academic Translation Project of Philosophy and Social Sciences of Jilin University (2017ZZ048).
ISBN
978-981-15-8398-8
Pages
1 –46
DOI
10.1007/978-981-15-8399-5_1
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[The assertion that “our subjective thought and the objective world are subject to the same laws” (Marx and Engels [1], p. 544.) is the basic belief constituting thought. Therefore, a critique of these ‘basic beliefs’ is a direct critique of the “unconscious and unconditional premise for our theoretical thought,” (Ibid.) as well as a critique of the basic question of philosophy itself—the question of the relation between thought and being. A critique of the underlying premises of the basic modes, ideas, and logic of thought constructed by philosophy itself implicitly contains the critique of the basic beliefs of the thought so constructed. This implies that the question of the relation of thought and being is the cardinal and fundamental question of philosophy itself. Therefore, a critique of the underlying premises of thought should first involve a critique of the basic beliefs that constitute thought, in other words, a critique of the identity of thought and being. In understanding the relation between thought and being, it is necessary to critically reflect on two basic ideas: first, on abstract identity, and second, on the abstract opposition of thought and being. These two ideas are polar opposites, but are also connected. The abstract opposition of thought and being is implicit in the abstract identity of thought and being. Its concrete manifestations are as follows: On a sensory level, the abstract identity of image and object implicitly contains the abstract opposition between the image that arises in different subjects and the object. On a rational level, the abstract identity of representation and thought implicitly contains the abstract opposition between representations in different subjects and thought. On the level of value, the abstract identity of ‘is’ and ‘ought’ implicitly contains the abstract opposition of value judgments in different subjects. On the level of laws, the abstract identity of thought and being implicitly contains the abstract opposition between the laws of thought and being. Abstract identity and opposition are the opposing ‘thesis’ and ‘antithesis’ of thought. A critique starting from the thesis and progressing to the antithesis is then a critique that begins from the abstract identity of thought and being and progresses to a critique centering on the abstract opposition of thought and being. It is precisely a critique of the abstract identity and opposition of thought and being that has shaped the historical progression from the logical to the historical identity of thought and being, thus continually deepening the critique of the basic beliefs that constitute thought.]

Published: Nov 3, 2020

There are no references for this article.