The contemporary philosophy it contemplates all the philosophical currents created after modern times, that is, between the last part of the 19th century and the 20th century, until today. These new currents represent a great change of thought with respect to other times in the history of mankind.
Contemporary philosophy modifies the direction taken by modern philosophy, which mainly studied reason and the analysis of being. On the other hand, contemporary philosophy studies and tries to answer a large number of social questions, seeking, above all, the common good.
In addition, another important change that contemporary philosophy introduces is the institutionality and professionalization of studies, since since the middle of the 20th century, most philosophical studies are carried out from universities.
One of the most outstanding characteristics of contemporary philosophy is due to the fact that there are two main branches: analytical and continental, which differ in the type of subjects they deal with and their way of approaching them..
Additionally, a large number of philosophical currents emerge from each branch, which may or may not share a rationalist and logical perspective of the topics studied..
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There is no exact date to mark the beginning of contemporary philosophy, although it can be said that its beginning occurs at the end of the 19th century, after modernity. This is mainly due to a change in the way the search for knowledge took place.
One of the first distances between modern and contemporary philosophy arises with the beginning of positivism, created in France by Auguste Comte, who proposes experience and the application of an analytical method as the only way to obtain knowledge..
Likewise, currents such as Marxism and vitalism, among others, continued to separate from the original ideas of modern philosophy, now addressing social issues that affect human beings..
Already in the 20th century, contemporary philosophy was divided into two clearly differentiated branches:
Contemporary philosophy can be divided into two main branches, from which several philosophical currents emerge:
Analytical philosophy begins to gain strength in Europe at the end of the 19th century, but its greatest boom took place in the 20th century, spreading throughout the world..
The most outstanding characteristic of this branch of philosophy, and for which it receives its name, is that it uses conceptual analysis as a philosophical method. Which means that, according to this branch, all the problems that philosophy studies can be solved in a rational way.
Some of the currents of analytical philosophy are the following:
Naturalism was created in North America in the middle of the 20th century, and its main slogan was to view philosophy as if it were a natural science more.
In this way, he adopted methods typical of the natural sciences to solve philosophical questions..
Generally known as naturalized epistemology, it was introduced in the mid-20th century by the American philosopher Willard Van Orman Quine..
Quine's philosophy was based on an empirical, scientific, and behavioral system of understanding. In this sense, he affirmed that the wishes, intentions and beliefs of the brain did not exist, and that these could be explained in a rational way, when one fully understood how the brain operated.
This philosophical current originated in the first quarter of the 20th century, by the hand of the British philosopher George Eduard Moore, as a response to the currents of skepticism and idealism.
The philosophy of ordinary language was promoted, among others, by the English philosophers John Langshaw Austin and Gilbert Ryle, in the middle of the 20th century.
One of the main approaches of this philosophical current was that philosophical problems, in most cases, are due to confusion in the interpretation of language.
Continental philosophy, also known as philosophical "thought", was born at the end of the 19th century in central or continental Europe, a matter for which its name is assigned..
The currents that are grouped under this name do not have many points in common, but there is one that is common to all, and that is that they oppose the idea of the objectivity of knowledge and philosophical rationality..
Some of the branches of continental philosophy are the following:
Phenomenology was introduced by the German mathematician Edmund Husserl, who proposed in his method the possibility of carrying out a descriptive calculation of the essential structures of what was given..
That is to say, that it tried, among others, to know and affirm the structures of consciousness.
Structuralism, in the hands of Levy-Strauss, is oriented to the investigation of the structures that give meaning to elements in a culture. Its application is fundamentally in anthropological and linguistic research.
Existentialism, introduced by Nietzsche and Kierkegaard, studied two fundamental questions: on the one hand, the analysis of human existence, and on the other, the centrality of human choice..
Hermeneutics is a branch of continental philosophy, which is responsible for studying and interpreting writings, whether philosophical, religious or legal, among others..
This interpretation is carried out taking into account the context that exists between the text and the interpreter, trying to decipher the true meaning of the words.
One of the main characteristics of the contemporary stage is to place philosophical practice at the same level as other branches of professional knowledge..
This entails the conception of a legal and formal body around the philosophical practice that allows to recognize all those who comply with certain academic or other statutes.
Unlike previous stages in the history of philosophy, contemporary philosophy stands out for relegating to the background the conceptions around transcendental beliefs, of a religious or spiritual nature, taking its reflections to a strictly earthly plane.
There are currents and authors who from their own origins reject these subjective positions, such as Marxism, to speak of a current, and Friedrich Nietzsche, to mention an author.
The problems studied by contemporary philosophy are those identified after modern times and whose study takes place up to the present time..
For much of the twentieth century, the analytical branch of philosophy was responsible for applying its method of study mainly to language. However, by the end of the 20th century, he focused mainly on problems related to the functioning of the human mind. In this way, he began to address issues of thought, beliefs and prejudices.
In the case of the continental branch, it has been aimed mainly at addressing problems related to human existence, the revelation of being and its freedom. Additionally, it has focused on solving issues related to language, signs, symbols and social codes.
In a complementary way, both branches have been in charge of raising discussions about religion, ethics and aesthetics, among other topics..
Some of the most prominent representatives of contemporary philosophy are the following:
He began by studying idealism, although later he reoriented his work towards realism, and was one of the first creators of analytical philosophy.
One of the ideas that Moore introduced was that to clarify or define an unclear concept, it had to be broken down into different parts, whose independent meanings could be clearer.
Sartre was a French philosopher, considered one of the strongest exponents of existentialism.
One of his most popular thoughts is the idea that the freedom of the human being depends clearly on this, and the actions that he takes in this regard.
Nietzsche was a German philosopher, born in the mid-nineteenth century, and considered one of the most influential in contemporary philosophy.
One of the most important contributions of Nietzsche was the concept of the will to power, with which he said that this will does not refer only to power over others, but also to power over oneself.
This German philosopher is another of the most influential figures in both contemporary philosophy, as well as sociology and history worldwide..
His most important postulates are derived from what he raised in his work Capital. There he manifests ideas related to the emerging economic system of the time (current capitalism), addressing the concepts of production, reproduction and accumulation of capital. Additionally, it addressed issues related to the class struggle and the exploitation of man by man.
Outside of being a renowned French philosopher, Comte is considered the father of current sociology. Most of his reflections revolve around rationalism and the application of an empirical and analytical method, which allows us to truly know reality..
The work developed by Comte is positivist based, that is, every phenomenon must be explained from reason and practical experience, without religious parameters. In other words, all knowledge must be scientifically based and verifiable, based on the application of a rigorous method..
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