Reflections on the Analytic/Continental Divide Essay -- Research Essay

Reflections on the Analytic/Continental DivideMy friends in the English department often ask me to beg off the difference I so often talk about between analytic and continental philosophical system. For approximately odd reason they want to relate our tally with theirs in an effort, maybe, to understand both better. Thus, I welcome the opportunity offered by Schuylkills general theme this year to give a very general and un-rigorous initiation on Philosophy, intended for the University Community at large. One fine, if annoying, tradition in philosophy is that of hedging our bets. Its the fine art of being slippery. And we actually think its do by a wish to be exacting. Accordingly, I should begin such a paper by saying that neither analytic nor continental philosophy are truly cohesive, unified, groups much which seems inconsistent flows under their banner, as does much disagreement. However, today, few groups of any merit are cohesive and unified, if they ever were. Even light isnt unified any more. So much for fine print bordering on the platitudinous. This paper has four sections. The first section places analytic and continental philosophy inwardly a historical tradition, specifically in relation to Kant. The second details analytic philosophy, particularly with relation to the linguistic turn and ordinary language philosophy. The third juxtaposes what I take to be a continental response in terms of Heideggers view of language and Foucaults view of power/knowledge, and shows some of the disrepute in which these are held. The last reviews some recent journal articles on the subject, and delivers a summation and prognosis. I. You all know about the Pre-Socratics, of which I think fondly of Heraclitus, so o... ...of Pure Reason. Trans. Norman Kemp Smith. crude York St. Martins, 1965. Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals. Trans. James W. Ellington. Indianapolis Hackett, 1977. Margolis, Joseph. Historied Thought Constructed World. Berkeley U of Calif ornia P, 1995. A Biopsy of Recent Analytic Philosophy. The Philosophical Forum XXVI.3 (1995) 161-188. McDowell, John. Mind and World. Cambridge Harvard UP, 1994. Norris, Christopher. Doubting palace or the Slough of Despond Davidson and Schiffer on the Limits of Analysis. The Review of Metaphysics 50 (December 1996) 351-82. Quine, Willard Van Orman. Two Dogmas of Empiricism. The Philosophy of Language. Ed. A.P. Martinich. New York Oxford UP, 1996. 39-60. Schlick, Morris. The Turning Point in Philosophy. analytical Positivism. Ed. A. J. Ayer. New York Free, 1959. qtd. in Follesdal (200).