Key Philosophical Currents of the 19th Century

19th Century Philosophical Landscape

The nineteenth century in philosophy witnessed the emergence of large systems and a number of philosophical movements of very different designs, many of which rejected systematic and speculative philosophy.

The Rise of Positivism

This century also saw the triumph of Positivism. Auguste Comte was its most prominent representative.

Reaction Against Positivism

During the last decades of the nineteenth century, a strong reaction against Positivism emerged. The causes were numerous: the crisis of the positive sciences and the growing awareness that individual and social problems were not solvable solely through scientific research.

Currents involved in this reaction included older philosophies (e.g., Kantianism and Neo-Hegelianism), but the most critical and influential were new, including:

• Marxism

  Rooted in the thinking of Karl Marx, Marxism holds a materialistic view of reality and offers a critique of the capitalist economic system.

• Spiritualism

  A philosophical current directly opposed to materialism, Spiritualism not only affirms the presence of non-material elements in the universe but also posits that the universe is best interpreted from a non-materialistic perspective, giving primacy to the spirit rather than matter or empirical observation.

• Historicism

  Historicism rejected the Enlightenment's conception of history, particularly its faith in universal progress. Historicists emphasized the unique nature of peoples and the historical dimension of human existence.

• Vitalism

  Related to irrationalism and the development of biology, Vitalism emerged mid-century, making life—especially human life—its primary philosophical focus. This heterogeneous movement sought to explain life not through physico-chemical principles alone, but from a unique, organizing vital principle.

• Irrationalism

  Key figures in Irrationalism include Friedrich Schlegel, Georges Sorel, and Arthur Schopenhauer.

Schopenhauer's Influence on Nietzsche

Arthur Schopenhauer was a highly influential philosopher for Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche, however, reacted against the spirit of pessimism and resignation that dominated Schopenhauer's philosophy, finding it incompatible with his own vital outlook.

Nietzsche and Marxism

Nietzsche's rejection of Marxism and everything related to the workers' struggle also deserves comment. While he disagreed with Marx on many points, he found common ground in areas such as a materialist worldview and a critique of the alienating elements of capitalist society.