Cassirer S Conception Of Causality

Ernst Cassirer was the last of the major exponents of the Marburg School of Neo-Kantianism. This book presents his philosophy of science in the context of the developments in the physical sciences in this century. Cassirer's call for a redefinition of the «concept of substance» is critically evaluated in terms of the meanings of such terms as «laws, » «theories, » and «causality» as used in the sciences. By treating the sciences as one of the Symbolic Forms, this book establishes the relevancy of the critical philosophy of Kant to an understanding of the recent history and philosophy of science.

This new translation of The Logic of the Cultural Sciences (formerly entitled The Logic of the Humanities) makes Ernst Cassirer's classic study, long out of print, available to English readers. A German Jew living in exile at the beginning of the Second World War, Cassirer wrote this book--one of his clearest and most concise--in response to the crises besetting his era. It represented to him a rethinking and completion of his magnum opus The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms. S. G. Lofts's translation stays close to the original German and accurately reflects the echoes of the philosophical debates of Cassirer's day. In the book's five linked studies, Cassirer considers the intellectual structure of the disciplines we commonly refer to as the humanities. He defines and justifies the basic philosophical perspective of the philosophy of symbolic forms, and he contributes a wealth of ideas to continuing debates about culture and what is unique in human nature.

Ernst Cassirer (1874–1945) occupies a unique place in 20th-century philosophy. His view that human beings are not rational but symbolic animals and his famous dispute with Martin Heidegger at Davos in 1929 are compelling alternatives to the deadlock between 'analytic' and 'continental' approaches to philosophy. An astonishing polymath, Cassirer's work pays equal attention to mathematics and natural science but also art, language, myth, religion, technology, and history. However, until now the importance of his work has largely been overlooked. In this outstanding introduction Samantha Matherne examines and assesses the full span of Cassirer’s work. Beginning with an overview of his life and works she covers the following important topics: Cassirer’s neo-Kantian background Philosophy of mathematics and natural science, including Cassirer’s first systematic work, Substance and Function, and subsequent works, like Einstein’s Theory of Relativity The problem of culture and the ground-breaking The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms Cassirer’s ethical and political thought and his diagnosis of fascism in The Myth of the State Cassirer’s influence and legacy. Including chapter summaries, suggestions for further reading, and a glossary of terms, this is an ideal introduction to Cassirer’s thought for anyone coming to his work for the first time. It is essential reading for students in philosophy as well as related disciplines such as intellectual history, art history, politics, and literature.

This volume brings Cassirer’s work into the arena of contemporary debates both within and outside of philosophy. All articles offer a fresh and contemporary look at one of the most prolific and important philosophers of the 20th century. The papers are authored by a wide array of scholars working in different areas, such as epistemology, philosophy of culture, sociology, psychopathology, philosophy of science and aesthetics.

"Cassirer employs his remarkable gift of lucidity to explain the major ideas and intellectual issues that emerged in the course of nineteenth century scientific and historical thinking. The translators have done an excellent job in reproducing his clarity in English. There is no better place for an intelligent reader to find out, with a minimum of technical language, what was really happening during the great intellectual movement between the age of Newton and our own."-- New York Times. -- Publisher description.

Der Band »Cassirer in Contexts« ist Bestandteil des wiederauflebenden Interesses an den philosophischen Errungenschaften Ernst Cassirers. Die hier versammelten Aufsätze wurden von Forscherinnen und Forschern aus verschiedenen akademischen Disziplinen verfasst, was sich in der Reichhaltigkeit der behandelten Themen widerspiegelt. Der Sammelband enthält Zusammenfassungen und kritische Diskussionen mehrerer für Cassirers Philosophie wichtiger Konzepte – etwa die Bedeutung des Symbolischen oder des Mythos – sowie Erörterungen hinsichtlich des Einflusses von Cassirers Denken auf die Entwicklung bestimmter philosophischer Teildisziplinen, besonders der Sprachphilosophie und Philosophie der Mathematik. Des Weiteren dient der Band als Beleg für die Aktualität von Cassirers Denken, als Beweis dafür, dass dieses nach wie vor eine Quelle theoretischer und philosophischer Inspiration ist und sein Erklärungspotenzial in einer Vielzahl von Kontexten genutzt werden kann