Emergence of Global Political Economy
Sultan Mehmood
2013-02-0549
PHIL 432: Muhammad Iqbal and Charles Peirce
Dr. Basit Bilal Koshul
May 7th, 2012
FINAL ESSAY
Iqbal, Peirce, and Hume in Conversation “I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they have delighted in explaining to colleagues, which they have proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabric of their lives.” These words of Tolstoy articulate the truth about most of the scholarship which includes the works of almost all the ancient and contemporary intellectuals. On a closer inspection we come to know that philosophy has not been entirely honest about its tall claims of being the torchbearer of objective and disinterested inquiry into ultimate reality. Usually, the bigger part of the solution lies in identifying the problem correctly. John Dewey, an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer, has done a great job by identifying the ailments afflicting philosophy in his book, Reconstruction in Philosophy. He challenges the prevalent notions about Philosophy which claim that philosophy revolves around love of wisdom. Dewey shows us that it is not true, and classical philosophy has its own limitations. Often the Philosophy has been developed through various stages and is rooted in the feelings and emotions of the people philosophizing it. Dewey tries to change these conceptions, and brings to light the true origin and principles of philosophy. It includes the realization that Philosophy has its limitations, and within these limitations philosophy has to assist humanity.
Dewey points out that the original material out of which philosophy emerges is irrelevant to science and explanation. This original material is “figurative, symbolic of fears and hopes, made of imaginations and
2013-02-0549
PHIL 432: Muhammad Iqbal and Charles Peirce
Dr. Basit Bilal Koshul
May 7th, 2012
FINAL ESSAY
Iqbal, Peirce, and Hume in Conversation “I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they have delighted in explaining to colleagues, which they have proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabric of their lives.” These words of Tolstoy articulate the truth about most of the scholarship which includes the works of almost all the ancient and contemporary intellectuals. On a closer inspection we come to know that philosophy has not been entirely honest about its tall claims of being the torchbearer of objective and disinterested inquiry into ultimate reality. Usually, the bigger part of the solution lies in identifying the problem correctly. John Dewey, an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer, has done a great job by identifying the ailments afflicting philosophy in his book, Reconstruction in Philosophy. He challenges the prevalent notions about Philosophy which claim that philosophy revolves around love of wisdom. Dewey shows us that it is not true, and classical philosophy has its own limitations. Often the Philosophy has been developed through various stages and is rooted in the feelings and emotions of the people philosophizing it. Dewey tries to change these conceptions, and brings to light the true origin and principles of philosophy. It includes the realization that Philosophy has its limitations, and within these limitations philosophy has to assist humanity.
Dewey points out that the original material out of which philosophy emerges is irrelevant to science and explanation. This original material is “figurative, symbolic of fears and hopes, made of imaginations and
Cited: - Dewey, John. "Chapter 1-2." Reconstruction in Philosophy. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1920. Print. - Essays on “Notes on Scientific Philosophy”, “Fixation of Belief”, and “How to Make Our ideas Clear” by Charles Sanders Peirce - Hume, David. An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1952. Print. - Lectures on "The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam” by Allama Muhammad iqbal Tolstoy, Leo, and Aylmer Maude. What Is Art? and Essays on Art,. London: Oxford UP, 1932. Print.