Key Philosophical Movements and Their Core Ideas

Marxism: Theory and Social Transformation

Marxism proposes a reversal of the Hegelian system, advancing a materialist dialectics focused on the consciousness of society and history. Against a purely interpretative view of the world, Karl Marx argued for a philosophy capable of transforming society: first theory, then practice. It proposes communism as an economic system and understands history through a materialist lens, rooted in natural concepts.

Historicism and Vitalism: Life as Experience

Historicism and Vitalism propose that life and history, understood in a biological sense, should be approached as a biography. For thinkers like Nietzsche, life is an experience.

Phenomenology: Philosophy as Strict Description

Phenomenology views philosophy as a descriptive, strict science whose role is to humanize humanity. Proponents are against positivist psychological reductionism and skeptical reductionism, seeing the philosopher as a civil servant of humanity.

Existentialism: Freedom and Human Existence

Existentialism emerged in the interwar period, expressing themes of disorientation and rootlessness. It emphasizes the personal, singular, and unique nature of human existence—the ego—which is not reducible to reason or thought, but rather embodies absolute freedom (as articulated by Jean-Paul Sartre).

Neopositivism: Language Analysis in Philosophy

Neopositivism, a form of analytic philosophy, builds upon earlier positivist ideas. It offers an analysis of language, asserting that philosophy's primary goal is to clarify linguistic problems.

Hermeneutics: The Art of Interpretation

Hermeneutics is a theory of interpretation, a method aimed at the correct understanding of texts and the world. This understanding extends from interpersonal communication to social manipulation, law, art, and religion.

Critical Theory: Reason, Society, and Transformation

Critical Theory asserts that the philosophical spirit par excellence is critical, maintaining the origins of philosophy. From a theoretical standpoint, it rationally clarifies and pursues its work on the structure of industrialized society. A core realization is that the Enlightenment has often been the opposite of its purported aims, as reason has been manipulated—used as a means rather than an end—leading to a loss of freedom (a concept akin to Kantian dignity). Reason, in this view, has become repressive, totalizing, and reifying. To escape this situation, Critical Theory emphasizes the need for imagination and utopia. It critiques industrialized society and the submissive human being, proposing a critique of reason (similar to Kant's approach) from within itself to escape ideology. Critical theorists connect theoretical movement with practical action, seeking to transform society.