The Age of Ideology

The Great Ages of Western Philosophy #5

by Henry D. Aiken

Book by Aiken, Henry D.

Genres: Philosophy, History, Nonfiction

283 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1956

Reviews

[Ron · Rating 2 out of 5]

A dense paperback of basic writings of nineteenth century philosophers. From Kant to Kierkegaard, these men began breaking down traditional philosophic methods and systems—paradoxically many of these men spawned systems just as rigid as those they overturned. Aiken's introductory passages help the modern reader tread through a maze of thoughts which looks modern but in fact was the embryo of modern systems. A trove of original writings.

Still, when I first read this--and the other Mentor Philosophers volumes--in the 1960s, it opened a world of thought that I didn't then realize existed. These people exploded many previous philosophies to bend philosophy to describe the world as they saw it: a world not so different--yet very different --from ours.

[David Sarkies · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Great Philosophers of the 19th Century
30 September 2011

This is quite a helpful book for those who are studying the 19th Century Philosophers. Through the book Aiken gives an outline (of his version) of some of the biggest names in philosophy from the 18th and 19th centuries. Obviously the interpretation these philosophies does come down a lot how the rear actually understands what is being said (as well as what the original author was trying to say), especially in today's post-modern world - however my position is that most writers write with an intention, and no matter how subjective the writing may be, one needs to always approach it with at least some objectively, taking into account the time period and the personality of the writer among other things.

As mentioned, this book pretty much focuses on 18th and 19th Century Philosophers, including Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, and Frederick Nietzsche. It is a very helpful and handy book for those studying these philosophers as it can give on a starting point when attempting to understand their ideas and it can also assist one when one does go and read the writings themselves as some of them (particularly Nietzsche's) can be pretty difficult to follow or understand off the bat.

During the period covered in this book Europe was undergoing some significant changes with both industrialisation of manufacturing and the push towards the modern liberal democract. Much of Europe was still ruled by the authoritarian monarchies, but the Napoleonic Wars had brought the ideas of democracy through the regions which not only gave the population their first taste of freedom, but also planted the seeds of this period. Thus it is not surprising that quite a number of the philosophers here are German consider that this part of Europe was the region most effected by Napoleon's meddling in statecraft.

However it wasn't strictly the Germans (since Kierkegaard was Danish) as the British (such as Mill) were also developing their own philosophy, and we also have some, such as Marx, who moved to London and penned his political and economic treatises' Britain had arisen from a different base, having had their revolutions much longer back, and through this period had slowly been shifting towards a parliamentary democracy. During this period, namely the reign of Queen Victoria, not only was the British Empire at its height, but Victoria was slowly shifting the powers of the crown over to Parliament. Britain was having its own libertarian revolution, however this was taking form slowly, and interestingly enough, coming from the Tories. They were establishing universal healthcare and education alongside opening up the vote to non-property owners. They were also dispensing with the qualification of being a member of the Anglican church to sit in parliament.

Anyhow, this is simply giving a background of the period in which these philosophers were writing. The thought pattern was moving away from the objective philosophies of the church to a more existentialist philosophy, and this of course began with Hegel, who proposed the concept that two opposing ideas can come together to form a completely new idea, that is the Thesis and the Anti-thesis becoming the synthesis. This opened up further ideas that were developed by others such a Marx, who proposed the idea of dialectic materialism which is the concept that while history moves in a circle, this circle is constantly moving forward.

All in all, not a bad book, and I wouldn't mind reading it again sometime to try to get a better understanding of these philosophies, but that time is not now, and any way, it is hundreds of kilometers away hidden away in some shed.

[Arielle88 · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot of information packed into those short chapters. Aiken does a good job clearly explaining some pretty opaque philosophies. It would be really cool for a book like this to go more into some of the different interpretations of the different philosophers, but it's probably good that Aiken didn't, cuz then the book would just seem all the more dated. Recommended for those who want a good quick intro to some of the big name philosophers of the 19th century!

[Dianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first two chapters of this book have been pretty much the most boring thing I have ever read in my life. Kant won't be on my "to read" list any time soon! Well the book got better but still would not be on my top ten list. I did learn some things about the history of philosophy and the main philosophers of the 19th century.

[David Arthur · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Age of Ideology: The 19th Century Philosophers, Selected, with Introduction and Interpretive Commentary by Henry D. Aiken, 1956, New American Library, 271 pages, is a brisk book interpreting several philosophers of the 1800s, in continuities and discontinuities, to say something about the state of philosophy looking back at the 1700s and forward to the 1900s. the 1800s were an age of enlightenment and the 1900s an age of analysis. Ideology was the big think for the 19th Century with Hegel and Marx/ Engels and there were efforts to like ideology with science and knowledge, bringing or rejecting history’s impact on philosophy. Ideology means “ideal or abstract speculation and visionary theorizing”; “a system of ideas concerning phenomena, especially those of social life…ay of thinking or a system of attitudes…a radically new conception of philosophical activity itself,” It derived from leaders of the French Revolution in their continued combat against the ancien regime, church and state as it was still since the fall of Rome and during medieval times, the way of thought parodied by Francois Rabelais.
Contents: Philosophy and Ideology in the Nineteenth Century; The Transcendental Turn in Modern Philosophy: Immanuel Kant; Egoism in German Philosophy: Johann Gottlies Fichte; Dialectics and History: G.W. F. Hegel; The World of Will and Idea: Arthur Schopenhauer; The Father of Positivism: Auguste Comte; The Saint of Liberalism: John Stuart Mill; The Apostle of Evolution: Herbert Spencer; Dialectics and Materialism: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels; Salvation without a Savior: Friedrich Nietzsche; The Advent of Existentialism: Soren Kierkegaard; the Return of Enlightenment: Ernst Mach; Concluding Unscientific Postscript.
I took an introductory course taught by a graduate student on political philosophy fifty years ago. I did not know how to formulate a philosophical argument o statement then, thinking it was a debate backed by evidence, and I was told it was not that. The teacher forgave my ignorance and was easy with the grade. I later saw him working for economic sustenance at the local movie theater.
Thinking about how we think and know, what should we try to know and for what reasons, was detached more thoroughly from religion, and tentatively tied to science and history, but people would soon know that religion and the inner subjective mind was not going to go away either. Philosophy would even have to contend whether “I think, therefore I am” really started with the will of “I.” or whether the “I” is also an object of the “think” and “am.” Our very language of subject-predicate might very well ignore the possibility that the predicate operates on its own, and that the subject is made from the predicate. I might just be along for the ride, especially as a lone individual trapped in the society, like an ant in the colony.
The book is a brisk toe in a flowing stream. Raising a thirst and an appetite, but not enough to know very much. For me, one avenue has been to read the novelists and historians. Art has its place.

[Jared Perovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ideology has no history for the reason ideologies "have no autonomous historical development" (page 18). Instead of developing, a repetition characterizes what is ideological in any discourse. Unlike the repetition in myth or ritual, ideology today keeps its association with "doctrines" which Henry D. Aiken names "politically inspired and officially sanctioned" (page 16).

From his introduction to The Age of Ideology:

"The word "ideology" was coined by a now forgotten French philosopher, Destutt de Tracy (1754-1836). Tracy used it to refer to the radically empirical analysis of the human mind [...] and which derived ultimately from the "new way of ideas" that was first formulated by John Locke in his Essay Concerning the Human Understanding. This analysis, which claimed that sensation is the origin of all ideas, was adopted by the leaders of the French Revolution as an indispensable weapon for combating the authoritative political and religious dogmas by means of which the ancien regime had maintained its hold. In fact, the government of the Revolution recognized this analysis as the only philosophy, and during its reign the "ideologues," as they later came to be known, were the only acknowledged philosophers." (page 16)

[Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I read more of these books in the Mentor Philosophers series, a couple of things strike me. For one thing, the comparative approach really illuminates some of the differences between the philosophers considered. Moreover, reading several of these anthologies provides a certain continuity to the exercise. The Age of Ideology includes some remarkable thinkers - Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche among them, most of whom were dealing with questions raised by the great epistemological philosophers of the 18th century. However much they may have rejected the epistemological approach, the very approach they were rejecting affected the manner in which they presented their own concepts of reality.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Age of Ideology is some introductions and commentaries about famous philosopheres in 19th. century such as Kant, Fichte, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Marx, Nietzche, Kirkegaard, etc.
این کتاب با نام "عصر ایده ئولوژی" (فلاسفه ی قرن نوزدهم) به ترجمه ی ابوطالب صارمی و توسط انتشارات امیرکبیر و با همکاری انتشارات فرانکلین منتشر شده (1345).

[Craig Herbertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's well written and concise and a good starter pack for !9th century philosophy.