World (philosophy)

World (philosophy)

In philosophy, the World is everything that makes up reality. While clarifying the concept of world has arguably always been among the basic tasks of Western philosophy, this theme appears to have been raised explicitly only at the start of the twentieth century [Heidegger, Martin. Basic Problems of Phenomenology. Indiana University Press. 1982. P. 165] and has been the subject of continuous debate. The question of what the world "is" has by no means been settled.

Two definitions that were both put forward in the 1920s, however, suggest the range of available opinion. "The world is everything that is the case," wrote Ludwig Wittgenstein in his influential Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, first published in 1922. This definition would serve as the basis of logical positivism, with its assumption that there is exactly one world, consisting of the totality of facts, regardless of the interpretations that individual people may make of them.

Martin Heidegger, meanwhile, argued that "the surrounding world is different for each of us, and notwithstanding that we move about in a common world" [Heidegger, Martin. Basic Problems of Phenomenology. Indiana University Press. 1982. P. 164] . The world, for Heidegger, was that into which we are "thrown" willy-nilly and with which we, as beings-in-the-world, must come to terms. His conception of "the world-hood of the world" was most notably elaborated in his 1927 work "Being and Time".

Some philosophers, often inspired by David Lewis, argue that metaphysical concepts such as possibility, probability and necessity are best analyzed by comparing "the" world to a range of possible worlds; a view commonly known as modal realism.

See also

*Weltanschauung
*Metaphysics
*Dasein
*Existence
*Idealism

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • World (disambiguation) — World primarily refers to the planet Earth.World may also refer to:Conceptual* World (adjective), meaning phenomena that span the globe * World (philosophy), a term for all things that make up reality * World (theology), a term referring to human …   Wikipedia

  • philosophy — (Gk., love of knowledge or wisdom) The study of the most general and abstract features of the world and categories with which we think: mind, matter, reason, proof, truth, etc. In philosophy, the concepts with which we approach the world… …   Philosophy dictionary

  • philosophy, Western — Introduction       history of Western philosophy from its development among the ancient Greeks to the present.       This article has three basic purposes: (1) to provide an overview of the history of philosophy in the West, (2) to relate… …   Universalium

  • PHILOSOPHY, JEWISH — This article is arranged according to the following outline: WHAT IS JEWISH PHILOSOPHY? recent histories of jewish philosophy biblical and rabbinic antecedents bible rabbinic literature hellenistic jewish philosophy philo of alexandria biblical… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • World — The world is a proper noun for the planet Earth envisioned from an anthropocentric or human worldview, as a place inhabited by human beings and other terrestrial lifes. It is often used to signify the sum of human experience and history, or the… …   Wikipedia

  • Philosophy — • Detailed article on the history of the love of wisdom Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Philosophy     Philosophy     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Philosophy of language — is the reasoned inquiry into the nature, origins, and usage of language. As a topic, the philosophy of language for Analytic Philosophers is concerned with four central problems: the nature of meaning, language use, language cognition, and the… …   Wikipedia

  • Philosophy of science — is the study of assumptions, foundations, and implications of science. The field is defined by an interest in one of a set of traditional problems or an interest in central or foundational concerns in science. In addition to these central… …   Wikipedia

  • Philosophy of religion — is a branch of philosophy that is concerned with the philosophical study of religion, including arguments over the nature and existence of God, religious language, miracles, prayer, the problem of evil, and the relationship between religion and… …   Wikipedia

  • Philosophy of history — or historiosophy is an area of philosophy concerning the eventual significance, if any, of human history. Furthermore, it speculates as to a possible teleological end to its development that is, it asks if there is a design, purpose, directive… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”