On the Existence of God: Lectures given at the Universities of Würzburg and Vienna (1868–1891) (Nijhoff International Philosophy Series, 29)

Brentano, F.C.

ISBN 10: 9024735386 / ISBN 13: 9789024735389

Editore: Springer, 1987

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• Titolo: On the Existence of God: Lectures given at the Universities of Würzburg and Vienna (1868?1891) (Nijhoff International Philosophy Series, 29)
• Editore: Springer
• Data di pubblicazione: 1987
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 9024735386
• ISBN 13: 9789024735389
• Rilegatura: Rilegato
• Condizione: New

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Riassunto

Of the works by Franz Brentano (1838-1917) which have appeared in thus far, perhaps none is better suited to convey a clear idea of the English spirit of the man that this volume of his lectures on proving the existence of God. In order to understand his metaphysics, it would he better to read The Theory of Categories; in order to master the finer points of his psychology, it would be better to read Psychology From an Empirical Standpoint; in order to appreciate his ethical theory, it would be better to read The Origin of Our Knowledge of Right and Wrong or, for a more thorough treatment, The Foundation and Construction of Ethics. But in order to see what it was that gave Brentano the enthusiasm and dedication to do all that work and much more besides, it is necessary to find out what Brentano believed the philosophical enterprise itself to be; and this comes forth most vividly when he bends his philosophical efforts to the subject he considered most important of all, namely, natural theology. For, like Socrates, Brentano brought a kind of religious fervor to his philosophy precisely because he saw it as dealing much better than religion does with the matters that are closest to our hearts.

Contenuti

Introduction: The Theoretical and Practical Interest of the Question of God’s Existence.- One: Preliminary Inquiries.- First Preliminary Inquiry: Is the Inquiry Superfluous?.- I. Superficial Arguments.- II. The Ontological Argument.- Second Preliminary Inquiry: Is it Evident a Priori That the Existence of God is Impossible to Prove?.- I. Reasons Which Are Supposed to Make it Evident a priori that God Does Not Exist.- II. Arguments the Purpose of Which is to Show a priori that a Certain Proof of the Existence of God Cannot Be Produced.- A. Skeptical Reservations of a General Nature.- 1. Universal Skepticism.- 2. The Mitigated Skepticism of the New Academy.- 3. The Limited Skepticism of David Hume.- 4. Kant’s Transcendental Idealism.- Critique of Kant’s Doctrine.- Critique of Hume’s Doctrine.- The True Nature of Inferences From One Matter of Fact to Another.- A priori Proof of the Causal Law.- 5. Further Arguments of a General Sort.- B. Skeptical Arugments Which Are Specially Adapted to Our Subject.- Two: The Proofs of the Existence of God.- A Survey of the Proofs Attempted throughout the History of Philosophy.- The Teleological Proof First Part: The Appearance of Teleology.- I. The Foundation In Experience.- The Appearance of Teleology in the Realm of Living Things.- The Appearance of Teleology in the Realm of Inorganic Nature.- II. Objections Against the Appearance of Teleology in Nature.- A. Against the Appearance of Teleology Generally.- B. Objections Against the Appearance of a Superhuman Teleology.- III. Reply to the Arguments Against the Appearance of Teleology.- A. The Objections to Teleology in General.- B. Reply to the Objections Against the Appearance of a Superhuman Teleology.- Second Part: The Reality of Teleology.- I. The Hypothesis of Blind Necessity.- A. Older and More Recent Forms of This Hypothesis.- The Darwinian Theory of Natural Selection.- B. Critique of the Hypothesis of Blind Necessity.- Darwin’s Explanation is Not a Safe Assumption.- The Darwinian Hypothesis is Highly Improbable.- The Impossibility of the Darwinian Hypothesis.- New Theories for Explaining Evolution.- II. Comparison of the Hypothesis of An Ordering Intelligence With the Hypothesis of Chance.- Third Part of the Teleological Proof: From an Ordering Intelligence to a Creator.- The Proof from Motion.- 1. Proof of the Prime Mover, Based on the Law of the Conservation of Energy and the Law of Entropy.- 2. Proof of the Prime Mover on the Basis of a Contradiction in the Concept of Motion Without a Beginning.- The Proof from Contingency.- The Psychological Proof.- Completion of the Proof of the Existence of God.- The Train of Thought in the Proof of God’s Existence (1915).- One: On the Necessity of All Existing Things.- Two: On the First, Directly Necessary Cause.- Three: Concerning Theodicy.- Editor’s Foreword to the German Edition, by Alfred Kastil.- Editorial Notes by Alfred Kastil.