The Alienation of Reason. A History of Positivist Thought.

232 Pages·1969·11.33 MB·English

by  Leszek Kolakowski

The Alienation of Reason
LESZEK KOLAKOWSKI is an essayist and playwright as well as
a philosopher, perhaps best known in this country for his
striking essay, "The Priest and the Jester." Although he has
been called "probably the most important thinker on Marxism
active today," he was expelled from the Polish Communist
Party in 1966 for his left-wing views and in 1968 lost his
position teaching modem philosophy at the University of
Warsaw because of his active support of student rebels.
TheAl ienatioofnR eason
A HISTORY OF POSITIVIST THOUGHT
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by Leszek Kolakowsk
TRANSLATED BY
NORBERT GUTERMAN
Anchor Books
DOUBLEDAY & COMPANY, INC.
GARDEN CITY, NEW YORK
This book was published in Poland by Panstwowe Wydawnictwo
Naukowe in 1966 as Filozao Pfiozytywistyc(ozdn Hau me 'ad o
KolaW iedenskieCgoop)y.r igPhatn stwowWey dawnictwoN au­
kowe,19 66.
TheA lienatoifoR nea son was published in hardcover by Double­
day & Co., Incin. 1968.
Anchor Books editio1n96:9
Copyright© 1968 by Doubleday & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Printed in the UniteSdta tes of America
Preface
This book is an account of the main stages of positivist
thought, which have to be briefly characterized if we are to
grasp the meaning of this philosophy, that is, the inferences to
be drawn from it as well as what is enduring in it. The term
"positivism" does not refer simply to a specific philosophical
doctrine that denies being either a doctrine or a philosophy. It
is also used in connection with a specific theory of law, a par­
ticular current in literary history, and a characteristic treat­
ment of a number of theological questions. To use the same
term in all these connections is not entirely arbitrary, but
justified to some extent by a common intellectual attitude to
be discerned in them all. On the other hand, their similarity
is not so strongly marked as to rule out separate discussion.
In this book I am concerned exclusively with positivism in
the sense of a philosophical-or, if you prefer, an anti­
philosophical-doctrine. I have deliberately avoided mention­
ing a great many names, since my intention is not to provide
a detailed historical survey, listing as many contributors to this
current of thought as possible, but rather to bring out its most
important features, the ones most helpful for grasping it as a
whole. Thus, the reader will find here only the best-known
names in the history of positivism. Even to list the individuals
and problems omitted would be out of place here.
The first and the last chapters deal with the same subject:
they represent an attempt to characterize the phenomenon as
a whole. However, the first merely expounds the most impor­
tant features of positivism to be found in the philosophical
texts. In the last I inquire into the general meaning of this
vi THE ALIENATION OF REASON
style of thinking, which as a rule is not dealt with by
its
adherents.
In some cases the book contains critical observations. These
are clearly distinguishal5le from the purely informative por­
tions. Most of the criticisms come from other sources, but
since this book is addressed to the general reader I have not
troubled to indicate where I speak in my own name and where
I draw on others. For the same reason I don't list the critical
and historical sources I have made use of. My aim here is not
to discuss new or previously ignored problems, but merely to
present a well-known phenomenon in such a way that the
reader may not only be informed about it objectively, but also
brought closer to understanding its function in our culture.
Both the informative and the "analytical" portions of my
exposition may, however, be looked upon as the results of
already existing reflection, a procedure admissible in this type
of presentation.
Contents
Preface v
ONE An Over-all View of Positivism 1
TWO Positivism Down to David Hume 11
THREE Auguste Comte: Positivism in the Romantic
Age
45
FOUR Positivism Triumphant 71
FIVE Positivism at the Turn of the Century 101
SIX Conventionalism-Destruction of the Concept of
Fact 129
SEVEN Pragmatism and Positivism 149
EIGHT Logical Empiricism: A Scientistic Defense of
Threatened Civilization 169
Conclusion 201
Index 213