Philosophy of Life
Encyclopedia
Lebensphilosophie is a philosophical school of thought which emphasises the meaning, value and purpose of life as the foremost focus of philosophy. Inspired by the critique of rationalism
in the works of Arthur Schopenhauer
and Friedrich Nietzsche
, it emerged in 19th-century Germany as a reaction to the rise of positivism
and the theoretical focus prominent in much of post-Kantian philosophy.
It bore relation to the subjectivist philosophy of vitalism developed by Henri Bergson
, which lent importance to immediacy of experience.
This philosophy pays special attention to life as a whole, which can only be understood from within. The movement can be regarded as a rejection of Kantian abstract philosophy or scientific reductionism of positivism.
Rationalism
In epistemology and in its modern sense, rationalism is "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification" . In more technical terms, it is a method or a theory "in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive"...
in the works of Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer was a German philosopher known for his pessimism and philosophical clarity. At age 25, he published his doctoral dissertation, On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason, which examined the four separate manifestations of reason in the phenomenal...
and Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
, it emerged in 19th-century Germany as a reaction to the rise of positivism
Positivism
Positivism is a a view of scientific methods and a philosophical approach, theory, or system based on the view that, in the social as well as natural sciences, sensory experiences and their logical and mathematical treatment are together the exclusive source of all worthwhile information....
and the theoretical focus prominent in much of post-Kantian philosophy.
It bore relation to the subjectivist philosophy of vitalism developed by Henri Bergson
Henri Bergson
Henri-Louis Bergson was a major French philosopher, influential especially in the first half of the 20th century. Bergson convinced many thinkers that immediate experience and intuition are more significant than rationalism and science for understanding reality.He was awarded the 1927 Nobel Prize...
, which lent importance to immediacy of experience.
This philosophy pays special attention to life as a whole, which can only be understood from within. The movement can be regarded as a rejection of Kantian abstract philosophy or scientific reductionism of positivism.