How they ruined philosophy | Babette Babich, Genia Schönbaumsfeld, and Christoph Schuringa

Did analytic philosophy ruin the entire discipline?

For more than a century there has been a divide in Western philosophy between two distinct approaches, often described as analytic and continental philosophy. Analytic philosophy is predominantly based in the English-speaking world taking its name from Bertrand Russell’s philosophy of logical analysis that overthrew the grand Hegelian metaphysics of the 19th century. It did so in favour of a focus on logic and linguistic precision, with the assumption that science would do the serious work of uncovering the nature of reality. Continental philosophy, based primarily in France and Germany, has offered a broad range of outlooks on the nature of the human condition and the world. It has been defined by its critics simply in opposition to analytic philosophy.

Few thinkers have bridged the divide to be taken seriously by both camps. Yet both traditions now have deep challenges. The original focus of analytic philosophy has become increasingly blurred while in France English speaking philosophy is now in vogue.

What is the future of European thought? Are we seeing the end of the analytic and continental divide? Or is the Enlightenment tradition itself under threat and with it the influence and identity of European philosophy?

Associate Professor of Philosophy at Northeastern University London, Christoph Schuringa is known for his works on German philosophy and is Editor of the Hegel Bulletin. Genia Schönbaumsfeld is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southampton and the author of several books – most recently, Wittgenstein on Religious Belief. Babette Babich is Professor of Philosophy at Fordham University and the editor of the journal New Nietzsche Studies. Hosted by Danielle Sands.

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