Against the Irrationality of Philosophy: Heinrich Rickert's Polemics with Philosophy of Life

Abstract

The article is concerned with views of H. Rickert, one of the main representatives of German neo-Kantism. The author analyzes Rickert's attitude towards the conception of philosophy, and especially the relation between Rickert's understanding of tasks of philosophy and the views of nature that representatives of the so-called philosophy of life (Lebensphilosophie) have. According to Rickert philosophy should be a cognitive action meeting the requirements of rationality. Its subject is to be the whole of reality; it also should lead to creation of a philosophy of life and it should have the character of a system. The systemic character of philosophy meant for Rickert the necessity to use rational reasoning for the theses one puts forward, the necessity of an order and of respecting logic. From this point of view Rickert criticized the approach to philosophy that was characteristic of representatives of philosophy of life – W. Dilthey, F. Nietzsche, H. Bergson, W. James. Instead of a rational reasoning philosophy of life prefers – in Rickert's opinion – such elements of the philosophical method as description, intuition or referring to subjective experiences.