The Entitlement of Philosophy——The Non-philosophizing of Philosophy

Abstract

The word"Philosophy"in the history of Western philosophy since Plato is almost synonymous with "Metaphysics" which suggests an absolute distinction between the sensible and the supersensible,and regards the latter as the highest reality.Platonism occupied a dominant position in traditional Western philosophy.The Christian metaphysics and Cartesian metaphysics were but varieties of Platonism.The history of traditional Western metaphysics was,however,accompanied by the development of criticisms of metaphysics.Plato's student Aristotle and modern philosophers,such as Hume,Kant and Hegel criticized metaphysics from different angles and in various degrees.Hegel's idea "mit der Sache sich zu befassen"indicates that he is a pioneer of contemporary phenomenology.Heidegger insisted that time is the essence of being,and then pronounced the end of philosophy in traditional sense.Philosophy descended,since Heidegger,from the supersensible to the sensible.The contemporary Western schools of philosophy are realizing the non-philosophizing of philosophy in different forms.Philosophy finds now its own position in worldly activities.Philosophy as a rational reflection upon the varieties of human experience usually bases on human life on one hand,and is higher than it on the other hand.The fairy maiden of philosophy must flight between heaven and earth forever.