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Introduction

G. A. Rauche

pp. 1-4

In the times that we live, it appears as though philosophy were finished. We are told that philosophical reflection is futile and that philosophy has failed to provide us with conclusive answers, and that, instead, it has led us into ever greater confusion. It is argued that, in seeking to answer questions which cannot meaningfully be answered, in the sense that its answers are accepted by all, philosophy has not only increased man's perplexity, but has also contributed to turning him into a neurotic being that lives in a state of uncertainty, anxiety and disorientation. From all this, the conclusion was drawn that philosophical questions are the wrong kind of questions asked and that philosophical problems, to speak with Rudolf Carnap, are mock problems. These self-made pseudo-problems would disappear as soon as the pseudo-questions of philosophy were abandoned.

Publication details

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-015-0895-7_1

Full citation:

Rauche, G. A. (1974). Introduction, in The abdication of philosophy — the abdication of man, Dordrecht, Springer, pp. 1-4.

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